2472 AWARD OF THE FISH.ERY COMMISSION. 



Q. Ninety miles from what ! A. Ninety miles along tbe coast. 



Q. Along about where ? A. Portland principally, and from there to 

 Mount Desert. 



Q. How many months does it last ? A. The principal part of that 

 fishing is from July 1 to August 25. 



Q. HoW far out to sea does it extend ? A. Somewhere in the neigh- 

 borhood of sixty miles. 



Q. Could you give a general idea of what portion of all the mackerel 

 that go into the markets of Maine and Massachusetts, and are inspected, 

 are caught between Mount Desert and Block Island, including the 

 Banks, offshore ? A. Probably, seven-eighths of all the mackerel in- 

 spected. 



Q. Do you include in that the mackerel which come from Bay St. 

 Lawrence! A. No; cnly those that are caught on the United States 

 coast. 



Q. Then, on our coast, the fishing for mackerel does not go much 

 farther north than Mount Desert? A. Nothing of any consequence. 

 Probably there are some mackerel go north of that, but very few of our 

 vessels go alter it. 



Q. About what season of the year, along from Mount Desert to Mas- 

 sachusetts coast, is the fishing at its height ? A. In July and August. 



Q. When do the vessels that fish on the United States coast begin to 

 go south again ? A. The last of September, the 25th September gen- 

 erally ; it depends a great deal on the weather. 



Q. And how far south do they go ? A. We don't follow those mack- 

 erel that go on the coast of Maine farther than the mouth of Vineyard 

 Sound ; that is near Chatham. 



Q. On the north side of Cape Cod ? A. Yes. 



Q. And how late do you fish for them off in the vicinity of Chatham ? 

 A. We fish there only a few days, because after the mackerel com- 

 mence to go down from there they go very fast ; unless the weather is 

 very fine we cannot fish at all for them. 



Q. What is the latest season of the year when mackerel are fished on 

 the United States coast ? A. Nothing of any account is done after 

 the 15th November. 



Q. Where are the mackerel fished so late as that ? A. Sometimes at 

 Block Island, and sometimes in the vicinity of Massachusetts Bay. 



Q. Do not your fishermen go farther south than Block Island in 

 autumn, to any extent ? A. No. 



Q. What is the quality of the mackerel taken in autumn ? A. They 

 are generally fat, but they begin to decrease after the last of October. 



Q. Within what period are the best mackerel taken off Maine, Mas- 

 sachusetts, and Block Island ? A. In September, and till loth October, 

 perhaps they are the best. 



Q. What is the quality of the mackerel taken in the spring before 

 they spawn, everywhere? A. All No. 3's. 



Q. Wherever they are caught! A. Yes. 



Q. You have spoken in your examination of having seen food for 

 mackerel as far out as George's Banks. Will you describe the different 

 kinds of mackeiel food you have yourself observed ? A. The largest 

 quantity of food we find in mackerel is lautz. The largest we find are 

 about four inches in length. 



Q. Lantz is a kind of sand-eel T A. Something similar. Then we find 

 what we call all-eyes, a very small fish about half an inch in length. It 

 is a young fish of some kind, I don't know what. 



Q. Have you any opinion in regard to what it is ? A. We sometimes 



