REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. [44] 



scarcity and abundance. They leave the shores about October 1st to 

 the 10th, quite gradually. Their appearance is regular and certain. 

 The small ones appear first, but they continue to improve during their 

 stay. Their arrival is known by their capture and the ripple on the water. 

 Mackerel are not anadromons. Their favorite resorts are about 1. 

 in shallow water." 



Mr. U. S. Treat, 3tport, Me., makes the following report in re- 



gard to the movements of mackerel : 



••Mackerel come in from the west. Their presence is known by the 

 nipple they make at or near the surface. They pass out toward the 

 west, touching at the bays and harbors. They are last seen in the Gulf 

 of Mexico late in the season. They first appear in April or May, and 

 the main body arrives in August and September. The largest and fat- 

 test are taken in September and October. Several schools or 'runs' 

 come in at short intervals. They leave in October and November hi 

 a body. Their appearance is regular, although they sometimes fail 

 to go as far north as at other times. Want of food is supposed t i 

 the cause of this thing. The first runs are of the average size, and 

 are poor: the later runs are of good size, and are fat. Both sexes come 

 at the same time, and the spawn in the female is well matured. Neither 

 will take the hook readily on first arriving. They swim high, but rarely 

 attract birds. They leave the shores at ebb tide and return at flood 

 tide. The spawn often runs out of the female when taken with the hook 

 or caught in a net. The spawn is often seen floating in seines and w 

 The mackerel is not anadromons. Fish of all ages are found on the 

 breeding grounds. These fish are found in both deep and shoal water T 

 and on very different bottoms. The general average temperature of 

 bays and the ocean seems to suit this fish quite well." 



Prof. H. Y. Hind thus discusses their movements in the Gulf of Saint 

 Lawrem 



••The mackerel regularly appear at the Magdalen Islands in the Gulf 

 of Saint Lawrence abont one month after the first arrival of the herring. 

 The time as far as observed during 1861 to 1866 inclusive. 1871 and 

 ] -7 3 to 1 876 inclusive, varied from the 30th May to the 12th June. 



••The following table shows the dates of the first appearance of tin 

 herring and the mackerel at Pleasant Bay during the years named. 

 The authorities are to be found in the official reports of officers engaged 

 in the protection of tie- fisheries, in Captain Fortin's reports, and in 

 other published documents relating to the Canadian fisheries in the 

 annual sessional papers. 



•• In Captain Fortin's report to: rring are stated to have arrive* I 



about the 1st of May of that year, and the mackerel fishing to have been 

 nearlv finished on the 7th of June. 



