406 U. S. BUREAU OF FISHERIES 



The propagation of haddock was somewhat curtailed as compared 

 with other years, owing to a prevaihng scarcity of fish throughout 

 the season. The run appeared later than usual, and 237,770,000 

 eggs were taken between March 19 and May 14. As was the case in 

 the cod work, the low water density in the hatchery at the time the 

 eggs were secured necessitated the planting of large numbers on the 

 spawning grounds as fertilized eggs. 



In the latter part of February work with the winter flounder was 

 taken up and prosecuted in connection with cod and haddock opera- 

 tions. Brood fish of this species to the number of 28<s were captured 

 in fyke nets set in Gloucester Harbor, and from them 102,740,000 eggs 

 were obtained, the spawning season extending from March 19 to 

 April 25. A noteworthy feature of this work was the unusually large 

 size of the brood fish. One of them — the largest ever handled at the 

 Gloucester station — measured sy^ inches in width, weighed Sj^ 

 pounds, and yielded 2,144,000 eggs. 



WOODS HOLE (mass.) STATION 

 [W. H. Thomas, Superintendent] 



The efforts made to propagate cod at this station were almost a 

 complete failure. Owing to the unseasonably mild water tempera- 

 tures, which prevailed throughout the fall and early winter in all 

 coastal waters of the region, no schools of cod were in evidence either 

 at the traps at Narragansett Pier, iipon which the station is depend- 

 ent for its brood stock, or in Cape Cod Bay, where eggs of this spe- 

 cies were plentiful last year. No results whatever were obtainable 

 from the fishing traps, which were in continuous operation up to 

 the end of November. Late in October the steamer Phalarope and 

 a force of spawn takers proceeded to the eastern entrance of Cape 

 Cod Canal to establish headquarters for the collection of spawn, the 

 indications at that time being that the capture of cod in this field 

 would at least equal the catch of the previous winter. Men were 

 also sent to the usual cod-fishing centers along the coasts of Connec- 

 ticut and Rhode Island. In all fields v^isited it was found that water 

 temperature conditions were abnormal to the extent of excluding 

 the migration of spawning cod in any of the coastal waters within 

 reach of the station. The total results of the season's efforts were 

 4,779,000 eggs from fields that had yielded nearly 670,000,000 last 

 year. Incidental to the search for cod spawn a few pollock eggs 

 were taken in Cape Cod Bay and incubated. 



In advance of the spawning season quite extensive arrangements 

 were made for the propagation of winter flounder, the prevailing 

 mild weather indicating that brood fish in large numbers would be 

 available. The fyke nets set at Waquoit, Mass., were successfully 

 operated early in the season, but toward the last of February very 

 nearly normal weather set in, and the formation of ice on the fishing 

 grounds made it difficult to handle tlie nets. The work in this field 

 was prosecuted from early in January to March 10, and a sufficient 

 number of brood fish were secured to yield upward of 507,000,000 

 eggs. The search was also extended to fields formerly occupied in 

 the vicinity of Wickford, R. I., and Block Island and Noank, Conn.^ 



