﻿REPORT 
  OF 
  THE 
  COMMISSIONER 
  OF 
  FISHERIES. 
  55 
  

  

  In 
  the 
  prosecution 
  of 
  pollock 
  hatching 
  the 
  schooner 
  Grampus 
  was 
  

   utilized 
  as 
  living 
  quarters 
  for 
  the 
  spawntakers 
  in 
  the 
  field, 
  while 
  the 
  

   eggs 
  collected 
  were 
  transferred 
  daily 
  from 
  the 
  fishirg 
  grounds 
  to 
  the 
  

   station 
  by 
  the 
  steamer 
  Blue 
  Wing. 
  In 
  its 
  early 
  stages 
  the 
  work 
  was 
  

   not 
  profitable, 
  the 
  collections 
  being 
  small 
  and 
  the 
  eggs 
  inferior 
  in 
  

   quality. 
  Later, 
  however, 
  their 
  quality 
  improved, 
  and 
  during 
  Decem- 
  

   ber 
  the 
  results 
  exceeded 
  all 
  expectations, 
  the 
  daily 
  collections 
  of 
  eggs 
  

   running 
  from 
  25,000,000 
  to 
  50,000,000. 
  Notwithstanding 
  the 
  in- 
  

   creased 
  facilities 
  the 
  hatchery 
  was 
  filled 
  to 
  overflowing, 
  and 
  on 
  several 
  

   occasions 
  it 
  became 
  necessary 
  to 
  plant 
  some 
  of 
  the 
  older 
  eggs 
  to 
  make 
  

   room 
  for 
  the 
  enormous 
  incoming 
  collections. 
  The 
  spawning 
  season 
  

   extended 
  from 
  November 
  1 
  to 
  February 
  6, 
  and 
  resulted 
  in 
  the 
  collec- 
  

   tion 
  of 
  974,240,000 
  eggs. 
  The 
  output 
  included 
  542,185,000 
  fry 
  and 
  

   116,285,000 
  eyed 
  eggs 
  transferred 
  to 
  other 
  stations 
  and 
  planted 
  in 
  

   Gloucester 
  Harbor. 
  

  

  While 
  the 
  collections 
  of 
  cod 
  eggs 
  for 
  the 
  Gloucester 
  station 
  were 
  

   considerably 
  smaller 
  than 
  those 
  of 
  the 
  previous 
  year, 
  owing 
  principally 
  

   to 
  the 
  nonappearance 
  of 
  the 
  usual 
  spring 
  run 
  of 
  cod 
  to 
  the 
  inshore 
  fish- 
  

   ing 
  grounds 
  in 
  Massachusetts 
  and 
  Ipswich 
  Bays, 
  the 
  number 
  of 
  eggs 
  

   secured 
  was 
  much 
  larger 
  than 
  the 
  small 
  catch 
  of 
  fish 
  seemed 
  to 
  war- 
  

   rant. 
  During 
  the 
  spawning 
  season 
  — 
  extending 
  from 
  February 
  1 
  to 
  

   April 
  15 
  — 
  the 
  work 
  was 
  interfered 
  with 
  to 
  some 
  extent 
  by 
  storms, 
  

   and 
  early 
  in 
  March 
  it 
  became 
  necessary 
  to 
  detach 
  part 
  of 
  the 
  spawn- 
  

   taking 
  force 
  for 
  the 
  collection 
  of 
  haddock 
  eggs. 
  The 
  receipt 
  of 
  eggs 
  

   for 
  the 
  season 
  aggregated 
  91,980,000, 
  and 
  the 
  output 
  of 
  fry 
  amounted 
  

   to 
  64,780,000. 
  

  

  Between 
  March 
  17 
  and 
  April 
  18 
  the 
  spawn 
  takers 
  attached 
  to 
  the 
  

   Gloucester 
  station 
  collected 
  206,890,000 
  haddock 
  eggs 
  from 
  the 
  large 
  

   gill-net 
  steamers 
  operating 
  on 
  the 
  near-by 
  fishing 
  gi-ounds. 
  The 
  eggs 
  

   were 
  of 
  fairly 
  good 
  quality, 
  but 
  as 
  hatching 
  operations 
  with 
  the 
  cod 
  

   and 
  flatfish 
  were 
  in 
  progress, 
  it 
  was 
  necessary 
  to 
  crowd 
  them 
  some- 
  

   what 
  in 
  the 
  hatching 
  boxes, 
  thus 
  detracting 
  from 
  the 
  resvdts. 
  One 
  

   lot 
  of 
  8,590,000 
  eggs 
  for 
  which 
  there 
  was 
  no 
  room 
  in 
  the 
  hatchery 
  was 
  

   planted 
  in 
  the 
  harbor 
  near 
  the 
  station, 
  and 
  from 
  the 
  remaining 
  eggs 
  

   107,690,000 
  fry 
  were 
  hatched 
  and 
  distributed. 
  

  

  The 
  flatfish 
  work 
  was 
  attended 
  by 
  more 
  than 
  the 
  average 
  success. 
  

   From 
  fyke 
  nets 
  set 
  in 
  Gloucester 
  Harbor 
  and 
  fished 
  daily 
  by 
  the 
  

   station 
  employees 
  from 
  February 
  24 
  to 
  April 
  15, 
  503 
  gravid 
  fish 
  were 
  

   secured, 
  which 
  yielded 
  275,350,000 
  eggs. 
  Lack 
  of 
  the 
  usual 
  hatching 
  

   facilities 
  necessitated 
  the 
  development 
  of 
  a 
  large 
  percentage 
  of 
  these 
  

   eggs 
  in 
  scrim 
  floating 
  boxes 
  moored 
  in 
  the 
  harbor 
  near 
  the 
  hatchery. 
  

   The 
  output 
  of 
  fry 
  for 
  the 
  season 
  numbered 
  242,010,000. 
  

  

  Of 
  348 
  egg-bearing 
  lobsters 
  placed 
  in 
  live 
  cars 
  at 
  the 
  station 
  during 
  

   the 
  fall 
  of 
  1913, 
  264 
  survivea 
  confinement 
  and 
  yielded 
  3,124,000 
  eggs 
  

   when 
  stripped 
  early 
  in 
  May. 
  These 
  were 
  hatched 
  in 
  conjunction 
  witli 
  

   974,000 
  eggs 
  taken 
  from 
  lobsters 
  delivered 
  at 
  the 
  station 
  during 
  the 
  

   spring 
  months, 
  and 
  the 
  results 
  in 
  fry 
  distributed 
  amounted 
  t:> 
  2,700,000 
  

   at 
  the 
  close 
  of 
  the 
  year, 
  with 
  1,098,000 
  eggs 
  still 
  in 
  process 
  of 
  incuba- 
  

   tion. 
  

  

  Notwithstanding 
  the 
  intense 
  severity 
  of 
  the 
  winter 
  and 
  the 
  non- 
  

   appearance 
  of 
  the 
  usual 
  run 
  of 
  cod 
  on 
  the 
  spawning 
  grounds 
  in 
  

   Massachusetts 
  fields, 
  a 
  substantial 
  increase 
  over 
  last 
  year 
  in 
  the 
  

   collection 
  of 
  cod 
  eggs 
  for 
  the 
  Woods 
  Hole 
  station 
  was 
  realized. 
  In 
  

   November 
  and 
  December 
  brood 
  cod 
  to 
  the 
  number 
  of 
  3,127 
  were 
  

  

  