PROGKESS IN BIOLOGICAL INQUIRIES, 1924 21 



that grilse ^yere rare in Maine waters, and, so far as the fisheries 

 indicated for many years, this appeared to be true. Ho\Yever, it was 

 learned that during the season of 1923 grilse were common in the 

 region of outer Casco Bay, and considerable numbers were taken 

 in mackerel gill nets and in pounds. Some smolts were also caught. 

 A few specimens were secured and scale readings made to determine 

 the ages of both grilse and smolts, as well as adult salmon. 



FISH AM) FI.SHERIES OF KEY WKST 



A report on the fisheries of Key West, Fla., by William C. Schroe- 

 der. has been published (Bureau of Fisheries Document No. 962). 

 It describes the various fisheries of the Florida Keys and includes 

 a detailed account of the clam industry of southwest Florida. 

 Among the subjects treated are reef fishes, the mullet fishery, Span- 

 ish mackerel fishery, kingfish fishery, turtles, spiny lobster, stone 

 crab, sponges, and the hard clam. An annotated list is given of all 

 the known commercial food fishes of Key West, a total of 83 species. 



The director of the Key West laboratory. Isaac Ginsberg, has 

 continued the collection of a representative series of the fishes of this 

 region. Data bearing on the life histories of certain fishes have also 

 been secured. 



LARVAL FISHES OF THE WOODS HOLE REGION 



During the past yenv the investigation of the larval fish of the 

 Woods Hole region has been continued by Marie D. P. Fish. The 

 purjDose of the work has been to study the seasonal distribution of 

 the species occurring in this vicinity in relation to the physical 

 factors of temperature, salinity, etc.. and particularly in relation to 

 the other organisms occurring with them in the sea. The material 

 and data will serve also as a basis for a study of the food of larval 

 fish to be carried on later. The collections were made by suspending 

 silk plankton nets from the Bureau of Fisheries' dock for four 

 hours, on the rising tide, daily during the spring and summer 

 months, and three times weekly during the late fall and winter. 

 Drawings were made of deA^elopmental stages not already known, 

 and a constant watch is kept for undescribed stages of all species. 



A series of cruises was made on the Phahrrope in Buzzards Bay 

 and Vineyard Sound during the summer and fall of 1923, a 6-foot 

 young-fish trawl being used in addition to the usual small plankton 

 nets. These collections showed the occurrence of larval fish in 

 neighboring localities. 



A collection of larval fish made daily at the station in 1921 has 

 been identified and all species recorded. Another large collection 

 made by the late W. W. Welsh has also been transferred from Wash- 

 ington to Woods Hole, and much new material will probably be 

 found among these slides. 



An investigation of the early development of the cod, haddock, 

 and pollock, to supplement the tagging investigation now being car- 

 ried on by the bureau, was begun on May 1 by Dr. Charles J. Fish, 

 assisted by Marie D. P. Fish. The conditions existing during the 

 period of incubation of the eggs, the early larval history, the food 

 during this period, the enemies, and the gradual changes in the feed- 



