AWARD OF THE FISHERY COMMISSION. 1991 



with them. I watched the growth of these young mackerel all alone 

 and I saw them grow considerably from month to month, so inurl, w 

 that the same fall, in the latter part of October, I caught some of thorn 

 with a very small meshed net on shore and split them. Mackerel wen 

 then very scarce and very high in price, and 1 sold them for u* much M 

 $6 a barrel. We do not find them to be very good food, but, in the 

 absence of other and better mackerel, and in consequence of their very 

 high price, some people will buy them. 



By Mr. Da vies : 



Q. How long were they? A. I think they might have been seven 

 inches long. 



By Mr. Foster: 



Q. What do you call them ? A. They are sometimes called spike*, 

 but I do not know their proper name. I consider that they were hatched 

 in the previous spring. 



By Mr. Dana : 



Q. They were about four months old f A. Yes ; four or five mouth*. 

 By Mr. Foster : 



Q. How old is a tinker? A. Two years. These were the little ones 

 which go off with the big ones to their winter home. The first mack- 

 erel that come in are always large, and spawners; and the last that go 

 off the coast are also large; but these do not bite at the hook, and you 

 do not catch them with the seine, because they do not show theniselve*. 

 You would not know of their presence if you did not set nets lor them ; 

 and when they are taken in nets set anywhere along the coast, at Pror- 

 incetown, &c., a good many people imagine that they are the remnant 

 of the mackerel which were there the year before, ami which have been 

 imbedded in the mud, and when they taste these fish they fancy that 

 they taste mad. 



Q. The mud taste is all due to their imaginations! A. Yea; they 

 are taken in nets all along the shore, and they do not bite the hook any- 

 where. When the next school arrives there appears a mixture of 

 mackerel of different sizes, which take the hook, and are being caught 

 in schools now. They are carried to Boston market, where they are 

 culled and denominated " large ones," 4< second size," * tinkers," and 

 "blinks." Any man who is well acquainted with them will make the 

 same culling, as there seems to be a line of demarkation drawn leiwen 

 the different kinds, and it stands out prominently. Admitting thin 

 be the fact, those that come on as blinks are from the spuw n of the yes 

 before, while those which are called tinkers are from the bhuks 

 year previous, being then two years old, and those that arv call* 

 oud size are from the tinkers of the year before: "hen they gn 

 and mix with the bigger ones 1 do not know how they live < 

 about them ; this is my opinion about these matters. You w 

 ermen who will tell you they think that mackerel are six or 

 in getting their growth. 



Q. Will you give us your opinion about mess-mackerel, a 

 ones, twos,' and threes? A. The law of Massachusetts, 

 the inspection and packing of mackerel, defines them, 

 the fattest of the mackerel, provided that they are J-? inches 

 the anterior portion of the head to the fork of the tail or ran. 

 large enough for number ones; also, all mackerel from 1. 

 inches in length, and the very largest mackerel, are number 



