BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 283 



fish appeared less shy and could be captured far easier than when in 

 blue water, not attempting to escape from the seine by " diving," as is 

 so frequently the case under ordinary circumstances. This is all the 

 more remarkable since the wonderful clearness of the water, previously 

 alluded to, made it possible even for the fishermen to see the bottom 

 of their seine which was sunk a depth of from 18 to 25 fathoms. 



The occurrence of heavy fogs, as has already been stated, during the 

 month of August and the beginning of September, and the fact that the 

 main body of mackerel was at that time found on the Seal Island Ground* 

 and Brown's Bank, where strong currents and heavy tide-rips occur, 

 rendered it extremely difficult for the fishermen to capture the fish 

 which were found in that region. The result, therefore, of these com- 

 bined adverse influences was a great decrease in the catch of fish by 

 the mackerel fleet. It seems altogether probable that the mackerel caught 

 on the Seal Island Ground and about Brown's Bank were the same fish 

 which occurred earlier in the season in such abundance between Cashe's 

 and George's Banks, and which, as has previously been stated, probably 

 moved to the eastward from the above-mentioned locality. What direc- 

 tion this body of mackerel took after leaving Brown's Bank cannot be 

 absolutely determined, but it is the opinion of most of the experienced 

 fishermen that the fish, continuing their outward course from the shore, 

 swept off by the southern edge of George's instead of passing inside, as 

 is their usual habit when making their regular fall migration. This 

 irregular movement was anticipated as early as July, for on the 8th of 

 that month Captain Martin wrote : "If no other school of mackerel 

 comes along the catch will be light during the latter part of the season. 

 I do not think the mackerel on the Seal Island Ground will go into the 

 Bay of Fundy. " The fishermen at that date, too, reported an abundance 

 of mackerel on George's, and Captain Martin, on June 28. 1882, noted 

 the arrival, in Gloucester, of two fares of mackerel from that bank. 

 Although a few fares may have then been taken on George's, it seems 

 probable that in most cases, there was a slight error in the reports of the 

 skippers; for, to my knowledge, several of the Gloucester vessels which 

 visited George's on the strength of these statements failed to find any 

 mackerel in that locality. These failures may have been due to some 

 extent to the prevalence of dense fogs which covered the bank much of 

 the summer, and rendered it next to impossible for the skippers to keep 

 their position on this ground, where the tides sweep with great velocity. 

 Therefore it seems probable that most of the fares which were reported 

 on several occasions to have been caught on George's Bank were in 

 reality taken in the near vicinity, north of the bank, or farther east, on 

 Brown's Bank. 



Little more can be said relative to the movements of the mackerel on 

 the [New England coast during the season of ] 882, except to speak of 

 the scarcity of fish throughout the remainder of the season, which was 



* Catches of mackerel were also made on this ground as early in the season as the 

 latter part of June. 



