REPORT OF COMMISSIONERS OF INLAND FISHERIES. 41 



The experiences of the past sug-gest the followiuti as jirofitahle 

 lines of future work: 



1. Frequent and systematic visits to the traps with the fishermen. 

 A great \-ariety of information can be obtained in this way which it 

 is difficult to secure otherwise. It is possible by this means to get 

 almost any kind of data desired, on such points as the distribution 

 of the fishes, their times of arrival and departure, abundance, sizes, 

 food, spawning, enemies, etc. Reference to the list of fish-traps 

 and their locations, contained in this report, shows that 240 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, vip and down Sakonnet River, and off the exposed 

 shore of Block Island. These traps, being scattered over such a 

 distance, where the conditions are so ver}^ different, afford a most 

 excellent opportunity of obtaining verj^ reliable data by systemati- 

 cally following trap fishing in a few chosen typical localities. 



2. Young fishes should he carefully studied. Very little work has 

 been done in this line anywhere. Narragansett Bay, which is a 

 favorite spawning ground of so many fishes, affords a great oppor- 

 tunity for original work in this line. The discover}' of means of 

 identification of young fishes of different species is a great desidera- 

 tum. 



3. The different sizes of fishes caught in the traps at different times 

 should be accurately ascertained and compared. This will throw light 

 on such questions as the rate of growth, the age of sexually mature 

 individuals, the movements of schools, etc. 



4. Study of the parasites of the fishes. These may frecjuentl}' 

 furnish clues to their migrations. 



5. Study of the diseases of the fishes by microscopical and bacterio- 

 logical examination of pathological specimens. 



6. Careful observations of the condition of the reproductive organs 

 of the fishes at different times to determine their breeding season. 



