XX REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 



31. The successful importation from Germany of the blue carp. 



32. The discoveries by a Fish Commission agent, Mr. James G. Swan, 

 in regard to the possibilities of an extended fishery on the Pacific coast 

 for the black cod, and its indarsement by ISTew York and Boston experts 

 as a valuable food-fish. 



33. The experiments of Mr. S. G. Worth in taking and hatching eggs 

 of striped bass, or rockflsh, which give promise of very valuable results 

 hereafter. 



A brief memorandum of what the U. S. Fish Commission hopes to 

 accomplish in time, in connection with its mission, is as follows: 



1. In the department of investigation and research there is yet to be 

 carried out an exhaustive inquiry into the character, abundance, geo- 

 graphical distribution, and economical qualities of the inhabitants of 

 the waters, both fresh and salt. The subject is practically unlimited in 

 extent, and, so far as the ocean is concerned, has scarcely been touched. 

 With the powerful apparatus, however, at the command of the Commis- 

 sion it is expected that much progress will be made year by year, and 

 that the publication of the results and the distribution of duplicate speci- 

 mens to colleges and academies in the United States will be carried out 

 on a large scale, so as to meet a large and increasing demand from 

 teachers and students. 



2. A second object, in connection with the sea fisheries, is the im- 

 provement of the old methods and apparatus of fishing and the intro- 

 duction of new ones. 



The work of the Commission in bringing to the notice of American 

 fishermen the importance of gill-nets with glass-ball floats for the cap- 

 ture of codfish has already revolutionized the winter cod-fishery in- 

 dustry in New England. Looked upon almost with ridicule by the 

 Gloucester fishermen, when first brought to their notice by the Commis- 

 sion, these nets have come rapidly into use, until at the present time 

 they represent the most imi)ortant element in the winter fisheries, the 

 number of fish taken being not only much greater than heretofore but 

 the fish themselves of finer quality. 



The ability to maintain a successful fishery without the use of bait is 

 of the utmost importance, in view of the fact that when cod are most 

 abundant bait is almost unprocurable. Other forms of apparatus of 

 less importance have also been introduced, and a constant lookout is 

 maintained, by correspondence and otherwise, in connection with the 

 improvement of fishing machinery. 



3. Another important point for consideration is that of improvement 

 in the pattern of fishing vessels. There is annually a terrible mortality 

 in the fishing crews of New England, especially those belonging to the 

 port of Gloucester, to say nothing of the total loss and wreck of the 

 fishing vessels and their contents. There has gradually developed in 

 connection with the mackerel and cod fisheries of New England a pat- 

 tern of vessel which, while admirable for speed and beauty of lines 



