FISHES OF THE GULF OF MAINE 217 



setts Bay during the seventies of the past century, however (a period of great plenty 

 off southern New England), 73 having been taken in one day in August, 1876, in a 

 weir near Gloucester, and probably they are far more plentiful out at sea in the 

 southern part of the Gulf than these meager returns would suggest, as might be 

 expected of an oceanic fish that comes inshore only in pursuit of prey, for fishermen 

 often mention schools of them. In August, 1896, for instance, Capt. Solomon 

 Jacobs reported them as very plentiful in the deep water to the northward of Georges 

 Bank, and we ourselves have more than once seen schools of large Scombroids, 

 probably bonito, ofi^ Cape Cod in August. The bonito is more regular in its occur- 

 rence west and south of the cape, being common at Woods Hole and especially off 

 Marthas Vineyard, where 123,000 pounds were marketed in 1902. 



Habits. — The bonito, like all its tribe, is a strong, swift, predaceous inhabitant 

 of the open sea, traveling in schools, preying upon mackerel, alewives, menhaden, 

 and other smaller fish such as launce and silversides, and also upon squid. They 

 are very apt to be noticed, for they jump a great deal when in pursuit of their prey. 



It is not likely that it ever spawns in the Gulf of Maine, nor does it in the north- 

 ern part of its European range. For that matter, nothing is known of its spawning 



^J-Oav 



Fig. 98. — Spanish mackerel (Scomberomorus maculatus) 



habits anywhere, though presumably its eggs are buoyant like those of other Scom- 

 broids, nor has its rate of growth been studied. 



Commercial importance. — The bonito is usually considered a good food fish. 

 It readily bites a bait trolled from a moving boat and a good many are so caught 

 off Block Island, but they are never abundant enough in the Gulf of Maine to be 

 worth fishing for there with hook and line. In Massachusetts Bay the catch is 

 practically all in pounds, etc., except for a few that are seined. 



79. Spanish mackerel {Scomberomorus maculatus Mitchill) 



Jordan and Evermann, 1896-1900, p. 874. 



Description. — The Spanish mackerel has the outline of the slender mackerel 

 rather than the stout bonito, its body being about 4J^ to 5 times as long as deep. 

 There is no danger of confusing it with either of the true mackerels — first, because 

 its two dorsal fins, like those of the bonito, are hardly separated, and second, because 

 of its color pattern. Its high second dorsal, slender form, and spotted sides, mark 

 it off at first glance from our two bonitos, while its color, form, long first dorsal, 

 and the outline of its second dorsal distinguish it from the tuna. The most obvious 

 distinction between the "Spanish" and its close relative the "king" mackerel is 

 that its ventrals are behind the origin of the first dorsal and that there are only 32 

 teeth, or fewer, in each jaw, .and its color. 



