BIGELOW: EXPLORATION'S- OF THE COAST WATERS. 



257 



truth of the matter appears to he that in our waters fish eggs are very 

 streaky in occurrence; and as the surface net is usually towed for a 

 mile, it is far more likely to encounter eggs, even in regions where they 

 are abundant, than the vertical net. But it sometime chances that 

 the vertical net hits, the surface net misses, a streak of eggs. In this 

 respect, as in the irregular distribution of microplankton, (1914b), 

 the Gulf of Maine resembles the Irish channel (Herdman, 1897, 1910); 

 and it follows that a census of eggs in the Gulf would require a great 

 number of vertical hauls, in proportion to the area covered. 



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■■•■■■ ; / 



Fig. 82. — Gbampus records for Cod and Haddock eggs, 1912-1915. ® May-June; 

 X, July-October. 



Cod and Haddock Eggs. — Eggs of Cod and Haddock, indistin- 

 guishable when newly spawned, were taken throughout the season 

 from May to October, and there was no seasonal limitation of spawn- 

 ing to one, or other side of the Gulf. But as the chart (Fig. 82) 

 shows, eggs in early stages were restricted to the zone between the 

 coast and the 100 meter curve, except off German Bank (Station 

 10270); and even that locality was only fifteen miles distant from 



