PROGRESS IN BIOLOGICAL INQUIRIES, 1923. 



CHESAPEAKK BAY. 



Work on a report on the fish and fisheries of Chesapeake Bay has 

 been continued during the year by S. F. Hildebrand and W, C. 

 Schroeder. Gratifying progress has been made. A large collection of 

 fishes is on hand, and much of it has been worked over and identifica- 

 tions made. Many of the more important species are represented 

 by large series of specimens, and from these considerable information 

 is being derived as to the life histories, rate of growth, etc. Impor- 

 tant data bearing on the extent and nature of the commercial fisheries 

 have been collected and are being put into shape suitable for publi- 

 cation. 



SALMONID.i: AND SMELTS. 



In the fall of 1922 work on the completion of important studies 

 on the Salmonidw and smelts of the Atlantic coast and coastal fresh 

 waters was undertaken by Dr. William C. Kendall, a former assist- 

 ant of the bureau. The greater part of this work involved the assem- 

 bling and arranging of notes and the study and tabulation of data 

 of several years* accumulation. Most of the time was devoted to the 

 smelt problem, with the result that work on it is somewhat further 

 advanced than that on the Salmonidse. The question of the relation- 

 ship of trouts ( Salmonidse) was also taken up from time to time. 

 The problem is a complicated one and requires careful examination 

 of many specimens from various localities and the tabulation of sta- 

 tistical measurements and counts. The studies so far indicate that 

 many of the supposed rainbow trout of the Northwestern States are 

 steelheads. 



The smelts of the region referred to for years have afforded, and 

 still afford locally, a valuable fishery in themselves as well as a valu- 

 able food supply for other important fishes, but they are suffering 

 gradual depletion. These studies have been undertaken with a view 

 to developing information that may be utilized in the conservation of 

 the species. In a popular account that has been completed during 

 the past year regard has been given to geogi'aphical distribution, 

 habits, breeding, food, rate of growth, sizes attained, mortality, ene- 

 mies, history of the fisheries, methods of the fisheries (both commer- 

 cial and angling), and to legislation and protection. A more tech- 

 nical account has been begun. To throw light on the life history of 

 the smelts, the scales are being studied and many proportional meas- 

 urements made to determine the relationship between the marine and 

 fresh-water forms. The relationship of the fresh-water smelts from 

 various localities has also been given consideration, and studies of 

 their evolution, embryology, and anatomy, and classification as to 

 families, genera, and species, have been made. 



LARVAL FISHES OF THE WOODS HOLE REGION. 



A study of the larval fishes of the Woods Hole region has been be- 

 gun by Marie D. P. Fish, and a considerable quantity of interesting 

 material has been collected. The study of larval fishes has been 

 greatly neglected, very little information on the subject being avail- 

 able. With the increased attention that is being given to biological 

 studies of the various fishes, this sort of knowledge becomes of in- 

 creasing importance. Attention is being devoted to the collection 



