FOREST, FISH AND GAME COMMISSION. 42 1 



to 4 pounds, a few Aveigh 7 to 8 pounds, and many small ones are caught weighing 

 1/2 pound. Very young fish are rare ; on one occasion some 2 inches long were 

 taken in July at Menemsha. 



114. Spanish Mackerel {Scomber omonis inaculatiis Mitchill). 



The Spanish Mackerel is described by Mitchill without any remark upon its 

 abundance or scarcity, but he states that it comes in July. This fish appears to 

 have been unknown to DeKay. The species which he calls Spanish Mackerel, and 

 figures on pi. II, fig. 33, is the Chub Mackerel or Thimble-Eye. 



This mackerel occurs on our coast regularly from Massachusetts to the Gulf of 

 Mexico, and it has been recorded from the coast of Maine by Capt. Atwood. Ayres 

 states that this is one of the rarest species he has met, several years frequently 

 passing without one being seen. In 1841 four were taken in nets hauled for Blue- 

 fish. The fishermen called it Horse Mackerel and Spanish Mackerel. This fish is 

 still caught sparingly by trolling off Fire Island Inlet. It spawns on Long Island 

 shores, beginning late in August and continuing about a month. It sometimes con- 

 gregates in enormous schools. Earll recorded the appearance of a school off Long 

 Island which was estimated to contain several millions of individuals. At Woods 

 Hole, Mass., it has been a rare fish recently, and apparently becomes scarcer each 

 season. It was abundant formerly. In 1883 or 1884, 530 were taken at one lift of a 

 trap at the breakwater. OvXy one or two have been taken annually in late years, 

 and the average weight in that region is 23^ pounds. This is one of the most valu- 

 able of the food fishes. 



115. Cero [Sconiberomorus regalis Bloch). 



The Cero is a very large mackerel, reaching the length of 5 or 6 feet and the 

 weight of 20 pounds. It is an excellent food fish. Its range extends from Cape 

 Cod to Brazil ; it is not very common on our Atlantic coast but abounds in Cuba. 

 At Woods Hole, where it is not an uncommon species, it is known as the Cero and 

 Kingfish. It appears in Vineyard Sound about July ist and is much more numer- 

 ous than the Spanish Mackerel. 



116. Kingfish ; Sierra yScoinbcromoriis cavalla Cuvier). 



The Kingfish, or Sierra, is another very large species of the Tropics in open seas, 

 coming in immense schools to the Florida Keys and Charleston, and ranging north 

 to Cape Cod and south to Africa and Brazil. It is one of the best food fishes of the 

 Florida coast. It reaches a length of 5 feet and a weight of 100 pounds. It is 



