270 EEPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. [34] 



how many of these dead or helpless fish were there floating upon the 

 ocean's surface ? 



We are aided somewhat in making the estimate by the reports of the 

 several captains. Captain Jorgensen says they were " only scattering, 

 sometimes as many as twenty being seen at a time near the vessel." 

 Captain Lawrence remarks : " All around us, and for miles back of us, 

 was filled with these fish." Captain Rich is more explicit. He writes : 

 " Sometimes there would be only two or three in sight, and at others 

 thirty or forty of them." Captain Lamb saw them more abundant than 

 any one else, and estimates that in a space as large as his cabin there 

 would be fifty fish. As the cabin would in all probability not be, at the 

 most, more than 18 feet long by 15 wide, or about a square rod in area, this 

 gives us a fair basis for making an estimate, but it seems that we ought 

 to base our calculations on a much smaller number than was seen by 

 Captain Lamb. That the fish were exceedingly abundant and literally 

 covered the seas over a large part of the area where they were seen is 

 altogether probable. Mr. A. R. Crittenden, who has had unusual op- 

 portunities for conversing with the captains who saw these dead fish, 

 tells me that they all say that, while in some places the fish were com- 

 paratively scattering, for the most part they were so thick on the water 

 that the vessels, as they sailed along, turned from either side of their 

 bows " windrows of floating Lopholatilus.''^ 



Taking as a starting point the estimate of Captain Lamb, and cal- 

 culating that the fish averaged in abundance one-twentieth what he 

 reported their numbers to be, we find that there would be 256,000 in a 

 square mile, and the astounding total of 1,438,720,000 fish drifting about 

 on this part of the ocean in a dead or benumbed condition. Now, 

 placing the average of these fish at 10 pounds, which is a little less than 

 the average weight of Tile-fish, we get 14,387,200,000 pounds, or about 

 288 pounds of fish to each of the 50,000,000 of inhabitants of the United 

 States. The enormous magnitude of these figures, and the extreme 

 abundance of animal life on the unexplored grounds lying inside of the 

 Gulf Stream, can only be comprehended, when we consider that if we 

 reduce this still further, even dividing it by 200, and thus j)ractically 

 allowing that only one fish was seen where Captain Lamb said there 

 were /o?ir thousand, we still find that the mass would rival in weight 

 the product of some of our most important and valu.able food fisheries. 

 Taking all the concurrent testimony, however, it seems hardly neces- 

 sary to make so low an estimate, and it appears reasonable that to 

 place it at one four-hundreth of that of Captain Lamb, is, perhaps, put- 

 ting it quite low enough. This would give the sum of 719,360,000 pounds 

 of dead fish, and if we were to calculate on the same basis the prob- 

 able numbers which were floating south of the area that has been con- 

 sidered, that is, down to the point where tlie Herald of the Morning was, 

 this amount must be increased nearly one-half, or to about 1,000,000,000 

 pounds, in round numbers. 



