ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY BULLETIN 



REAPPEARANCE OF THE TILEFLSH. 

 By C. H. Tdwxsknd. 



THIS rt'in.irk.-iblc dccp-w.iter fish was dis- 

 covered in 1879. In- the fisliin<; scliooiier 

 If'illiam I'. Iliitrliiiis, while fishing near 

 tile hundred-fatliom eurve. south of Nantucket. 

 Several thousand |)ounds were caught and .1 

 s|)ecimen was sent to the L'nited .States Fish 

 Commission, where it was found to be new to 

 science .and described as Loplidlatilus rhamaele- 

 onticeps. 



It proved to be a good food fish, hut before a 

 regular fishery could be established, something 

 unusual happened at the bottom of the sea and 

 more than n million dead tilefisli floated at the 

 surface. This ha])iiened in 1S<S2. and has been 

 attributed to a sudden ch.mge in water tempera- 

 ture at the bottom. 



Tlie tilefish has of late become abundant on 

 the old fishing grounds off Nantucket and the 

 hundred-fathom curve off Long Island. 



An effort is now being made by the LTnited 

 States Bureau of Fisheries to introduce it com- 

 mercially. Under the auspices of the Bureau, 

 shipments were made to the markets of New 

 York City and specimens were exhibited at 

 the Aquarium. At the request of the Bureau of 

 Fisheries a desk in the office of the Aquarium 

 was assigned to its representative during lii-. 

 publieit}' work in New York. 



The fishing schooner Sfraiif/er, chartered by 

 the Bureau, landed 8.000 pounds of tilefish at 

 New York on October 21. The fish were dis- 

 tributed through market dealers, many going to 

 hotels and clubs. 



The largest fish, a thirty-pounder, was sent to 

 President Wilson; the next largest, weighing 

 twenty-three pounds, to the Aquarium, where it 

 was exhibited on ice for a few days. This speci- 

 men was thirty-six inches long. A photogra])!i 

 of it appears on the cover of this Bulletin. 



The tilefish which were marketed, attracted 

 decided interest, many buyers of small lots re- 

 turning with larger orders. The catch mad" 

 l)v the Sfranc/rr was obtained in depths of fifty- 

 eight to seventy-two fathoms, south of Nan- 

 tucket. 



It is believed that the tilefish is abundant 

 enough to su|)))ort an iniport.mt fishery, and 

 that it will be the means of adding an excellent 

 food fish to our markets. It is easily caught 

 rtiid seems to be abundant at all seasons of the 

 year within 100 miles of the coast. The tile- 

 fish reaches a length of three feet and a weight 

 of thirty pounds, the average of those now being 

 marketed being about eighteen pounds. 



More Notes on the Tilefish. — Since the above 

 was written, the Stranger made ;i trip to the 

 tilefish grounds 100 miles southeast of New 

 York Bay. She fished with tr.iwl lines set in 

 de))ths ranging from (>2 f.ithoms to 107 fath- 

 oms, aiul in two d.-iys c.-iught S 1 (i tilefish. weigh- 

 ing about 11,000 ])ounds. 

 The largest fish weighed thirty-five pounds 

 .md was forty-two inches long. There were many 

 of these large fish in the catch, most of them 

 being taken in the lesser depths stated .above, 

 the smaller fish c(miing from tlie deejier water. 

 The fish sold much more rapidly than the first 

 c.itch Landed the wi.ek before, the entire lot be- 

 ing taken from the vessel in about an hour and 

 a half, at five cents a ))ound. 



.V walk through Fulton .Market, just after 

 the sale, showed that the tilefish had been well 

 distributed among the fish stalls of the M.-irket. 

 The vessel will return at once to the tilefish 

 banks and additional catches will be l.-inded at 

 New York and Boston. 



The effort of the F'isheries Bureau to intro- 

 duce this splendid deep-water fish to the mar- 

 kets has been crowned with a high degree of 

 success. 



Nexc Porpoises. — As the Bulletin goes to 

 press, word comes from Cape Hatteras that 

 four porpoises have been captured for the Aqua- 

 rium. They should reach New York about 

 November 2. 



THE FAIRMOUNT PARK AQUARIUM. 



Bt/ Wm. E. Meehan, Superintendent. 



Formerhj Comntissianer of Fisheries of 



Pennsylvania. 



THE Fairniount Park Aquarium in Phila- 

 delphia, occupies the buildings originally 

 constructed for the Fairniount Water 

 \\'orks, on the banks of the Schuylkill River, 

 and at the foot of the Jjicturesque hill from 

 which Fairniount Park receives its n.ime. .\t 

 present a temjiorary exhibit of fresh water 

 fishes is made in old-fashioned, all-glass tanks 

 in a large liall that is a part of the Aquarium 

 group of buildings. The permanent exhibit is 

 to be installed in two large so-called, subter- 

 rane.m rooms fronting the bank of the rivei 

 ,ind with the east side washed by a seal pool 

 nearly 300 feet long and about 7.5 feet wide. 



The roofs of these two structures form a 

 plaza dotted by small buildings. 



One room of the permanent .\quarium is 100 

 feet long and 50 feet wide, and the other is 



