DISTEIBUTIOF OF THE POLLOCK. 229 



with a school of Pollock and captured sixty thousand pounds of them in her purse seine. Its 

 range, as now understood, is in the Eastern Atlantic between the parallels 46° and 80°, in the 

 Western Atlantic between 40° and 70°. That its southeastern limit is as near the equator as the 

 parallel of 36° seems quite improbable. 



Habits and pood. — Unlike the Cod and the Haddock, the Pollock is, to a great extent, a 

 surface-swimming species. The fishes of this species congregate together in large schools, roaming 

 from place to place in search of food. To a certain extent they feed at the feottom, like Cod, but 

 are more often seen at the surface of the water, where they prey upon young fish of all kinds. 



Professor Sars gives the following account of the manner in which they prej^ upon little 

 Codfish: 



"I was much interested to see how the Pollock caught the young Codfish. It looked like a 

 systematic chase, and it certainly looked as if the Pollock were acting with a common and well- 

 defined purpose. As far as I could observe, the schools of Pollock surrounded the little Codfish 

 on all sides, making the circle constantly narrower until all the Codfish were gathered in one lump, 

 which they then, by a quick movement, chased up to the surface of the water. The poor little fish 

 now found themselves attacked on all sides: below, the voracious Pollock, which in their eagerness 

 often leaped above the water; and above, hundreds of screeching sea-gulls, which, with wonderful 

 voracity and precision, pounced down upon the places where the Pollock showed themselves, to 

 share the spoils with them. The whole chase is carried on so rapidly, and the young fish stay only 

 so short a time at the surface of the water before they are scattered in all directions with lightning- 

 like rapidity, that it was not even possible for me to see any, much less to catch any with my 

 insufficient implements."^ 



On the coast of Hew England they are much disliked by the fishermen, who claim that they 

 consume great quantities of other fish much more valuable than themselves; in consequence of 

 this the fishermen have a great prejudice against them and refuse to eat them. 



Captain Atwood states that about Cape Cod they do not take to the hook freely; that in other 

 localities they are exceedingly voracious, and great numbers of them may be caught in Massachu- 

 setts Bay with a surface bait. 



When the United States Fish Commission steamer has been stationed north of Cape Cod, a 

 favorite amusement of the officers has been to catch young Pollock with a fly. The older fish are 

 less active and remain more at the bottom. 



Movements. — Concerning this species, Captain Atwood states that they appear about Cape 

 Cod in schools in early May, frequently passing round Eace Point so closely to the shore as to be 

 caught with the seine among the "tide-rips." 



Capt. B. W. Merchant, of Gloucester, tells me that the Pollock were very abundant in Massa- 

 chusetts Bay early in this century — before the war of 1812. They were especially abundant on 

 Middle Bank. They were at that time chiefly caught with bait of herring, taken in seines from 

 the beaches. The fishing boats were of about thirty tons, and carried three men and a boy. Fishing 

 was carried on chiefly at night, when the vessels would all "fleet up," and the bait on their hooks 

 would toll the schools of fish together. The vessels would take about fifty quintals in a night. 

 There were about thirty fish to the quintal. This abundance of Pollock lasted until about 1820. 

 These Pollock were salted, and consumed at home or carried to Maine. They sold for about two 

 dollars a quintal. The oil of their livers was tried out in kettles on the shore. Their roe was 

 exported largely in those days. It was sold by the bushel, at the rate of about sixty cents. 



'Eeport of the United States Fish Commission, part 5, 1879, p. 593. Another vivid description of the manner in 

 which the Pollock feed upon the sand-eels, or lant, may be found on pp. 619 and 620. 



