NOTES ON THE TAGGING OF FOUR THOUSAND ADULT COD AT 
WOODS HOLE, MASSACHUSETTS. 
By Hueu M. Sirsa, 
Chief of Inquiry respecting Food-fishes, U. S. Commission of Fish and Fisheries. 
HISTORY AND OBJECTS OF THE EXPERIMENT. 
Taking advantage of the annual release of a large number of adult 
cod at the fish-cultural station of the United States Fish Commission 
at Woods Hole, Massachusetts, the writer suggested that it might be 
possible to secure some useful information concerning the natural 
history of the cod by marking or tagging the fish just before their 
liberation. Accordingly, in the winter of 1897-98, and in the three 
succeeding years, the available fish were tagged so that they might be 
recognized if recaptured. 
The cod which were thus treated had been caught in October and 
November of each year on Nantucket Shoals and brought to the Woods 
Hole station in the wells of fishing vessels. The fish weighed from 23 
to 20 pounds, and were what the fishermen call the ‘‘ shore cod,” as 
distinguished from the ‘t bank cod.” Few of them weighed less than 
3 pounds or more than 10 pounds, and the average weight when caught 
was probably not far from 6 pounds, although when released after 
tagging the average weight was only 5 pounds. The larger part of 
the supply was obtained by the Fish Commission schooner Grampus, 
Capt. E. E. Hahn in command. 
The fish were caught with hand lines, and only those in which the 
hook wounds were trivial were retained. On arriving at the station 
they were transferred to large floating cars, in which they were held 
pending the ripening of their eggs. The egg-taking season is from 
the middle of November to the last of January or first of February, 
and the maturation of the eggs of individual fish often extends over 
a period of several weeks, during which time the fish are handled two 
or three times a week. As soon as a fish has been finally stripped it 
is set at liberty, either in Vineyard Sound or Buzzards Bay. 
Owing to the captivity and to the rather rough handling to which 
the brood cod are necessarily subjected in taking their spawn and milt, 
in addition to the loss of vitality incident to the spawning process, they 
F. C. 1901 —13 193 
