No. G.] WIIITEAYES — MARINE FISHERIES. 3^)7 



Crrccn Bays, on the north-oast coast of Xewfounclhmd. They 

 have been cauo-ht in Brns cl'Or Lake, Cape Breton, with herring 

 nets, in winter; also at Port Hood, Cape Breton, in December. 

 During tlie first year mackerel grow to five or six inches in length. 

 The "tinker mackerel,"' spoken of by Perley, are the fry of the 

 common species, which, in the second year, attain a length of 10 

 inches. In the Bay des Chaleurs mackerel spawn in May and 

 June, and occasionally a few as late as July. This fish prefers 

 a rocky bottom, particularly banks; it does not apparently dis- 

 like sandy ground, but seems to avoid muddy bottoms. Ground 

 Menhaden are largely used by American fishermen to bring ttiac- 

 kerel to the surface. The Lower-Canadian fishermen use first 

 coarse salt, and then ground fresh herring, for the same purpose. 

 French Canadians do not seem to understand the proper mode of 

 curing mackerel. They split them the wrong way, do not soak 

 them enough, or kill them at once. This is unfortunate, as 

 mackerel often abound in the northern part of the Gulf, especially 

 in Gaspe Bay, and these badly-cured fish are quite unfit for the 

 market. It is said that the use of purse seincn for taking mac- 

 kerel is a very wasteful mode of fishing, as more are often caught 

 than can be cured, and quantities are killed unnecessarily this 

 way. It might possibly be desirable to prohibit the capture of 

 spawn mackerel. 



Tunny, or Horse Mackerel. — Thymuis tht/nnuft, Linn. 

 Gunther: Orcynus secundo-dorsalis, Storer. Gill. 



Occasionally eaten on the North Shore and on the Labrador 

 coast. A fish largely cured in the Mediterranean, but never, so 

 far as I can learn, prepared for the market by Canadians. 



Tautoga, or Black Fish. — Tautogn onitis, Linn. Gunther 

 and Gill. 



A delicious table fish, but too rarely found to be of much 

 practical value. Very rarely taken at St. John, New Brunswick, 

 and in the Bay of Fundy. 



Cod. — Gadiis moi-rhmr, Linn. Gunther and Gill. 

 Codfish appear to leave shallow soundings and the inshore banks 

 in winter, and co farther out to sea. A large school visits the 

 east coast of Cape Breton, from Chetigan, round by Scatari, in 

 April. Cod appear to spawn all the year round, even in winter. 

 Schools have been taken spawning on Brown and George's Banks, 

 in February and March, also in November and December in the 

 Bay of Fundy and elsewhere. A few codfish are taken now and 

 Vol. YII. w No. 6. 



