THE SEA FISHERIES OF EASTERN NORTH AMERICA. 191 
‘becomes very numerous, and is destroying useful fish, it either disappears in time, or 
by what we regard as the regular course of nature and the work of man, that fish 
diminishes, or is exterminated, and others take its place ?—A. After they have eaten 
up. everything, they will start out and go somewhere else. Whenever they have 
made their favorite food scarce they go somewhere else. So it is a very serious ques- 
tion as to what had better be done, no matter what promise there may be in regard 
to altering the relations willfully and purposely between the different forms of the 
animals of the sea. If you take them for food, you allow the consequences to come 
as they may, but any question of protecting one kind of fish, or destroying or exter- 
minating others, should always be considered with a great deal of care, and from a 
great many points of view that do not strike the mind or attention at first thought. 
Q. To undertake to regulate the relations of fish beyond shoal water where you can 
fish with nets, seines, and pounds, would be impracticable ?—A. It would be very 
difficult, indeed, and the effect would probably be very trifling. 
Q. You spoke yesterday of the fish of the Southern States, the fisheries of which 
in the new order of things are being rather more developed by greater diversity of 
industry, and so forth; can you mention any other fish that are coming into use ?— 
A. There are a great many species, probably not less than fifty, all having a definite 
value as an article of food, and all caught and consumed on the coast, or sent in lim- 
ited quantities either to the northern markets or to Cuba, that could be taken into 
consideration, but perhaps the capture of the fish that takes the rank of fisheries re- 
lates more particularly to the mullet, menhaden, striped bass, and bluefish. There 
is a very extensive fishery of bluefish on the southern coast. The bluefish, after leay- 
ing the northern waters, spends a certain time on the coast of Virginia and North 
Carolina, and by the time it gets back there it has attained enormous dimensions, 
the fishes being generally from 12 to 15 pounds, at which size they are found only cas- 
ually and occasionally on the northern coast. It is not at all an uncommon thing for 
one fishery of a single locality to take 3,000 bluefish averaging 12 pounds each fish. 
Q. What do you mean by one fishery 7—A. A single station at one particular point, 
the fishing being controlled by one man or firm. An enormous number of bluefish 
are sent late in fall and in early winter to the northern markets. 
Q. So that when bluefish leave the New England coast they do not disappear 
altegether from the American coast ?—A. Notatall. It disappears some time in Feb- 
ruary, and where it goes we cannot tell. 
Q. It disappears from the southern coast?—A. Yes; a small school of bluefish is 
found all the year south to Florida, but the large school of bluefish usually disap- 
pears in February, and, indeed, I may say we never see it again. The fish, as they 
make their appearance in spring, are smaller fish. 
Q. Do they first appear on the south coast of New England ?--A. On first appear- 
ing on the coast of Carolina and Virginia, they come in something like the mackerel, 
only they have a rather more coastwise travel because they do not spawn on the . 
_ northern coast. Probably the big bluefish go out somewhere to spawn, but what be- 
comes of them, whether they spawn themselves out to a condition of nonentity I 
cannot say. We do not see them; they may go to Africa, or the Mauritius, for blue- - 
fish are found ali the world over; but whether they go to any other portion of the 
world from the United States I cannot say. 
Q. What have you to tell the Commission about menhaden at the South 7—A. The 
menhaden is a very important fish on the south coast as an articleof food. Itis caught, 
salted, and pickled, and to some extent used in the country. There is quite a large 
export of menhaden to the West Indies from the Southern States. 
Q. Is it used fresh ?—A. It issalted and pickled; it is also eaten fresh very largely, 
and considered a very capital article of food. 
Q. You have eaten it yourself?—A. Yes; itis a sweet fish, quite as good as herring, 
_ but rather more bony; the bones are, however, more adherent to the skeleton. You 
can prepare menhaden by maceration, so that the greater part of the bones will stick 
