REPORT OF COMMISSIONERS OF INLAND FISHERIES. 59 



Francisco ; it is very common in the Mediterranean, at the ^ladeiras, 

 and at Southern California. It is said to be plentiful at the Cape of 

 Good Hope. This is the " Spanish Mackerel " of English writers. 



The abundance of the Chub Mackerel on the coasts of the United 

 States has always shown great variation. At the beginning of the 

 last century it was very abundant all along the coast of New England 

 and New York. In 1814 Mitchell wrote of it: " Comes occasionally 

 in prodigious numbers to the coast of New York in autumn. This 

 was memorably the case in 1781 and 1813." Up to 1840 it seems 

 to have been a very abundant fish, but for a number of years after 

 that time it apparently disappeared along the whole coast. In the 

 summer of 1874 a considerable school came into the harbor of Pro- 

 vincetown. It was not present in 1880, but has appeared at inter- 

 vals since that time. In 1886 it was common. July 19, 1887, a 

 menhaden steamer took 50,000 near Ocean City; on July 25 of that 

 year 6,000 were taken by a mackerel schooner off Manasquan, N. J. 

 At Gravesend Bay, L. I., it was very abundant in 1896, but rare in 

 1897. According to Dr. Smith, it is abundant in some years in 

 Vineyard Sound and the lower part of Buzzard's Bay. It is caught 

 in traps and also on lines while fishing for Common Mackerel. It 

 usually arrives in the vicinity of Woods Hole about July 15 and 

 leaves late in October. 



A peculiar fish taken at Block Island by Dr. Seth E. IMeek was 

 supposed to have been a hybrid between the Chub ^lackerel and the 

 Common Mackerel. 



The Chub ^Mackerel is a good fish, and compares favorably in that 

 respect with the Common Mackerel. It is inferior in size, however, 

 being not over 14 inches in length. 



THE FRIGATE MACKEREL. 



{Auxis thazard.) 



PLATE V. 



The Frigate ^Mackerel finds its natural home in the tropical seas. 

 It occasionally strays north as far as Cape Cod, but is very erratic 



