EEPORT OF COMMISSIONERS OF INLAND FISHERIES. 41 



hundred species of fishes which, strictly speaking, do not belong to the 

 fauna of this region at all, but which are accidental strays or, at most, 

 irregular visitors to our coasts. The normal habitat of such species 

 is to be found either in the tropics or in the cold waters north of 

 Cape Cod, or in the great depths of the Atlantic. Yet their presence 

 here is of interest and is worthy of record, since it throws light on 

 the distribution and migration of the species in question and also 

 upon certain physical and biological factors which normally influence 

 the conditions in our own waters. 



In the introduction to the previous list of fishes (1905), suggestions 

 were made regarding the different lines of work which were to be 

 followed in the future. Of these there are two which seem again to 

 justify particular mention. 



On account of the unusual geographical relations of the coast line 

 of the State of Rhode Island and the islands contained within its 

 jurisdiction, the sea fisheries of the State are carried on in waters which 

 represent an extraordinary variety of physical and biological condi- 

 tions. The quiet, shallow waters of the Providence River, which 

 seldom contains any species except those most typical of our fauna, 

 show a great contrast in conditions from those existing in the deep 

 water off the exposed shores of Block Island. The waters between 

 these extremes present almost every possible combination of shore, 

 current, and bottom. In all these different regions exists a more or 

 less highly developed commercial fishery. Reference to the list of 

 fish-traps and their locations, contained in this report, shows that 

 about 275 traps are in operation in Rhode Island waters, and that 

 they are scattered all the way from Point Judith to Providence River, 

 from Providence River to Newport, out in the open water from 

 Brenton's Reef to Sakonnet Point, up and down the Sakonnet River, 

 and off the shore of Block Island. The immense floating traps off 

 Newport and Sakonnet are particularly adapted for the capture of 

 the pelagic species. The great variety of conditions under which the 

 fish of the State are found, when considered in connection with the 

 varied marine fauna of these waters, furnishes a field, as yet far from 



