REPORT OF THlfc DIRECTOR AND STATE GEOLOGIST 1901 rill 



keeping pace with the bow of the boat. We caught some of 

 them with a dip net. They are about 3^ or 4 inches long. Some 

 of the silversides appeared to be phosphorescent when they left 

 the water. The silver gar often leaps out of the water and 

 over the water for a distance of several feet. Eels go into the 

 shallow water near the shore and even in the grass in search of 

 small fish. They can be heard " smacking " in many directions. 

 The toadfish are generally curled up on the bottom. 



The first long cruise began July 11, on which date the stur- 

 geon fishermen on the ocean beach were still fishing; but the 

 bad weather just prior to that date had interfered seriously with 

 hauling the nets, and the run of fish was almost ended. On 

 July 12 the gill nets set at night showed no signs of sharks; but 

 the presence of menhaden in the bay indicated that sharks were 

 not far off. As an illustration of the poverty of species about 

 the middle of July, the following is a complete list of the fishes 

 taken in three hauls with a gill net and seine combined, the two 

 together measuring 275 feet: Opsanus tau, Pomatomus saltatrioo, 

 Menidia notata, Fundulus heteroclitus, Fundulus majalis, Apeltes 

 quadracus, Anguilla chrysypa, Tylosurus marinas, Stolephorus 

 mitchilli, Pseudopleuronectes americanus, Achirus fasciatus. 



It is safe to say that in previous years the number of fishes 

 taken with such an amount of netting would have been twice 

 as large. The result may have been partly due to an easterly 

 wind and ebb tide, which are generally regarded by fishermen 

 as unfavorable for fishing. 



July 31 we were present at the hauling of the pound in Clam 

 Pond cove. The only species taken in the pound were a few weak- 

 fish, several striped bass, about 200 menhaden, a few dogfish, 

 a half dozen sand sharks, a few small scup, a few fluke, a flat- 

 fish, and two horseshoe crabs. 



Aug. 9 a new 30 fathom seine, which I had constructed specially 

 for use in Great South bay, was hauled near the mouth of Swan 

 river, and took the following species: striped mullet, common 

 killy, four spined stickleback, common silver-side, eel, hogchoker, 

 toadfish, silver gar, young greenbacks (Pomolobus pseudoharengus) 



