2812 AWARD OF THE FISHERY COMMISSION. 



most interesting and extensive spawning-grounds I know of. Bat 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, in 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 subject 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 substi- 

 tute for mackerel salted fish, I mean ? A. There is a great variety in 

 vast abundance of many kinds of fish all along the coast of the United 

 States, from Saint John's Eiver, Florida, and further 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 very large quantities and con- 

 sumed as fresh fish, but they are not prepared iu large quantities, with 

 the exception of the Southern mullet. 



Q. How far north is mullet found ? A. It straggles as far as Cape 

 Cod ; it is quite abundant at some seasons on the south side of New 

 England, but not sufficiently so for marketable purposes, but off the 

 coast of Virginia, and off the Carolinas, and all the way down to the 

 extremity of Florida, the mullet is in quantities scarcely credible. 

 They are taken and sold in great numbers; many thousands of barrels 

 are put up, and if there was any speedy 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 mal- 

 let 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 and mackerel, but the mullet is supplying the 

 markets because they are sold fresher and supplied at much lower price, 

 and they are considered by the Southern people a much superior article 

 of food. 



Q. Is it preferred to mackerel as a salted fish ? A. The persons 

 familiar with mackerel and with mullet from whom I have made in- 

 quiries I never tasted salt mullet give the preference to mullet. It 

 is a fatter, sweeter, and better fish, and of rather larger size. They 

 grade up to 90 to a barrel of 200 pounds, and go down to three-quarters 

 of a pound, and as a salt fish the preference is given by all from whom 

 I have inquired to the mullet. 



Q. Do you think the failure of the mackerel market in the Southern 

 and Southwestern States is largely attributable to the introduction of 

 mullet ? A. I cannot say that, but I imagine it must have a very de- 

 cided influence. 



Q. Can the mullet be caught as easily as mackerel ? A. More easily. 

 It is entirely a shore fish, and is taken with seines hauled up on the 

 banks by men who have no capital, but who are able to command a row- 

 boat with which to lay out their seines, and they sometimes catch 100 

 barrels a day per man, and sometimes as many as 500 barrels have been 



