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improvement of river fisheries which had been almost 

 destroyed by dams and over fi.shinir, and one of the prin- 

 cii)al duties of the U. S. Commissioner has been to aid 

 in this work by experiments in breeding and transporting 

 yonng fishes, and the introduction of new and prom- 

 ising kinds. In regard to the sea fisheries there exists 

 among interested persons the greatest variety of opinions. 

 Some consider them as praclically inexhaustible, while 

 others are equally sure the enlarged market and improved 

 methods of fishing are slowly reducing the supply on the 

 best fishing grounds. In order to collect what is known 

 on the sul)ject, printed lists of questions are sent to fisher- 

 men and other persons along the coast and the answers to 

 these are chissified and recorded, and tlie most useful i)ub- 

 lished in the commissioner's reports. Every summer Prof. 

 Baird and several other naturalists visit some town on the 

 coast, and make direct observations on the Hshes and other 

 marine animals. As com[)lete a collection as possible is 

 made of the fislies in the neighborhood. The stomachs of 

 fishes are examined to learn on what they feed and a gen- 

 eral collection made of all the marine animals and plants. 

 The shallower waters are explored between tides, and the 

 deeper l)y sounding and dredging. For the latter pur- 

 poses a government steatner is usually placed at the ser- 

 vice of the Commissioner t'ov a month or two. 



The dredging is superintended by Prof. Verrill of Yale 

 College, and all the animals collected, excei)t the fishes, 

 are sent to him at New Haven for further study. The tirst 

 season was spent at Wood's Hole, and the results are pub- 

 lished in the Second Report of the Fish Conmiissioner. 

 The following seasons were spent at Eastport and Port- 

 land on the coast of Maine, and at Noank, Connecticut. 

 This year it was decided to explore the fi>heries of Mas- 

 sachusetts Bay, and for this purpose Prof. Baird, Prof. 



