PROGRESS IN BIOLOGICAL INQUIRIES, 1939 11 
during the remainder of the year. Sufficient data concerning 675 
mackerel trips were secured by interview to provide representative 
information concerning fleet activity. A total of 49,000 mackerel 
measurements will form a basis for population studies, and 450 scale 
samples will enable age determinations to be made. 
Considerable difficulty has been experienced in developing a suitable 
tag and tagging technique, for mackerel in order to study the migra- 
tion problem. Several kinds of tags have been tried, but they have 
ielded discouragingly low percentages of returns. Experiments con- 
ducted by Mr. Webster at Woods Hole in August indicated, beyond 
reasonable doubt, that the chief problem of tagging is one of handling 
mackerel properly. 
HADDOCK 
The North Atlantic haddock fishery of the United States extends 
from the coast of southern New England to the western portion of 
the Grand Banks, and in the past 13 years has produced between 150 
and 250 million pounds annually. The peak years came between 
1928 and 1930, but they were followed by a rapid decline to approxi- 
mately 150 million pounds in 1932. Since 1932 the catch never has 
approached the 1928-30 level. The fishery in 1939 was comparatively 
successful from the point of view of the industry. The total catch 
of 135 million pounds landed at Boston, Gloucester, and Portland 
(which accounts for 80 to 90 percent of the United States total) was 
slightly higher than in 1938 in spite of labor troubles which tied up 
many of the large trawlers for several weeks. Prices averaged about 
11 percent above 1938, so that the total value of the above catch 
reached $3,693,000. The increase in the price of scrod was particu- 
larly noticeable, for after a poor start during the period January— 
March the price rose above that of the previous year and maintained 
the advantage for the balance of the season. The average increase 
for the year was 35 percent. 
Two-thirds of the 1939 catch came from area X XIT So. (Georges 
Bank and South Channel) and present experience indicates that on 
the average this area will continue to supply the bulk of the New 
England haddock catch in the predictable future. Prior to 1935, be- 
tween 70 and 90 percent of the catch ordinarily came from this area. 
However, the appearance of the tremendously abundant 1929 year 
class on the Nova Scotian Banks caused a shift of fishing activities 
which reduced the Georges catch in 1934 to 30 percent, and in 1935 
to 40 percent of the total. With the exhaustion of this great year 
class, there has been a progressive shift of fishing activity back to 
Georges Bank. As no year class comparable to that of 1929 has been 
observed on the Nova Scotian Banks in subsequent years, while sev- 
eral have appeared on Georges Bank, it would appear that the latter 
bank is more regularly productive than the former, and, except for 
limited intervals, will continue to be our principal source of supply. 
The trend back to Georges Bank in 1939 was stimulated by the cam- 
paign for an improvement in the quality of fish and has emphasized 
the importance of short trips. This makes fishing on Georges Bank 
particularly advantageous, since most of the bank is less than 1 day’s 
run from Boston. 
