52 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 
surface, and are generally most abundant within a few miles of the 
shore. These include a great variety of fishes on the American coast, 
confined for the most part to the United States and the region south of 
Cape Cod, which do not enter fresh waters, but are found, during the 
summer season at least, and are most abundant near the shore or on 
particular spots not far distant. 
So far as we at present know, our information, however, being ex- 
tremely imperfect, they come in regularly from the deep waters of the 
ocean, probably from the western edge of the Gulf Stream, in the spring 
of the year to spawn, remaining until fall. A few, as cunner and 
tautog, can be fonnd at almost all seasons of the year. The rest, how- 
ever, retrace their steps to spend the winters in the warmer depths out- 
side, probably along the edges of the Gulf Stream. 
The principal fish of this group are as fcllows: 
Series 1. Series 2. 
The Scup or Porgy, The Sheepshead, 
The Squeteague or Weakfish, The Lafayette, 
The Sea Bass, The Drum, 
The Sea Robin (Prionotus), The Whiting, 
The Tautog, The Kingfish, 
The Cunner, The Red Snapper, " 
Certain flat-fish, The Red Bass, 
The Dogfish and other Sharks. The Pompano, 
The Mullet. 
Of these the members of Series 1 are known to come in immense 
schools in the early spring on the south coast of New England, and. are 
taken extensively in traps, pounds, and wiers. The movements of 
Series 2 are less well defined. They make their appearance on the 
coast in gradually increasing quantity, although farther south they are 
found in moderate numbers throughout the whole year. 
There are two dogfish taken, one, the spinous dog (Acanthias ameri- 
canus), coming first in enormous numbers, the livers furnishing a large 
supply of oil; the other, the smooth dog, succeeding it in smaller num- 
bers. The spinous dog scarcely belongs to this section, as it does not 
remain inshore during the summer south of Cape Cod, although abund- | 
ant north of it. It might be placed with the pelagic fishes but for not 
showing at the surface. It, however, appears more in enormous schools 
along the coast during spring and fall, and is very obnoxious to the 
fishermen, as all fishing becomes unproductive whenever the dogfish 
inake their appearance. 
An analogous movement is seen in certain fishes of the Great Lakes, 
as the salmon or lake trout, whitefish, &c., which, while residing for 
the greater part of the year in the deep waters where they are more or 
less undisturbed, during the spawning season (in the autumn) come in- 
shore, especially the whitefish, and are taken in immense numbers by 
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