2810 AWARD OF THE FISHERY COMMISSION. 



any other fish that could be so abundant of that size at that season of 

 the year. It is called all-eyes, because its body is perfectly transparent, 

 and when you see them swimming in the sunlight you can only see two 

 eyes, as two small, dark specks. That occurs in almost incredible abun- 

 dance, covering miles square, and furnishing food for an enormous yield 

 offish. 



Q. With regard to its bearing upon the locations of mackerel. I will 

 ask whether there is any particular place where the food of mackerel is 

 to be found, or whether it is all along the coast where the mackerel 

 come ? A. The shrimp belongs to a class of crustaceans which inhabit 

 the high seas everywhere. We took them this year in great quantities 

 in coming across from Salem to Halifax, at George's, La Have, and 

 Brown's Banks, and in Halifax Harbor. We take them in Eastport, 

 Salem, and Portland Harbors, and. as far as I am advised, by the spe- 

 cialists who are associated with me, there is no part of the ocean where 

 these small animals are not to be found in ample abundance, sometimee 

 enormously aggregated and at other times less common. They are 

 found at all depths of water, from the surface to the bottom. We take 

 them in our dredge and in our midway and surface nets. Those arid 

 the young of the large crabs are found under all circumstances and con- 

 ditions. 



Q. Then we take the common bait, pogies, or menhaden. They are 

 mackerel bait, are they not ! A. Eaten by mackerel ? I do not think 

 they are, unless they eat them in the winter time.' As to the spawning 

 of pogies, we know nothing about it; we infer they spawn in winter off 

 the southern coast. 



Q. Are not menhaden used as bait for mackerel by fishermen ? A. 

 The menhaden itself is taken all through the mackerel season at some 

 part of the American coast. 



Q. Is it abundant within your observation ? A. Yes ; it is almost the 

 most abundant of our fish ; indeed, it is a question which is most abun- 

 dant, sea-herring or menhaden. 



Q. In regard to the catching of mackerel as affecting the supply and 

 the probable diminution or increase of mackerel, what have you to tell 

 the Commission about the mode of taking mackerel? A. The mackerel 

 is taken in a great variety of ways. At present it is taken by jig hook 

 and by the net in some form. Formerly it was taken by means of hooks, 

 as we do for bluefish, sailing backward and forward in a boat having a 

 number of lines put from the vessel, and taking them when the vessel 

 is under full speed. That method is still practiced on the coast of Eu- 

 rope, where mackerel are still taken in that way. Then it was found 

 that by keeping the vessel comparatively motionless and throwing chum 

 or chopped meat overboard mackerel could be brought up to the vessel, 

 and that proved a much more efficient and thorough mode of capture. 

 Nets were introduced, and many mackerel are now taken in gill-nets. 

 Seines, which are hauled to the shore, have been introduced at some 

 places on the coast of Nova Scotia, and a good many mackerel are taken 

 in pounds and weirs, enormous quantities being taken in spring and 

 fall on the New England coast in that way. The purse-seine is perhaps 

 the most efficient and comprehensive method, and it is used by vessels. 



Q. What is the proper depth of a purse-seine ? A. Twenty, twenty- 

 five, or thirty fathoms deep. 



Q. To be successful it has to have that depth ? A. It has to be deep, 

 but it must be shallower than the water, or it will get entangled and 

 torn. 



Q. Do you know whether it is true that there must be that depth in 



