PACIFIC COD FISHERIES. . 9g 
SPAWNING. 
Cod are found spawning during the winter months, principally in 
January and February. Those caught during February and March 
and the early part of April are usually quite thin, due to their 
having spawned shortly before this. 
In many females the eggs are not extruded at the regular period, 
and in many instances these eventually harden into an almost solid 
mass. At Pirate Cove, in 1913, the author’s attention was early called 
to these delayed spawners. The first one was observed on May 10, 
shortly after his arrival at the station. From then on they occasion- 
ally appeared until early in August, when they became quite numer- 
ous. On June 25 he cut out of one female a roe which weighed 8 
pounds. Occasionally the eggs would be found in a mass with the 
usual envelope missing. In no instance that he observed did this con- 
dition seem to affect the health of the fish, all of them appearing to 
be normal fish so far as food qualities, weight, etc., were concerned. 
YOUNG. 
Dr. Bean’s observations showed young cod as present in shallow 
water near shore at some place or other on the Pacific side between 
Cooks Inlet and Unalaska between May and October, and that about 
the middle of the latter month they reach an average length of 4 or 
5 inches. 
On September 7, 1913, the writer first noticed large numbers of 
young cod from 2 to 4 inches in length swimming around Pirate Cove 
harbor, and they were still there in large numbers when he left on 
September 26. The small native boys would occasionally catch them 
on a baited hook or bent pin, which the fry would eagerly pursue. 
They were also occasionally found in the stomachs of adults brought 
in by the fishermen, showing conclusively that the cod do not dis- 
criminate against their own offspring. 
7 
FOOD. 
The food of the Pacific cod is as plentiful and as varied as in the 
Atlantic. Any fish that it can capture forms a part of its food. The 
writer opened and examined the stomachs of many cod at Pirate Cove 
station during the summers of 1912 and 1913, and he was surprised at 
the variety of food found therein. During July, 1913, shrimp were 
exceedingly abundant in their stomachs. He also found three ducks 
with bright red feet, known locally as “Alaska pigeons,” these had 
evidently been swallowed but a short time before, as they were all in 
an excellent state of preservation. Alaska pollock (Vheragra chalco- 
gramma) seemed to be the chief food of the cod, although, strange to 
