PROGRESS IN BIOLOGICAL INQUIRIES, 1939 15 
Tagging —The tagging experiments commenced in 1938 by Dr. 
Rousefell were continued. In June 1938, 628 haddock were tagged 
and released off Mt. Desert Island, Maine, and in June 1939, 538 
additional fish were marked in the same locality. Recoveries from 
both experiments indicate that haddock taken by hook and line from 
a small boat—insuring careful individual handling—can be tagged 
successfully when fishing in depths up to at least 30 fathoms. Tag- 
ging of fish caught at oreater depths has not been attempted. When 
the new research vessel is completed, the same technique may be ap- 
plied to the haddock on the shoaler parts of the offshore banks. 
Of the number of fish tagged in 1938 experiment, 10 percent were 
recaptured. Three types of tags were employed and the recoveries 
consisted of 11.4 percent of the ‘celluloid- disk type, 9.5 percent of the 
“bachelor button” type, and 8 percent of the internal-anchor type, 
but the differences in the percentages of recaptures of fish marked 
by the three methods are not statistically significant. In the 1939 
experiment, from which recoveries are still coming in, 10.2 percent 
of the disk type and 7.3 percent of the button type have been taken 
to date. The disk type thus seems to be proving slightly superior 
to the button. In the 1938 experiment, 49 percent were recaptured 
more than 90 days after their release, 38 percent more than 200 days, 
and 10 percent more than a year later. 
Xn the 1938 experiment, the locality of recapture was available for 
60 of the 63 recoveries. Of these, 52 percent were recaptured within 
10 miles of the point of liberation and 65 percent within 20 miles. 
However, several long migrations were performed, so that although 
the median distance traveled was only 7 miles, the average distance 
was 36.7 miles. Since the 1939 experiment has run for only 8 months, 
the dispersion will not be discussed. 
During the summer months the haddock showed a tendency to mi- 
grate southwestward along the Maine coast. From the time of their 
release in June to the end of October there were 37 recaptures at 
known localities, of which 30 were taken within 20 miles of the point 
of release, and 7 from 30 to 85 miles to the southwest. From Feb. 
28 to May 10, 1939, 6 were taken on Browns and Little La Have 
Banks, from 137 to 182 miles southeastward of the point of release. 
This indication of a southeastward spring migration is confirmed 
largely by the fact that Browns Bank, fished throughout the year, 
yielded recoveries at only the one season. The recovery of two tags 
on Georges Bank raises the question of whether the haddock crossed 
the deep Fundian Channel, separating Browns and Georges Banks, 
or whether they followed a ‘long, roundabout course by way of Cape 
Cod and Nantucket Shoals (one fish was taken 130 miles southwest- 
ward, on Jeffrey’s Ledge), or crossed directly over the Gulf of Maine. 
FLOUNDER 
The flounder fishery of the North Atlantic States is based chiefly 
on 5 species: (1) The lemon sole, Pseudopleuronectes dignabilis; 
(2), the winter flounder or blackback, P. americanus; (3), the grey 
sole or witch, Glyptocephalus cynoglossus; (4) the yellowtail, Limanda 
ferruginea; and (5), the dab, Hippoglossoides platessoides. In 
1937, the most recent year for which complete figures are available, 
the total catch of flounders reached 59,000,000 pounds, worth nearly 
