238 



FISHERY BULLETIN OF THE FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE 



Eastward and northward from our limits, the 

 rockling is said to be rather common in Nova 

 Scotia waters in general, coastwise as well as on 

 the fishing banks. The Albatross trawled it at 

 three stations along the continental edge between 

 the offing of southwestern Nova Scotia and of 

 Sable Island, at 93 to 134 fathoms; and while 

 Huntsman 7S describes it as characteristic of the 

 deep channels of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, Danne- 

 vig 79 points out that the stations within the Gulf 

 of St. Lawrence where the Canadian Fisheries 

 Expedition took rockling eggs and larvae in any 

 number, rather generally distributed in the south- 

 ern part, a few in the northeastern part, were all 

 "close to land or above the more shallow banks." 

 Pelagic rockling fry are listed under this name in 

 the Reports of the Newfoundland Fishery Re- 

 search Commission also, from many stations in 

 the Grand Banks region, and around the coast of 

 Newfoundland to the Northern Peninsula on the 

 east and to the inner end of the Strait of Belle 

 Tsle on the west. But it would not be astonishing 

 if the fry of the three-bearded rockling (p. 237) 

 should prove to be represented in these collections, 

 together with those of our fou^-bearded species. 

 Dannevig, indeed, has suggested that part of the 

 rockling eggs taken by the Canadian Fisheries 

 Expedition in Nova Scotian waters and south of the 

 Grand Banks in May and June belonged to some 

 species other than cimbrius. 



Importance. — The rockling is neither large 

 enough nor plentiful enough to be of importance 

 commercially, or of interest to the angler. 



Cusk Brosme brosme (Muller) 1776 



Tusk; Torsk 

 Jordan and Evermann, 1896-1900, p. 2561. 



" Trans. Roy. Soc. Canada, Ser. 3, vol. 12, Sect. 4, 1918, p. 63. 



" Canadian Fisheries Exped. (1941-1915) 1919, p. 27: charts figs. 18, 19. 



Description. — The cusk is separable from all its 

 Gulf of Maine relatives at a glance by the fact 

 that it has only one dorsal fin. The relationship 

 of the anal and dorsal fins to the caudal and the 

 outline of the latter are distinctive also, for both 

 the dorsal and the anal are continuous with the 

 caudal at the base but are separated from it by 

 notches so deep that they are obviously distinct. 

 And the caudal is evenly rounded. The cusk is a 

 more slender fish than the hakes, being only about 

 one-fifth to one-sixth as deep as it is long, round- 

 bodied in front of the vent but flattened sidewise 

 behind the vent, and tapering evenly backward to 

 the base of the caudal fin. The mouth is large, 

 gaping back to opposite the rear third of eye, is 

 set slightly oblique, and is armed with small, 

 sharp, curved teeth. The snout is blunt at the 

 tip. The upper jaw encloses the lower when the 

 mouth is closed; the eye is of moderate size; the 

 chin bears one barbel; and the entire head and 

 trunk are clad with small scales. The dorsal fin 

 (85 to 105 rays) runs the whole length of the 

 back from the nape of the neck, and is of uniform 

 and moderate height from end to end with rounded 

 corners. The anal fin is similar to it in outline 

 but is only a little more than half as long (71 to 76 

 rays). The pectoral fins are rounded, and about 

 half as long as the head. The ventral fins are 

 about as long as the pectorals, with their 5 rays 

 free at the tips, and are situated a little (but ob- 

 viously) in front of the pectorals. All the fins 

 are so thick and fleshy at their bases that it is 

 only near their margins that the rays are to be seen. 

 Color. — The cusk varies in color, no doubt con- 

 forming to the bottoms on which it lives. Its 

 upper parts range from dark slaty to dull reddish 

 brown or to pale yellowish, paling to grayish on 

 the lower part of the sides and to dirty white on 

 , the belly. Old fish are plain colored, the sides 

 of small ones, however, are often cross-barred 



Figure 115. — Cusk {Brosme brosme). Boston market. From Goode. Drawing by H. L. Todd. 



