PROPAGATION AND DISTRIBUTION OF FOOD FISHES, 1925 473 



BooTHBAY Harbor (Me.) Station 

 [E. E. Hahn, Superintendent] 



As in recent j^ears, fish-cultural operations at this station were confined to the 

 propagation of winter flounder, a careful wpitch maintained by the station force 

 on all fishing grounds in the vicinity having failed to disclose any source of supply 

 for cod, haddock, mackerel, or alewife eggs. On March 1 the work of obtaining 

 brood winter flounder was taken up by the steamer Gannet and two smaller 

 vessels, 88 fyke nets being set in numerous coves and harbors over an area 

 extending from Penobscot Bay to Casco Bay. Of these, 46 were operated by 

 the Gannet and its crew while the station force in the smaller boats tended the 

 remaining nets. Collections were discontinued on May 11, 9,203 breeders hav- 

 ing been secured. The number would have been much larger but for the occur- 

 rence of an accident at the height of the season. While operating nets in Casco 

 Bay the steamer's skag was carried away in a gale, necessitating the withdrawal 

 of the boat from the field for two weeks while a new skag was cast and installed. 

 The captured fish provided 2,027,901,000 eggs, establishing a record far better 

 than that of any seiison in the station's history. The fish were held in tanks in 

 the hatchery pending the full development of the eggs when they were stripped 

 and immediately liberated in the station harbor. At one time during the spawn- 

 ing season eggs were taken in such numbers that the hatchery was filled to 

 overflowing and a large surplus had to be held in floating boxes installed in the 

 harbor until the development of older lots of eggs provided hatching space for 

 them. 



On the completion of fish-cultural activities a supply of local fishes, seals, and 

 Crustacea was collected with the view of providing the usual summer aquarial 

 display, 25 tanks arranged in the hatching room being used for the exhibit. 

 This feature of the work is of great interest to the many daily visitors to the 

 hatchery. 



Gloucester (Mass.) Station 



[C. G. Corliss, Superintendent] 



Reports having been received late in October that ripe pollock were being 

 taken in large numbers near Plymouth, Mass., employees from the Gloucester 

 station were sent out some days in advance of the usual time to make collections. 

 The first eggs were taken on October 28, and between that time and the close of 

 spawning operations on the 7th of January, 430,648,000 had been secured. Over 

 90 per cent of these were derived from gill nets operating around Plymouth and 

 Duxbury, the fisheries off Cape Ann yielding only comparatively few. During 

 the first three weeks of the season the eggs were, from some unknown cause, 

 inferior in quality, and the losses during incubation were large. As a result of 

 the work with this species 222,890,000 fry were hatched and planted in the 

 coastal waters of Massachusetts. 



The results of the year's work in cod propagation were the best in the history of 

 the station. The egg-collecting season was a long one, extending from shortly 

 after the middle of November to nearly the close of the third week in May. 

 The first eggs were secured incidentally, in occasional small batches, with pollock 

 spawn. As soon as the pollock work ended the energies of the station force were 

 concentrated on the cod work. However, the results during January were poor, 

 owing to stormy weather, but from the beginning of February to the close of the 

 spawning season natural conditions were generally favorable and the egg receipts 

 during that entire period were very large. Up to the first of April all eggs taken 

 were brought to the hatchery and incubated, but subseciuent to that date the 

 low water density (resulting from spring freshets) necessitated the fertilization and 

 immediate planting of all eggs on the spawning grounds. Of the total collections, 

 amounting to 1,219,468,000 eggs, over one-third were incubated and the resulting 

 fry liberated off Cape Ann and adjacent points. The Woods Hole (Ma.ss.) 

 station was furnished 1,750,000 green eggs for experimental work, and the re- 

 maining eggs were planted. 



Haddock propagation was taken up late in March and prosecuted in connec- 

 tion with the cod work. The daily catch of haddock being small, the fishermen 

 soon became discouraged and transferred their attention to the more remunera- 

 tive cod, thus reducing the supply of eggs. Nearly all of the 174,603,000 secured 

 during the season (extending from March 20 to May 16) had to be planted as soon 

 as fertilized, owing to unsuitable water conditions in the hatchery. 



