PROGRESS IN BIOLOGICAL INQUIRIES, 19 2 7 207 



garded here as local recaptures. From fish tagged off Mount Desert, 

 Me., long migrations were made as follows: South Channel, 2; 

 Georges Bank, 1 ; Jeffreys Ledge, 1 ; Portland, 1 ; Platts Bank, 3 ; and 

 New Brunswick, 2. Other miscellaneous migrations include Booth- 

 bay Harbor, Me., to Platts Bank, Stellwagon, and Georges Banks; 

 Boone Island to Boston Lightship; and Stellwagon Bank to Platts 

 Bank and Chatham. 



This work was efficiently conducted by William C. Schroeder under 

 the general direction of Dr. H. B. Bigelow, of the Museum of Com- 

 parative Zoology, Harvard University. It is planned to continue 

 the investigation in 1928. 



SMELTS OF NEW ENGLAND 



Early in the year an illustrated paper entitled " The Smelts," by 

 William C. Kendall (Bureau of Fisheries Doc. No. 1015), was pub- 

 lished. It comprised a general account of the natural history, fish- 

 cultural propagation, and conservation of the Atlantic smelt, with a 

 history of the smelt fisheries. Prior to and at the time of publication 

 of this document a suplemental paper by the same author was in 

 process of preparation. This second paper embodies additional facts 

 pertaining to these fish. It embraces the important points in their 

 taxonomic history, a discussion of the relationship of the different 

 nominal species of the genus Osmerus, age, growth, and racial pecu- 

 liarities of the salt and fresh water smelts of eastern North America. 

 The problem of relationship of the smelts, particularly those of fresh 

 water, is very complicated and perplexing. Some ichthyologists 

 have regarded the European and American smelts as specifically 

 identical. Others have pronounced them distinct species, although 

 admitting that they are very closely related. As concerns the Ameri- 

 can marine smelt, the conclusion is reached that only one species can 

 be recognized, notwithstanding the group differences that are shown 

 only by averages of the individual variations. 



The smelt of fresh waters present a still more difficult problem. 

 The smelt of each lake are peculiar to their particular lake, in that 

 they show structural differences from those of other lakes. With 

 them, too, the range of individual variation is wide; but the differ- 

 ences (shown only by averages of individual variations) can not be 

 regarded as even admitting them as subspecies, for there is not the 

 requisite intergradation but rather an apparent medley of differ- 

 ences. 



From a fish-cultural standpoint, the most important question to 

 answer is that of the relationship of the two size classes of smelts 

 that occur in some lakes and not in others. However, sufficient mate- 

 rial representing the various localities has not been available to 

 solve the problem positively. It is questionable, even, whether it 

 could be solved by any amount of preserved or dead material. Ex- 

 perimentation with living fish would seem to yield more satisfactory 

 results. However, there is evidence that there have been tAvo lines of 

 development in fresh-water smelt, which began with the divergence 

 from the ancestral common stock before the fish became landlocked. 

 The group variations of each lake are what might be expected to 

 result from isolation and restricted interbreeding. 



