,268 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 



APPENDIX A. 



CIRCULAR RELATING TO "STATISTICS OF THE MENHADEN FISHERY." 



Office United States Commissioner of Fish and Fisheries, 



Washington, D. C. 



Among the most important of the marine fishes of the coast of the 

 United States is the species known as the Mossbunker about Long Island 

 and New Jersey ; bony-tisli and menhaden on the south coast of New 

 England; and pogy (not porgy) on the eastern coast; elsewhere as the 

 bug fish, yellow-tail, &c., and by naturalists as Brevoortla menhaden. 

 Generally considered unfit for food, it is principally captured for bait or 

 for its oil, and for the scrap or refuse left after the oil is squeezed out 

 by means of the hydraulic press. 



It is considered very desirable to obtain as full an account as possi- 

 ble of the habits, migrations, &c., of this fish, as well as complete sta- 

 tistics of its capture and uses. I therefore beg leave to call attention 

 to the following queries, and to request answers to as many as practi- 

 cable. It is not necessary to repeat the queries, a reference to the num- 

 ber affixed to the question being sufficient. Replies should be made on 

 foolscap paper, if equally convenient, and written on one side only of 

 the page. 



The information thus obtained will be embodied in a report to Con- 

 gress, in which full credit will be given to all contributors. 



SPENCER F. BAIRD, 



Commissioner. 



Smithsonian Institution, December 20, 1873. 



A. — Name. 



1. By what name is this species known in your vicinity? 



B. — Abundance. 



2. How does this fish compare in abundance with others found in 

 your vicinity? 



3. Has it diminished or increased in numbers within the last ten 

 years? 



4. What was the number of barrels taken in 1873 by any or all estab- 

 lishments in your vicinity— naming them, if possible? Give the same 

 facts for any other year. 



5. Does the extensive capture affect their abundance? 



C. — Migration and movements. 



6. When are the fish first seen or known to come near the coast, and 

 when does the main body arrive ; are the first the largest ; are there 

 more schools or runs than one coming in, and at what intervals? 



