420 REPORT OF THE 



August. It has been taken also at Menemsha, where sometimes as many as loo are 

 caught in a net at one lift. This fish uniformly weighs about 8 pounds. It 

 made its appearance first in American waters in 1871, when several large schools 

 were observed in Buzzards Bay and Vineyard Sound. On our coast it is not valued 

 for food, but in the Mediterranean the fish is considered edible. 



112. Tunny; Horse Mackerel {Tlunnuis tliyimus Linnjeus). 



The Tunny, or Horse Mackerel, is the Tuna or Leaping Tuna of Southern 

 California. It is a pelagic fish, found on all warm coasts, extending north to 

 England, Newfoundland, San Francisco and Japan. It is the largest fish of the 

 mackerel family, reaching a length of 10 feet or more, and the weight of 1,500 

 pounds. It is a good food fish and is the subject of very extensive fisheries in the 

 Mediterranean, and recently in New England. 



DeKay borrowed his description of the fish from Storer. DeKay did not see a 

 specimen in its entire state, but was informed by fishermen that it Avas frequently 

 taken off Block Island. 



The Tunny was formerly plentiful in the vicinity of Woods Hole, Mass., but 

 has been rare for a number of years, none having been taken for five years in 

 Buzzards Bay traps. It is still abundant on the north side of Cape Cod. A good 

 locality for the fish is Milk Island, near Rockport, Cape Ann. 



113. Bonito {Sarda sarda Bloch). 



The Bonito inhabits the Atlantic Ocean on both coasts, extending northward in 

 the Atlantic on our shores to Cape Cod. It is very abundant but is not greatly 

 prized as a food fish. It reaches the length of 2^^ feet, and the weight of 10 to 12 

 pounds. DeKay calls this the Striped Bonito, and says it is but an occasional 

 visitor to the New York coast. The specimen which he described and figured was 

 taken in September in the harbor of New York, in company with many others. 

 Ayres states that during the summer of 1842 it appeared on the north shore of 

 Brookhaven, and quite a number were taken. It was entirely new to the fishermen, 

 who had never seen there any species like it. While on a visit to Long Island in 

 1844 Ayres saw two specimens, and obtained one weighing about 4 pounds. 



The fish is generally scarce in Gravesend Bay, but five were taken one day in a 

 pound net, in October, 1897. 



At Woods Hole, Mass., it is usually common ; abundant some years and some- 

 times quite scarce. In traps, at Menemsha, as many as 1,000 were often taken 

 daily in July, August, September and early October. The average weight is 3^ 



