LVIII REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 
A detailed account of these investigations will be found in the Bulle- 
tin of the Fish Commission for 1889 (pp. 289-312), which also contains 
lists of the fishes, mollusks, and higher crustaceans collected during 
the cruise. It had been intended to extend the inquiry to Campeche 
Bank, where it is expected important fisheries can be established, but 
for reasons previously explained this matter was necessarily deferred 
until some future occasion. 
Fishes of southern Florida. — The examination of the coast waters of 
southern Florida by Dr. Hen shall, previously referred to, was carried 
on while the schooner Grampus was at work upon the offshore grounds. 
The object of his inquiry was to collect and study the fishes and other 
marine animals between Biscay ne Bay and Tampa, paying particular 
attention to the abundance, distribution, and habits of those species 
which are of economic importance. He was provided with a seine 
boat and a dory belonging to the Grampus , together with the necessary 
fishing and camping equipment, and was accompanied by a local pilot 
and a seaman and cabin boy from the schooner. The party was con- 
veyed by the Grampus as far as Indian Key on February 11, thence 
making its way through the reefs to Card Sound. From this point 
Dr. Henshall worked along the coast to Charlotte Harbor and Tampa 
Bay, concluding the investigation on April 4. Nearly all the work 
was limited to salt water, on account of the remoteness of the fresh- 
water streams from the shores and their inaccessibility, but a few iso- 
lated fresh-water ponds were reached by carrying the collecting outfit 
overland. Between Biscayne Bay and Charlotte Harbor practically no 
fisheries are carried on. From Cape Sable to Pavilion Key the coast 
consists of mangrove shores and islands, un suited to the hauling of 
large seines. There is a small fishing ranch on Estero Bay, just below 
Charlotte Harbor, and at Gordon Pass and Marco a little fishing is 
done to supply the local demand, but at none of these places is the 
catch sufficient to entitle it to recognition from a commercial stand- 
point. In his report on the results of the exploration* Dr. Henshall 
gives a complete list of all the fishes collected, with notes upon their 
habits, distribution, abundance, and uses. 
Propagation of the mullet and other fishes . — The steamer Fish Hatch 
left Washington January 6, 1889, to investigate the hatching of the 
mullet and of other fishes on the west coast of Florida. A few stops 
were made along the Atlantic coast, on the way south, in order to 
gather information regarding certain fisheries, and a brief examination 
was also made of the Blackfish Banks off Cape Fear, North Carolina. 
Beaching Charlotte Harbor, February 7, operations were immediately 
begun at that place and were subsequently continued at Boca Grande 
and Punta Bassa until about April 1. The spawning season of the mul- 
let in this region had closed before the arrival of the Fish Hatch, but 
large numbers of the adults and of the fry were obtained in both fresh 
* Bulletin of the U. S. Fish Commission for 1889, pp. 371-389. 
