lo4 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. [44] 



scarcity and abundance. They leave the shores about October Ist to 

 the 10th, quite gradually. Their appearance is regular and certain. 

 The small ones appear first, but they continue to improve during their 

 stay. Their arrival is known by their capture and the ripple on the water. 

 Maclierel are not anadromous. Their favorite resorts are about rook* 

 in sluiilow water." 



Mr. U. S. Treat, of Eastport, Me., makes the following report in re- 

 gard to tlie movements of mackerel: 



"Mackerel come in from the west. Their presence is known by the 

 ripple they make at or near the surface. They pass out toward the 

 west, touching at the bays and harbors. They are last seen 'in the Gulf 

 of Mexico late- in the season. They first appear in April or May, and 

 the main body arrives in August and September. The largest and fat- 

 test are taken in September and October. Several schools or 'runs' 

 come in at short intervals. They leave in October and November ia 

 a body. Their appearance is regular, although they sometimes fail 

 to go as far north as at other times. Want of food is supposed to be 

 the cause of thi^ thing. The first runs are of the average size, and 

 are poor ; the later runs are of good size, and are fat. Both sexes com© 

 at the same time, and the spawn in the female is well matured. Neither 

 will take the hook readily on first arriving. They swim high, but rarely 

 attract birds. They leave the shores at ebb tide and return at flood 

 tide. The sx)awn often runs out of the female when taken with the hook 

 or caught in a net. The spawn is often seen floating in seines and weirs. 

 The mackerel is not anadromous. Fish of all ages are found on the 

 breeding grounds. These fish are found in both deep and shoal water, 

 and on very different bottoms. The general average temperature oi 

 bays and the ocean seems to suit this fish quite well." 



Prof. H. Y. Hind thus discusses their movements in the Gulf of Saiufc 

 Lawrence : 



"The mackerel regularly appear at the Magdalen Islands in the Gulf 

 of Saint Lawrence about one month after the first arrival of the herring. 

 The time as far as observed during 18G1 to 18GG inclusive, 1871 and 

 1873 to 187G inclusive, varied from the 30th May to the 12th June. 



"The following table shows the dates of the first appearance of the 

 herring and the mackerel at Pleasant Bay during the years named. 

 The authorities are to be found in the official reports of officers engaged 

 in the protection of the fisheries, in Captain Fortin's reports, and in 

 other published documents relating to the Canadian fisheries in th« 

 annual sessional papers. 



" In Cai)tain Fortin's report for 1853, herring are stated to have arrived 

 about the 1st of May of that year, and the mackerel fishing to have been 

 nearly finished on the 7th of June. 



