304 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 
THE ATKA MACKEREL. 
The few persons who are familiar with this fish pronounce it one of 
the best of the numerous food-fishes found in the waters of Alaska. 
Its name is misleading in that the fish has no relation to the mackerel 
family and does not resemble it in looks or flavor. While found at 
numerous places in Alaskan waters, it has so far been observed most | 
plentifully around the far-distant island of Attu. This island is the. 
outer one in the Aleutian chain, and is the most western land belonging 
to the United States. Itis so far west that it might, with almost equal 
propriety, be called east, being nearer the Asiatic shore than to any 
other mainland. San Francisco vessels engaged in trading or seal | 
hunting have from time to time brought back larger or smaller quan- 
tities of salted Atka mackerel, usually taken in the vicinity of Attu. | 
One of these vessels, the schooner Rosa Sparks, of 42.11 tons, with a 
crew of 20 men, which was engaged during the season of 1891 in fishing 
and sealing, returned with 148 seal skins and 324 barrels of Atka mack- 
erel. The latter found a ready sale at $15 a barrel. The captain of the | 
vessel, Mr. S. i. Weatherbee, reports that his catch was made at Attu 
Island, and furnishes the following statements on the subject: 
Atka mackerel are reported by the natives as remaining in the vicinity of Atka | 
all winter, but do not reach Attu before April 10, from which date up to September | 
they are found among the kelp in great abundance. Up to July they are very fat | 
and in their best condition. The spawning season is in July, at which time they | 
grow thin and poor. The fish are taken in 25 fathoms of water by jigging, no bait 
being required. Three or four hooks are fastened together and placed in a mold, | 
into which lead, pewter, or some similar! composition is run, welding the hooks 
together and leaving a shank that is polished up brightly to attract the fish; this 
also serves as a sinker. These lines and hooks are put down through the kelp, | 
amidst which the fish are feeding. Being attracted by the bright metal, to which | 
the hooks are attached, they swim around it in such numbers that their capture is © 
easy by simply drawing the hooks up through them, and repeating the act so long | 
as a catch is desired. From 8 to 10 barrels a day have been taken by two men in a 
single dory. Cod foilow the Atka mackerel to this place to feed on them. The few 
Atka mackerel that have occasionally reached San Francisco are always eagerly 
sought after, and some fish have been sold at $20 a barrel. Seines or nets of any 
kind could not be used to advantage, owing to the abundance of the large kelp 
among which the fish are always found. 
