462 



FISHERY BULLETIN OF THE FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE 



seem never to have been reported along the coast 

 of the Gulf of Maine, although the local presence 

 of larvae is proof that lumpfish breed all around 

 its coast line, suggests that the eggs are deposited 

 at least a fathom or two down with us. And our 

 capture of recently hatched larvae over Georges 

 Bank is evidence that the latter also serves as a 

 spawning ground in 15 to 25 fathoms or deeper. 

 But the lower depth limit to spawning is yet to 

 be determined. 



Large females of 18 inches may produce up to 

 136,000 eggs which sink and stick together in large 

 spongy masses through which the water circulates 

 freely. Off the coasts of northern Europe these 

 egg masses are often found adhering to rocks or 

 other objects, or in crannies near low- water mark, 

 and watch should be kept for them along the 

 rocky coast line of the Gulf of Maine. 



The male lumpfish guards the eggs until they 

 hatch; his courage and devotion has often been 

 described. 36 Throughout the period of guardian- 

 ship, which he performs fasting, he fans the egg 

 mass constantly, keeping it free of silt and bathed 

 in flowing water, never leaving it except to drive 

 off some intruder. But his vigil ends as soon as the 

 eggs are hatched, leaving him thin and exhausted. 

 The females take no part in guarding the eggs, 

 but are said to move out into deeper water once 

 they have finished spawning. 



The eggs are 2.2 to 2.6 mm. in diameter; pink 

 when first laid but soon change to pale green or 

 yellow, and deepen in tint as development pro- 

 gresses. The larvae are about 4 to 7.4 mm. long at 

 hatching, shaped like a tadpole with a large head 

 and slender tail, swimming actively, and soon able 

 to cling to any bit of weed. At 34 mm. the tuber- 

 cles begin to appear, and the fry then show most of 

 the characters of the adult, except for the large 

 first dorsal fin and slender form. 



Lumpfish larvae and fry of all sizes are to be 

 taken throughout the summer; the smaller ones 

 undoubtedly are from that season's hatch, but the 

 larger ones may be either those hatched earliest 

 that spring, or late in the preceding summer, for 

 the varying stage of development reached by 

 different individuals at various sizes proves that 

 the rate of growth varies widely. Thus Cox and 

 Anderson describe one Cape Breton specimen that 



was only 33 mm. long in July, but that was so 

 mature in outline and in its dermal armature that 

 it must have been at least a year old, whereas they 

 found that in the Bay of Fundy the fry of the 

 year grow to 40 or 50 mm. by December with the 

 yearlings averaging about 58 mm. in July and 

 August. As they remark, the rate of growth is 

 apparently about the same in the Bay of Fundy 

 (probably in the Gulf of Maine as a whole) as it is 

 in Scottish waters, while Gulf of St. Lawrence 

 lumpfish correspond to those about Helgoland, in 

 their slower growth. 



Figure 240.— Larva, 4-5 mm. After Garman. 



•• Fulton (24th Ann. Report, Fishery Board Scotland, (1905) 1906, Pt. 3, p. 169) 

 gives an Interesting eyewitness account of spawning and/>f the guardianship 

 by the male parent over the eggs. 



Figure 241. — Fry, 34 mm. After Garman. 

 Lumpfish (Cyclopterus lumpus) 



Presumably all Gulf of Maine lumpfish upward 

 of 2% inches long are in their second year. Accord- 

 ing to Cox and Anderson lumpfish 3% to 4% inches 

 long are in their third year, those of about 10 

 inches in their fifth year. 37 But lumpfish grow 

 much faster if fed to capacity than on the rations 

 ordinarily available to them; one kept in the 

 aquarium at St. Andrews increased in length from 

 about 3.8 inches to about 12 inches in a little more 

 than 12 months, which is as much as is to expected 

 in 2 or 3 years under natural conditions. 38 Prob- 

 ably maturity is attained in the third year. 



General range. — Both sides of the North At- 

 lantic; White Sea, northern Norway and Iceland 

 to the Bay of Biscay and occasionally to Portugal 

 in the east (including the Baltic); northward in 

 the west to the Gulf of St. Lawrence, Newfound- 

 land, outer coast of Labrador, Hudson Bay, 

 Davis Strait, and Disko (latitude about 70° N.) 



" As estimated from the structure of their vertebrae. 



« According to McKenzle (Proc. Nova Scotlan Inst. Sci., vol. 20, 1939, p. 17) 

 this fish was kept well-fed on chopped clams and herring, but perhaps not to 

 capacity for its appetite seemed Insatiable. 



