c.4-\.i/^/.i \ ijsnj:h'ii:s i:.\ri:i>ii los, ini'i-io xxvii 



These finds led me to expect that we should, on the later summer cruise, encounter 

 quantities of larvae of the species in question. To my surprise, however, this cruise 

 likewise yielded hardly anything beyond cod eggs and only a very few larviv indeed. 

 A characteristic feature, also, was the fact that we found arctic forms (MuUotus) in 

 the northern part of the gulf; eggs and larvie of southern forms (Ctenolahrus, 

 mackerel) in the southern part, with Sehastes, as before, sharply limited to the waters 

 immediately above the Laurentian channel. 



Outside the gulf we found, on both cruises of the Acadia, a scanty occurrence of 

 cod eggs. Beyond this, I will here only mention a considerable occurrence of Mer- 

 luccius in this water, and Scopelids out on the edge; these last aflFording sufficient tes- 

 timony that the investigations had covered the whole breadth of the coastal zone. 



The most remarkable point in connection with these hauls was the extreme 

 paucity of the older egg stages, and of all larval forms. It was therefore necessary 

 first of all to study the ratio between eggs and larvae in our present material, and to 

 compare the same with what was known from other waters in this respect. Mr. 

 Dannevig's paper gives a critical treatment of this question, and it will be noted, that, 

 as he expresses it (p. 44) " the gulf of St. Lawrence i's considerably behind the other 

 localities with respect to the occurrence of later stages, both in the case of the earlier 

 investigation and those made subsequently (Princess I, Princess II, and No. 33). 

 The ova have evidently a far poorer chance of being developed and hatched than in 

 other places." The few experimental hauls made by the No. S3, and the information 

 gleaned from fishermen in conversation also confirmed the view that in the gulf of St. 

 Lawrence, very few young fish of any species are known to occur at all. The question 

 is, of course, of vital importance for the study of the stock of fish in the water. How, 

 then, are we to explain the facts as they appear? 



The results of the European fishery investigations lead apparently to the conclu- 

 sion that all boreal forms of food fish are restricted to water with positive temperature, 

 rarely occurring, indeed, in water under 2° C. In the Arctic ocean, the Greenland 

 seaj and the deepest part of the Norwegian sea, where the temperature varies from 0° 

 to - 1-5° C, only arctic forms of fish are found: here, however, in the gulf of St. Law- 

 rence and on the Newfoundland banks, we encountered masses of cod eggs floating in 

 and immediately above thick water layers colder than 0°, even below — 1° C. Our 

 fishing experiments, with hand lines, for instance, had showed beyond any possibility 

 of doubt that the cod themselves really were to be found in this cold layer, which 

 immediately covers the sea floor, while this water contained the very youngest stages of 

 spawned eggs, but hardly any of the older stages at all. Were we then to suppose that 

 these millions of fish were here spawning under conditions which doomed their milliards 

 of eggs to destruction? Naturally, the question could not be answered by means of such 

 investigations as those upon which we were then engaged : to do so would have required 

 a vessel, say like the Michael Bars, able to devote itself entirely throughout a whole 

 season to all kinds of work in the water concerned. Hatching and cultivation experi- 

 meaits would be necessary, as also intensive experimental fishing for young stages, etc. 

 Failing all this, and wishing to throw some light upon the problem, if possible, I 

 applied to Prof. August Krogh and Dr. A. C. Johansen, of Copenhagen, with a request 

 that they would institute experiments in order to ascertain whether cod eggs from 

 Danish waters could be satisfactorily spawned and hatched out in water of such low tem- 

 perature. The results of the experiments made by these two gentlemen are quoted in 

 Mr. Dannevig's paper, and it will be seen that they give no groimds for supposing that 

 the temperature alone should ofi"er any hindrance to the development of the eggs. 



Again, it might be supposed that the cod eggs were carried out from the gulf, en 

 masse, as is known to be the case in European waters, where they are transported by 

 the movement of the water to a great distance from the spawning grounds. The hydro- 

 graphical papers in the present volume, as also Dr. Huntsman's plankton report, con- 

 tain numerous facts pointing very markedly in this direction. It is impossible, how- 



