REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. LIII 



The reasons for dispatching the Albatross to the Pacific coast of the 

 United States have been stated in previous reports. It was considered 

 that the benefits received by the Atlantic fisheries from the investiga- 

 tions of the Fish Commission were sufficiently important to warrant 

 the extension of the work to the western coast, where the off-shore fish- 

 ing grounds had never been studied or developed, although known to 

 be extensive and valuable. Demands for information respecting their 

 location, characteristics, and productiveness had frequently been made 

 upon the Commissioner, and the late Professor Bairdhad carefully ma- 

 tured his plans with a view to instituting the desired inquiries, but his 

 sudden death left their fulfillment to his successor. The transfer of the 

 Albatross to the Pacific coast was sanctioned by the act of Congress, 

 approved August 4, 1886, which provided for the necessary alterations 

 in her machinery and for the additional expenses of the voyage to San 

 Francisco. In accordance with the arrangements made by Professor 

 Baird, instructions were given to carry on a limited amount of explor- 

 ing work during the cruise around South America, as it was thought 

 that valuable information might be obtained respecting the distribution 

 of some of the oceanic fishes which frequent the coasts of the United 

 States. It was also considered important to take advantage of the op- 

 portunity to study the methods of fishing practiced on the South Ameri- 

 can coast. Occasional dredgings, chiefly in moderate depths of water, 

 were made during the progress of the cruise, together with the custom- 

 ary physical observations and surface towings. At coaling ports the 

 scientific assistants were principally occupied in collecting and studying 

 the local fishes, and in obtaining data bearing upon the fishery methods 

 and statistics. The fish markets were visited and complete series of the 

 species offered for sale were secured and forwarded to Washington. 

 The places where opportunities occurred for this kind of work were as 

 follows : The Island of St. Lucia in the West Indies, Bahia, Montevideo, 

 Sandy Point, Lota, Panama, Acapulco, and La Paz, the last two being 

 located on the west coast of Mexico. Dredging work and hydrographic 

 observations were carried on through the entire length of the Straits of 

 Magellan, a comparatively unknown region zoologically, and a short stop 

 was made at the Galapagos Islands, off the coast of Ecuador. At the 

 latter place a number of specimens of the edible land tortoise peculiar to 

 those islands were secured and carried alive to San Francisco. It was 

 intended to plant them on one of the islands off the coast of Florida, in 

 the hope that they might become acclimated on our own coast, but, un- 

 fortunately, they barely survived the journey across the continent. 

 Collections of shore fishes were obtained by seining at several locali- 

 ties on the outer coast of Lower California, and a few dredge hauls 

 were made off California, one of the latter containing a new species 

 of edible flounder, which appears to occur in considerable abundance. 



The scientific and practical results of this cruise can not fail to be of 

 great importance. The greater part of the collections obtained has 



