^"216 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM 



2 Pomatomus saltatrix L. 

 Blue fish 



These are found off the south shore where, however, bluefish- 

 ing is a sport as well as an industry and is done partly by 

 trolling early in the summer. About June 10 a catch of 64 blue- 

 fish averaging 3 pounds each was made. In these the ovaries and 

 testes were not at all matured, there being only a faint indication 

 of them. The stomachs of these fishes were found well filled with 

 food. It is reasonable to conclude that the reproductive instinct 

 will not alone account for the northward migration of these 

 fishes, but that the gradual increase in temperature and better 

 food conditions are considerable factors. 



The bluefish appear about June 1 and begin moving south 

 again about September 1. Adults are taken along shore or in 

 the inlets but it is probable they do not spawn here. 



In August and September young bluefish appear in great num- 

 bers in the inlets of the south and the harbors of the north shore. 

 The size of those first taken is about 6 or 7 centimeters in length. 

 Late in August they were over three times as long. As stated 

 above the adult bluefish is hardly ever taken in the sound or its 

 harbors but more are caught off the south shore. Nevertheless 

 young bluefish or snappers appear in great numbers later in the 

 summer and it seems probable that these young have come up 

 the coast for the same reasons as the adults i. e. food and tem- 

 perature. The small number of adults found in the vicinity 

 render it improbable that they could have produced such great 

 numbers of young. The food of the young when they first 

 appear are Fundulus and Menidia, about 2 centimeters in length. 

 Later in the season they feed on the larger specimens of the 

 same species which abound on these shores in great numbers. 

 In addition to the good feeding grounds the inlets and harbors 

 furnish protection to the young fish. 



