38 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. [36] 
21. How close to the shore and in how shallow water ? 
22. Do they ever enter brackish water at the mouths of rivers ? 
23. Does the temperature of the water appear to affect them ? 
24, Are there different schools in your waters at different seasons of 
the year? 
25. Are the fish in the same school usually of the same size? 
26. Are the movements of the schools affected by the presence of 
other fish preying on them ? 
27. When do the fish leave the coast, and is this done by degrees or 
in a body ? 
28. By what route do they leave the coast. 
29. How far south have you known mackerel to occur? 
D.—Abundance. 
30. Have mackerel decreased or increased in abundance within the 
past ten years ? 
31. Does their extensive capture affect their abundance ? 
32. When small mackerel are abundant in any given year can you 
predict a supply of large ones in a year or two? Can you give any in- 
stances ? : a 
o3. Has the weather of any given summer any influence on the abun- 
dance of the fish in the following year. 
34, Can you mention any years in which the mackerel were remark- 
ably abundant ? 
H.—Food. 
35. What do mackerel feed upon ? 
36. Are they ever seen feeding at the surface? Ifso, can you describe 
their movements ? 
37. Is their food different in different seasons and localities ? 
38. Does their food ever burn their stomachs after their capture, and 
prevent their keeping when iced or salted? What kind of food has this 
effect? 
V’.— Reproduction. 
SPAWNING HABITS. 
39. Where do mackerel spawn, and when? 
40. How long does the breeding season continue ? 
41. What is the depth of water on the spawning grounds? 
42. Do the eggs sink to the bottom, or float? 
43. What is their color and size? (Compare with sizes of shot.) 
44, Have you ever seen the eggs and milt running from the fish after 
they were caught? Where ar? under what circumstances ? 
45, Are there any changes in shape or special habits during the breed- 
ing season ? 
