THE SEA FISHERIES OF EASTERN NORTH AMERICA. 185 
Q. It is found from Block Island to the shores of Labrador in great abundance ?— 
A. Yes. 
‘Q. It is pretty fairly distributed all along ?—A. Yes; in some localities they are 
found in greater abundance at some periods of the year; but there is no part of the 
American coast, from Labrador to Block Island, where they are not found during a 
certain number of months. 
Q. What are the movements of this fish 7—A. They present migrations not so ex- 
tensive and demonstrative as that of mackerel, but more so than those of cod. They 
probably move from their ground from time to time in search of food, and generally 
have definite places for spawning, to which they resort at different seasons of the 
year at each particular coast. While the spawn is deposited, as a general rule, in cer- 
tain localities, it is sometimes a matter of uncertainty. The destruction of herring 
has been less in America than in Europe, where it has been very marked. There are 
extensive regions where formerly the herring business was carried on, from which 
they have entirely disappeared, so much so that they import herring from Scotland 
and America. 
Q. As to the egg of the herring ?—A. The egg is larger than that of the cod, and 
is about one-twentieth of an inch in diameter. 
Q. What is the number to each fish ?7—A. About 30,000. 
Q. Do you think they have any particular spawning-ground 7—A. They have defi- 
nite localities that are preferred by them. They spawn round the Magdalen Islands 
_in great abundance, and in the bays of Newfoundland. The most extensive spawning- 
ground on the southern coast is round the southern end of Grand Manan, which is 
one of the most interesting and extensive spawning-grounds I know of. But they 
spawn also all along the reefs and rocky places of the New England coast as far as 
No Man’s Land and Block Island. 
Q. The yield of herring in New England, is it and can it be made very large ?—A. 
I presume as many herring could be taken in New England, in seasons when they are 
able to be taken, as might be called for, if the price of them warranted it. 
Q. Herring does not bring much in the market ?—A. I believe not; they are taken 
in both spring and fall, but they are most abundant in the fall. 
Q. I should like to put one or two questions to you bearing a good deal on this sub- 
ject which the Commission has before it, respecting the kinds of fish which can be 
and are used in the United States. Leaving out cod, mackerel, and herring, will you 
tell the Commission what has been discovered regarding the kinds of fish that are 
used as a substitute for mackerel—salted fish, I mean ?—A. There is a great variety in 
vast .bundance of many kinds of fish all along the coast of the United States, from 
Saint wohn’s River, Florida, and farther south, to the Bay of Fundy, and many of 
those could be utilized to very great advantage if there was a demand. They are 
taken in very ‘arge quantities and. consumed as fresh fish, but they are not prepared 
in large quantities, with the exception of the Southern mullet. 
Q. How far north «a mullet found ?—A. It straggles as far as Cape Cod; it is quite 
abundant at some seasous ot the south side of New England, but not sufficiently so 
for marketable purposes, but off the coast of Virginia and off the Carolinas, and all 
the way down to the extremity of Florida, the mullet is in quantities scarcely credi- 
ble. They are taken and sold in great numbers; many thousands of barrels are put 
up, and if there was any speedy call for them they could be furnished. I presume I 
am safe in saying that one million barrels of mullet could be furnished annually from 
the south shore of Chesapeake Bay to the south end of Florida, if they were called 
for. 
Q. How far has the mullet come into the market now ?—A. The mullet does not 
come into the Northern market at all, but in North Carolina, South Carolina, and 
Georgia it fills the markets at the present time, excluding other kinds of imported 
fish. In former years there was a great demand for herring and mackerel, but the 
Umullet i is supplying the markets because they are sold fresher and supplied at much 
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