THE SEA FISHERIES OF EASTERN NORTH AMERICA. 185 



Q, It is found from Block Island to the shores of Labrador in great abundance? — 

 A. Yes. 



Q. It is pretty fairly distributed all along? — A. Yes; in some localities they are 

 found in greater abundance at some periods of the year ; but there is no part of the 

 American coast, from Labrador to Block Island, where they are not found during a 

 certain number of months. 



Q. What are the movements of this fish ? — A. They present migrations not so ex- 

 tensive and demonstrative as that of mackerel, but more so than those of cod. They 

 probably move from their ground from time to time in search of food, and generally 

 have definite places for spawning, to which they resort at different seasons of the 

 year at each particular coast. While the spawn is deposited, as a general rule, iu cer- 

 tain localities, it is sometimes a. matter of uncertainty. The destruction of herring 

 has been less iu America than in Europe, where it has been very marked. There are 

 extensive regions where formerly the herring business was carried on, from which 

 they have entirely disappeared, so much so that they import herring from Scotland 

 and America. 



Q. As to the egg of the herring ? — A. The egg is larger than that of the cod, and 

 is about one-twentieth of an inch in diameter. 



Q. What is the number to each fish ? — A. About 30,000. 



Q. Do you think they have any particular spawning-ground ? — A. They have defi- 

 nite localities that are preferred by them. They spawn round the Magdalen Islands 

 in great abundance, and in the bays of Newfoundland. The most extensive spawning- 

 ground on the southern coast is round the southern end of Grand Manan, which is 

 one of the most interesting aud extensive spawning-grounds I know of. But they 

 spawn also all along the reefs and rocky places of the New England coast as far as 

 No Man's Land and Block Island. 



Q. The yield of herring in New England, is it and can it be made very large ? — A. 

 I presume as many herring could be taken in New England, iu seasons when they are 

 able to be taken, as might be called for, if the price of them warranted it. 



Q. Herring does not bring much in the market ? — A. I believe not ; they are taken 

 in both spring and fall, but they are most abundant in the fall. 



Q. I should like to put one or two questions to you bearing a good deal on this sub- 

 ject which the Commission has before it, respecting the kinds of fish which can be 

 and are used in the United States. Leaving out cod, mackerel, and herring, will you 

 tell the Commission what has been discovered regarding the kinds of fish that are 

 used, as a substitute for mackerel — salted fish, I mean ? — A. There is a great variety in 

 vast abundance of mauy kinds of fish all along the coast of the United States, from 

 Saint ^ohn's River, Florida, and farther, south, to the Bay of Fundy, and many of 

 those could be utilized to very great advantage if there was a demand. They are 

 taken in ves-y large quantities and consumed as fresh fish, but they are not prepared 

 in large quantities, with the exception of the Southern mullet. 



Q. How far north *e mullet found ? — A. It straggles as far as Cape Cod ; it is quite 

 abundant at some seasons ^n the south side of New England, but not sufficiently so 

 for marketable purposes, but off the coast of Yirginia and off the Carolinas, and all 

 the way down to the extremity of Florida, the mullet is in quantities scarcely credi- 

 ble. They are taken aud sold in great numbers ; many thousands of barrels are put 

 up, and if there was any sj)eedy call for them they could be furnished. I presume I 

 am safe in saying that one million barrels of mullet could, be furnished annually from 

 the south shore of Chesapeake Bay to the south end of Florida, if they were called 

 for. 



Q. How far has the mullet come into the market now ? — A. The mullet does not 

 come into the Northern market at all, but in North Carolina, South Carolina, and 

 Georgia it fills the markets at the present time, excluding other kinds of imported 

 fish. In former years there was a great demand for herring aud mackerel, but the 

 mullet is supplying the markets because they are sold fresher and supplied at much 



