340 



FISHERY BULLETIN OF THE FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE 



brates as the fauna was half a century ago, indeed, 

 as it was in the 1600's when Captain John Smith 

 (1616, pp. 188, 196) and William Wood (1634, 

 pp. 35-40) reported the abundance along the 

 coasts of New England of cod, "frost fish" (tom 

 cod), haddock, hake, cusk, striped bass, "pearch" 

 (cunners), halibut, mackerel, smelts, herring, 

 shad, eels, skates, lobsters, crabs, clams, "muscles" 

 (mussels), "periwinckles," and oysters — the last, 

 of course, in enclosed bays.' 



Corresponding to this conservatism of the Gulf 

 of Maine fauna, in general, no conspicuous fish or 

 invertebrate that is common along the coast west 

 and south of Cape Cod, but which had not main- 

 tained a regular population within the Gulf pre- 

 vious to the recent upswing in temperature, is 

 shown to have established itself there as a per- 

 manent resident since the upswing. The weak- 

 fish {Cynoscion), the scup {Stenotomus) , the toad- 

 fish (Opsanus), and the blue crab {Callinectes) are 

 among those species that would be expected to 

 have so established themselves in the Gulf. 



The northward extension of the range of the 

 striped mummichog (Fundulus majalis) to Great 

 Bay, N. H., must be considered as falling in 

 category 2 (p. 338) rather than 1, for it had probably 

 established itself north of Cape Cod by 1939 

 (Bigelow and Schroeder, 1953), possibly bj' way 

 of the Cape Cod canal (Schroeder 1937). Here 

 again one must be cautious in attributing this 

 extension to increases in winter temperatures 

 subsequent to 1939 for it may merely represent 

 the surmounting of a physical rather than a 

 thermal barrier. 



The green crab (Carcinides maenas) — whose 

 recent extension northward and explosion, so to 

 speak, in population is rather fully documented 

 (p. 337) — seems to have been resident earlier north 

 of Cape Cod, at least locally. The tautog 

 (Tautoga), whose status from year to year is 

 followed with interest by local anglers, has not been 

 more plentiful north of Cape Cod of late than in 

 previous summers, perhaps even less so. Tiie 

 occurrence of the various tropic strays (p. 335) 

 may depend on short-term, and perhaps super- 

 ficial, conditions that maj' have occurred fre- 

 quently during the summer in the past, the present 

 increase being distinguished chiefly by high tem- 

 peratures sustained over periods of several years. 



' The identities of the New England fishes listed by Smith as "Pinacks" 

 and "Mullet" are not clear. 



In consequence, we might now expect more fre- 

 quent records and greater numbers, but few unique 

 occurrences. 



SUMMARY 



1. A long-term upward trend in air tempera- 

 tures in New England is evident from the record. 

 The increase has been greatest for the winter 

 months. 



2. Upward trends in winter sea temperatures 

 are shown for St. Andrews, N. B., Boothbay 

 Harbor, Maine, and Woods Hole, Mass. The 

 correlation of January water temperatures at 

 Boothbay Harbor with January air temperatures 

 at New Haven, Conn., and Eastport, Maine, 

 indicates a long-term upward trend in surface 

 temperatures corresponding to that for winter 

 air temperatures. 



3. Hydrographic data for the Gulf of Maine 

 in 1953 and 1954 indicate an increase of from 

 1° to 5° F. throughout the water column since 

 the period 1912-26 for most parts of the Gulf. 



4. Northward shifts in the abundance and 

 distribution of some important commercial species 

 are indicated by a study of landing statistics and 

 other data. These species include the mack- 

 erel, lobster, menhaden, whiting, and yellowtail 

 flounder. 



5. Numerous southern species of fishes and 

 other marine forms have extended their recorded 

 ranges northward since 1930. At least two of 

 these, the striped mummichog and the green crab, 

 have established resident populations north of 

 their earlier recorded ranges. But the recent 

 upswing in temperature has not been accom- 

 panied by any obvious general alteration in the 

 composition of the fish or invertebrate fauna of 

 the Gulf of Maine region. 



REFERENCES CITED 



Allen, E. J. 



I897-I899. Report on the present state of knowledge 

 with regard to the habits and migrations of the 

 maclcerel (Scomber scomber). Jour. Marine Bio- 

 logical Association of the United Kingdom, vol. 

 V (n. s.), pp. 1-40. 

 Arnold, Edgar L., Jr. 



1949. Unusual occurrence of fish on New England 

 banks. Copeia, No. 4, pp. 299-.300. 



1951. Northward dispersal of warm-water marine 

 fishes in southern New England during the sum- 

 mer of 1949. Copeia, No. 1, pp. 87-88. 



