45^ 



SEVENTH REl'ORT OF THE FOREST, FISH AND GAME COMMISSION. 



142. Cusk iBrosiiic brosiin' Miiller). 



Brosniiiis 7'ulgaris ? DeKay, N. Y. Fauna, Fish. 289, pi. 44, fig. 143, 1842. 



Brosmius hrosiiie Goode & Be.-\n, Oceanic Ichth., 385, fig. 329, 1896. 



Bros/in- brosinc Ji)rd.\n & Everm.ann, Bull. 47, U. S. Nat. Mus., Ill, 2561, 1898. 



Color, bro\vnish above, the sides yellowish, sometimes mottled with brown ; 

 young uniform dark slate, or with transverse yellow bands ; \'ertical fins bordered 

 with blackish, and with a white edge. 



The Cusk is described and figured by DeKay, but he did not see the fish and 

 copied his information from Storer and others. Storer mentions a specimen weigh- 

 ing 20 pounds, but the fish grows even larger. It inhabits the North Atlantic, 

 ranging southward to New Jersey and Denmark. It is an important food fish. 



CUSK. 



According to Dr. Smith, it was formerly not uncommon in Vineyard Sound, and 

 was caught with Cod in April and May. It has been very rare for more than 20 

 years, though a few are still taken in iVpril. The a\^crage weight of individuals in 

 those waters is 5 pounds, and the ma.Kimum weight from 12 to 13 pounds. It is 

 known also as Ling. In Massachusetts Bay and vicinity the Cusk is a common resi- 

 dent on the inshore fi.shing grounds, where it occurs in great abundance, lurking 

 among the stones, but it is soon caught up by the fishermen after the discovery of a 

 new bank. 



