232 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 



place in the spring of 1871, namely, the great number of young fish of 

 the previous year, or those of the third run. These, however, besides 

 their unusual abundance, were more mixed up with the first and second 

 runs than usual. They swarmed in all the pounds, and, indeed, gave a 

 great deal of trouble in the well-meant efforts of the fishermen to turn 

 them out without injury. It is said that as many as 10,000 barrels were 

 taken at one time in a single pound in Narragansett Bay in the middle 

 of May, and a similar abundance was recorded by the fishermen along 

 the entire coast, although in many localities the maximum was not seen 

 until the end of June. The cause of this unexpected and unusual phe- 

 nomenon is one that is difficult to explain. Although many fishermen 

 insisted that these fish were hatched in 1871, it is quite certain that if 

 so, they were not hatched in New England waters during that year. It 

 has even been suggested that they may have been spawned in more 

 southern waters very early in the season, subsequently moving forward 

 to occupy the feeding-grounds of the New England coast. This hypoth- 

 esis is, however, negatived by the statement of Thomas James, (page 

 185,) that late in the fall of 1870 his nets were filled with immense num- 

 bers of small scup of that season. 



If these fish were really, as asserted, so much smaller than the sup- 

 posed yearlings as to induce the impression that they were of the same 

 year's spawniug, it may be that they belonged to a late hatching of 1870. 

 But as far as I could judge, from many observations, they were about 

 the average represented by one year's growth. They grew very rapidly, 

 so that by the end of September they measured nearly G inches in length. 

 They continued along the coast in great abundance, and furnished cap- 

 ital sport for juvenile fishermen in taking them from the wharves; and 

 when a seine was hauled in the small bays, bushels could be readily cap- 

 tured, although they were too small to be of any special service as food. 



As expected, the small scup, to which reference was made as being- 

 very abundant in 1.871, made their appearance again in 1872, of consid- 

 erably larger size, weighing from a quarter to a half pound, and were 

 marketed in large numbers. They were sent to New York, but were not 

 very popular among the wholesale dealers. The persistence of this in- 

 crease was more marked at Newport than elsewhere, where they were 

 more plenty, according to the statements of several parties, than they 

 had been for quite a number of years. As many as 10,000 barrels, ac- 

 cording to Mr. Southwick, were turned out from the pounds outside of 

 Narragansett Bay on the 21st of May. It is, however, not certain 

 whether they were one or two years old. At Wood's Hole a similar in- 

 crease of medium-sized fish was observed, but all agreed, as well at New- 

 port as elsewhere, that there was nothing like the show of small scup 

 which appeared in so marked a manner in 1871. The fish were evidently 

 spawned in 1870, and were, of course, two years old in the summer of 

 1872. For this reason it is possible that after the present generation has 

 reached maturity and been caught up, a scarcity of this particular 

 species of fish may again be experienced. Both at Newport and farther 

 east, scup of unusually large size were taken, some of them measuring 

 18 or 10 inches in length, with a weight of 4 pounds. But few of these, 

 however, were captured with the hook, and they were taken during a few 

 weeks only by the traps. 



If the traps and pounds exercise so detrimental an influence upon the 

 spawning fish as has been asserted, we could understand the appearance 

 of yearling scup in unusual numbers in 1872, as it is well known that, 

 owing to their unusually early appearance in 1871, they had been on 

 their grounds some time before the nets were set for their capture. In 



