PRESENT CONDITION OF THE FISHERIES. 69 



Squeteague we took first about the 20th of July, excepting now and 

 then a scattering one ; not more than half a dozen in all before that 

 time. They had spawn in them — good, nice spawn. I took particular 

 notice of the difference between the spawn of herring and squeteague. 

 The herring-spawn was larger; that of the squeteague a dark red, and 

 smaller than that of herring. But all I noticed had spawn in them. 

 We never catch any small squeteague, though the first we caught, I 

 think, was not over a foot long. 



Cod-fish we catch once in a wdrile; the large, overgrown, logy ones.. 

 We caught one pretty good-looking cod-fish. 



We never catch haddock. 



Pollock we have caught a few. 



Cod-fish are caught off on the Middle Ground in the spring ; once in 

 a great while they catch a haddock, but not often. 



Hake they catch occasionally. 



We never catch any salmon or salmon-trout. 



Striped-bass we caught last year, sixty or seventy, weighing from 

 eight to twelve pounds. It is pretty difficult to catch them in a pound. 

 They go in, but seem to go out again very quick at the mouth. 



Question. Do any of these go back in the fall as they come in in 

 spring 1 



Answer. Yes; menhaden and mackerel; I do not know how late scup 

 stay ; Ave have caught them in October, in a moderate fall. Tautog stay 

 in the bay all winter, in the deep water. 



Captain Smith, who was in company with Captain Spindel, said he 

 had lived here and on the island twenty years. Blue-fish were most 

 abundant in this vicinity from twelve to fifteen years ago ; much more 

 plenty than now. 



Captain Spindel : When the guano-works were started, seven years 

 ago, I went purse-seining for the company, and there were plenty of 

 blue-fish up in the bay then. The next year I was looking for schools 

 of mendaden and went aloft, and saw nothing but blue-fish as far as I 

 could see — for miles around — breaking water in schools. There were 

 no menhaden there. There was a blue-fish for every square yard ; they 

 were all over the water, and it was as calm as could be. I stood 

 on the deck and looked at them and then went akoft, and they were as 

 far as I could see. I have never seen anything Tike - it since. I have 

 knoAvn blue-fish in Massachusetts Bay as far back as fifteen or sixteen 

 years ago. I went to California about twenty years ago, and I think 

 they were there before I went away. The blue-fish drive out other fish 

 when they come into a bay — all kinds of fish that are not larger than 

 themselves. 



Mackerel have come in more plenty, and blue-fish not so plenty. T 

 think the blue-fish do more harm to the fishing than the pounds do, ten 

 times. I don't think pounds make fish any more scarce. Where a 

 pound catches one fish, other fish eat up thousands. 



Question. Suppose the.blue-fish eat up nine-tenths of all the scup, and 

 the traps caught the other tenth when going to the spawning-ground, 

 would not that make a difference ? 



Answer. It might make a difference ; but it would make a difference 

 if they were caught with a hook. Take it this year ; there have been a 

 great many pounds — lots of them — to the westward ; and they say they 

 never had so many fish as this year. I wish fish would diminish so that 

 we could get a decent price for them. There are five times as many fish 

 eaten as there used to be. Any one would think that 5,000 vessels, 

 catching mackerel with spawn in them, would diminish the number ; 



