BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 275 



to infer that stragglers from the main body reach the coast several 

 weeks in advance of the main schools, which are sought and captured 

 by the seiners. 



For a few days after the first appearance of the mackerel this season, 

 there was nothing remarkable in their movements; but, as they passed 

 towards the north, the principal body of the fish, according to Capt. 

 Henry B. Thomas, of Gloucester, came much closer to the shore than 

 usual, moving along the New Jersey coast in water averaging 15 to 25 

 fathoms deep, while good catches were also made inside of the light- 

 ship on Five Fathom Bank, off the mouth of the Delaware, as well as 

 between the shore and the light-ship lying off Sandy Hook, at the en- 

 trance to New York Harbor. It is a somewhat rare occurrence for 

 mackerel to be taken so near the shore in spring. At the same time, 

 however, according to Captain Thomas, some of the fishing schooners 

 met with large schools of small-sized mackerel some 70 miles off-shore, 

 in a direction about south-southeast from Sandy Hook. Several large 

 fares of these were obtained. 



The main body of the mackerel, composed of the largest fish, exhibited 

 such a decided tendency to keep close to the shore during the spring, 

 that it was predicted by the fishermen that the schools would "play 

 in" near the coast when north of Cape Cod. This, however, proved 

 to be a mistaken opinion, for, as a rule, the chief part of the mackerel 

 after entering the Gulf of Maine, kept far off-shore, while only scat- 

 tering schools were met with on the shoal grounds near the land, which 

 are generally the favorite haunts of the species in summer. 



During the last few days of May and the early portion of June, the 

 movements of these fish presented some peculiar phases which have 

 been rarely noticed in former years. A large body of mackerel, passing 

 through the South Channel, moved on between Cape Cod and George's 

 Bank in a northeasterly direction. From its left wing scattering schools 

 reached in near the land, extending, in some cases, as far as Massachu- 

 setts Bay and the shores of Cape Cod ; while from the right flank other 

 schools passed across George's Bank and gathered in great masses about 

 the western part of Nova Scotia, in which locality the fish appear to 

 have remained for a much longer period than usual. This detention in 

 the waters of Nova Scotia may probably be accounted for by the fact 

 that, for many weeks previously and at that time, great quantities of 

 ice had been collected about the eastern coast of that peninsula, off 

 Newfoundland, and on the Grand Bank, from March until well into 

 June. Frequent mention of this fact was made by the press. * This 



* As an instance, the two following paragraphs appeared in the Boston Herald of 

 June 10 : 



" Saint John's, Newfoundland, June 10, 1882. — It is reported that, the schooner 

 Ripple is imbedded in an ice-pack 20 miles off Fogo Island, and her crew of twenty- 

 two men are starving. The steamers Vola and Benacro are also in the ice. The 

 steamer Hercules has been sent to their assistance. Bark Petunia, from Cadis, re- 



