74 REPORT OF COMMISSIONERS OF INLAND FISHERIES. 



Season in R. I.: The first stragglers appear about the last of April. The 

 first large run comes early in May, and consists of large breeding fish. 

 The second or summer run comes after the breeders and is composed of 

 small fishes without spawn. They are said to come in from the west and 

 south. They are very abundant in May and June" stragglers remain all 

 summer; they finally leave the last of October. In 1900 the first arrival 

 was April 21, reaching Cuttyhunk April 26, Woods Hole on May 1. In 

 1901 the first arrival was April 26. The dates of arrival of the scup in 

 Taunton River from 1871 to 1883 range from May 27 in 1880 to June 1 in 

 1882. The earliest recorded appearance in Rhode Island is probably 

 April 15 in 1871. The greatest abundance of that year in Newport was 

 on the 15th of May. In 1905, Capt. Church of Tiverton caught a single 

 scup on May 1st at Newport. On May 11th the sea fowl appeared outside 

 Newport Harbor, the usual sign of the approach of the schools. First 

 good catch was made on May 16; smaU catches were made until June 4, 

 when for a few days the largest hauls of the season were made. The 

 season ended June 25 in the Bay, while at Block Island it lasted until after 

 June 27. The season this year was poorer than usual, due perhaps to the 

 fact that on May 16 and a few days following there was an exceptionally 

 large run of pollock along the whole shore from Brenton's Reef to Sakonnet 

 Point. 



Reproduction: The first runs consist of large breeding fish filled with 

 spawn. The eggs are deposited on eelgrass and sandy shores; they sink 

 to the bottom and adhere to solid objects. Fishermen say that 

 the scup spawn in the pounds when being confined there. The eggs 

 hatch in a very few days, and the young can often be seen swimming 

 around on the surface with the yolk sac visible. As they grow older 

 they continue to remain in and around the pounds, apparently for protec- 

 tion. Spawning season is over not long after June 1, as is shown by the 

 taking of spent fishes and by the fact that, about this time, the scup begin 

 to take the hook. 



Enemies: Bluefish, cod, halibut, shark, squeteague. 



Food: Invertebrates chiefly, though small fishes are sometimes found in the 

 stomachs of large specimens. Molluscs, Crustacea, annelids, squids, 

 hydroids, crepidulae. Stomachs of small specimens usually contain 

 chiefly copepods and other small Crustacea. 



Size: The young 4 or 5 inches long are sometimes taken in the seine in 

 September and October on sandy shores. The young reach i to 3 inches 

 long in July. (Smith, Fishes of Woods Hole, loc. cit.) 



