212 EEPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 



lated, in certain i)laces, by improper fisliing, sncb as the tautog, (Tautofja 

 americanaj the sea-perch, fCtenolahrus cceruleusj the iionnder, fFla- 

 tessa planaj the striped bass, (Labrax lineatus^J and the scup, (Spay^us 

 argyrops^f &c. 



It would seem that the question whether they may be diminished by 

 fishiug depends upon their localization at the time of breeding. 



Whether the breed is destroyed when in spawn by trails, or, as on the 

 coast of Spain when hatched, by the trawl beam, the mode suggested by 

 Atwood, the effect will be to effect a dimjnution. 



And we cite from the commissioners' report, (page 20,) another para- 

 graph taken from the report of the river fisheries : 



" We see that in 1831 Malaga caught less than any except San Lucar, 

 but in 1861, she toolc more than the three put together. Further, Malaga 

 tookfifty per ceut. more fish to each man than did others. On the Malaga 

 coast, fishing with the great trawl net faux hceufsjhun heeu prohibited 

 since 1828, while in the three other departments it has been allowed and 

 much i^racticed." 



A single other fact, and I will leave this part of the case. 



In the American Angler's Guide, page 178, iii the article on tautog or 

 black-fish, it is remarked : 



-' The black-fish abounds in the vicinity of Long Island, and is a sta- 

 tionary inhabitant of the salt water." 



" He may be kept for a long time in ponds or cars, and fed and even 

 fatted there. When the cold of winter benumbs him, he refuses to eat 

 any more, and a membrane is observed to form over the vent and close 

 it. He begins to regain appetite with the return of warmth in the 

 spring." (Page 179.) 



Kow we know that tautog hibernate among the rocks near the coast 

 and in our rivers, and it has been stated by Mr. L. Tallman or Mr. Daniel 

 Church that, some years ago, after a very cold snap, not only many tau- 

 tog were washed ashore frozen stiff, but afterward quantities were also 

 found dead among the rocks off the coast. 



If, during the winter, they do not feed as stated above, and this mem- 

 brane closes them u^), the conclusion must be that they remain in a 

 state of torpor or sleep during the cold weather. 



Now it happens that the scup, when first taken by the traps, are in a 

 similar state of torpor; they neither eat nor have ^i\y passage; it is 

 probably sealed uj) like the tautog, and nothing in the shape of food is 

 to be found within them. Some say they are blind, and they seem hardly 

 able or willing to move. 



The inference then is that scup have also been hibernating within a 

 short distance of the coast, in the same state as the tautog. This would 

 account for the stray scup mentioned by Mr. Southwick as having been 

 occasionally found in March. A warm day w^akes him up, and he visits 

 the shore for a day or so and then returns. 



To my mind this is a more reasonable way for accounting for his pres- 

 ence tlian to assume tliat he has been left behind. 



If these facets are as stated, it is to be presumed that scu]> are a local 

 fish, and do not leave their localities any more than tautog, about the 

 propriety of the classification of which as a local fish there i-i no question. 



HEART-SEINES AND FYKE-NETS. 



It does not seem necessary to discuss the effect of these modes of fish- 

 ing. Nothing has been said in their favor, nor does any one appear to 

 represent parties interested. The heart-seines are of the same character 



