XXXIII.-REPORT OF OPERATIONS IN HATCHING EGGS OF SPAN- 

 ISH MACKEREL IN CHESAPEAKE BAY BY STEAMER FISH HAWK 

 DURING THE SUMMER OF 1888. 



By Lieut. W. M. Wood, U. S. N., Commanding. 



I have the houor to submit the following report on the operations of 

 this vessel in the Chesapeake Bay during- the past summer. 



We left Washington on June the 4th, and located and made a list of the 

 trap-nets fished on the Potomac Eiver, Avest side of bay from Potomac 

 Eiver down, and east side up as far as Cherrystone Inlet. As I have 

 already submitted a detailed report of this portion of the "vvorlc, I will 

 only mention that I finished it on June the 12th, and then gave my 

 attention to the propagation of the Spanish mackerel. 



The first mackerel I heard of being caught were taken at the mouth 

 of the Rappahannock Eiver June 5, and were onl}^ two in number. 

 From the 5th to the 21st but few mackerel were taken anywhere, and 

 of these most were caught on the west side of bay. 



On the 21st we got our first spawn, one rij^e female being found in 

 the catch of the nets off Butler Bluffs in the morning and another in 

 Mobjack Bay in the afternoon. By this time most of the fishermen on 

 the west shore had taken up their nets and quit, there being only one 

 in Mobjack Bay and three or four ou York Spit. 



On the eastern shore, however, they were in many instances putting 

 down new nets or altering and overhauling the old ones. They told 

 me that by the law they were not allowed to fish trap nets until the 

 25th of June, and to evade this the few nets in operation before that 

 date were provided with funnel openings to the trap and called ''fykes." 



The eastern-shore fishermen also state that their catcli of mackerel 

 does not begin usually until the end of June (several weeks later than 

 on the western shore), but is much larger and lasts longer when it does 

 begin, the catch running well into September. They, however, catch 

 but few shad there. Owing to the early catch and short duration of 

 the season on the west side of bay it is quite evident that all future 

 operations, if there are any, should be on the eastern shore. The mouth 



[l-j 1089 



,H. Mis. 67—69 



