76 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 
mackerel caught with hook and line from boats, and landed in said boats, or in traps 
and weirs connected with the shore. 
Src. 2. That section forty-three hundred and twenty-one of the Revised Statutes 
is amended, for the period of five years aforesaid, so as to read before the last sen- 
tence as follows: ‘ This license does not grant the right to fish for mackerel, other 
than for what is known as Spanish mackerel, between the first day of March and the 
first day of June, inclusive, of this year.” Or in lieu of the foregoing there shall 
be inserted so much of said period of time as may remain unexpired under this act. 
Src. 3. That the penalty for the violation or attemped violation ef this act shall 
be forfeiture of license on the part of the vessel engaged in said violation, if a vessel 
of this country, and the forfeiture to the United States, according to law, of the 
mackerel imported or landed, or sought to be imported or landed. 
Sec. 4. That all laws in conflict with this law are hereby repealed. 
Approved, February 28, 1887. 
On the approach of the usual time for starting on the southern cruise 
for mackerel, a large fleet of vessels from Gloucester, Portland, and other 
New England ports sailed for the grounds off the Virginia and Dela- 
ware coasts, where fish were sighted in due time. Large schools were 
reported from time to time, but they consisted mostly of small indi- 
viduals which were turned loose when caught. A few vessels made 
satisfactory fares which realized good prices and encouraged others to 
continue the search for fish. The season closed, and the fishery passed 
into history generally regarded as a failure. A few thousand barrels of 
fresh mackerel were landed and a few hundred barrels of salt fish were 
saved, but many of the vessels failed to secure any fish whatever, and 
only a few paid expenses. The season was remarkable for the extremes 
of sizes represented by the fish landed.» Some of the fares consisted of 
fish that averaged considerably larger than had been taken south durmg 
any recent years, while a cargo of 25 barrels of mackerel brought into 
New York was made up of smaller fish than were ever before sold in 
that market, 2,500 to 3,000 being required to fill a barrel. 
THE NEW ENGLAND GROUND-FISH FISHERIES. 
The important bank fisheries for cod, haddock, hake, cusk, and hali- 
but were followed with the usual vigor during the year, and the catch, 
on the whole, was fully up to the average in recent years, while the 
price and demand were regarded as all that could be expected. 
For several years the Grand Banks had shown a marked decrease in 
the abundance of cod, resulting in many broken voyages and consider- 
able pecuniary loss to fishermen and owners. A much smaller fleet 
than usual was consequently sent out in 1892, and only about a dozen 
vessels from Provincetown, Mass., and Bucksport, Me., in addition to 
the comparatively large fleet from Gloucester, Mass., have represented 
the United States on these banks. Contrary to the general expecta- 
tion, in 1892 cod were again found in great abundance on the Grand 
Banks. Nearly all of the Gloucester fleet made two trips, returning 
each time with full fares, and the aggregate catch was larger than 
during any year since 1887. Halibut were found in about their usual 
