REPORT OF COMMISSIONERS OF INLAND FISHERIES. 63 



Season in R. I.: Usually arrive at Rhode Island about May 1. In 1905 

 they first appeared in Sakonnet River on April 28. The first catch was 

 on May 2 in the scup traps off Sakonnet. June 3 they appeared off the 

 Cape Cod shore. June 5 at Newport marked the beginning of the big 

 run of the season, which culminated June 19. The season closed there 

 June 28. On June 22 was the best catch off Block Island. Scattering 

 fishes are present all summer. On September 6 and 7, 1905, there was a 

 ver\' big run of ''tinkers" at Newport, the harbor being full of them. A 

 similar run usually occurs about this time, though it was exceptionally 

 large this year. Mackerel finally leave in November. February 1, 1906, 

 a single specimen taken in a tide-water pond, Sakonnet River. 



Reproduction: Spawns the middle of May and June, in deep water along 

 the coast from Long Island to the Gulf of St. Lawrence. 



Food: The mackerel strains the sea-water through its gill rakers as it swims 

 open-mouthed through the water, taking in all kinds of small Crustacea 

 and the larvae of marine invertebrates. They also feed on young fishes, 

 especially in the latter part of the summer when these are abundant. 



Size: Reach a length of 2 inches in 30 days from hatching, 4 inches in 45 

 days, 7 inches before the autumn migration. The "blinks " are 2 years old, 

 the "tinkers" 3 years, and the adult size of 17 or 18 inches is reached in 

 the fourth year. (Report U. S. Fish Com., 1879, 32.) 



74. Scomber COlias (Gmelin). Chub Mackerel; Bull's-eye Mackerel. 



Geog. Dist. : Atlantic and Pacific, widely distributed, north to England, 

 Maine, and San Francisco. Appears irregularly on our Atlantic coast. 



Season in R. I.: This species must be .present in Rhode Island waters, 

 though beyond vague reports of fishermen, no definite data are available. 

 Dr. Seth E. Meek describes a peculiar fish taken at Block Island, September 

 16, year not given, which was supposed to be a hybrid between this 

 species and the common mackerel. (Jordan and Evermann, " The Fishes 

 of North America, 866.) 



75. Auxis thazard (Lacepede). Frigate Mackerel; Bonito; Tunny. 

 Geog. Dist.: All warm seas, wandering northward to Cape Cod. 



Season in R. I. : This species has been abundant in some years, but is usually 

 rare or absent. On August 23, 1880, 28 barrels were taken in a mackerel 

 seine ten miles east of Block Island. Immense schools were reported 

 that year between Montauk Point and George's Banks. (Proc. U. S. 

 Nat. Mus., 1880.) One was reported taken at the mouth of Narragansett 

 Bay in the autumn of 1904. 



