468 REPORT OF THE 



Suborder ANACANTHINI. Jugular Fishes. 

 Family MERLUCCIID^. Whitings. 



220. Whiting; Silver Hake {Merluccius bilincaris Mitchill). 



The Whiting, or Silver Hake, also known as Frost Fish, was first described by 

 Mitchill under the name of Stoniodon bilincaris. DeKay says Mitchill's description 

 was based upon a fish 21 inches long. Mitchill afterward described it under still 

 another name in the Journal of the Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia. 



DeKay gives a description and figure of the fish under the name of the Ameri- 

 can Hake. He states that it is a rare fish in New York waters and when caught is 

 always associated with the Common Cod. The specimen described was taken in 

 November off Sandy Hook. The fishermen from whom he procured it called it the 

 Whiting and said it was very rare. DeKay further states that the fish is in little 

 repute as an article of food, for although well flavored when perfectly fresh, it soon 

 becomes soft and tasteless. 



The Whiting ranges from Labrador to Virginia. The young have been found 

 even further south in very deep water. An example was taken in Great South Bay 

 late in the fall of 1890. The fish is found in Gravesend Bay in spring and fall. On 

 October 28, 1898, several individuals were caught in the ocean off Southampton. 



Dr. Smith states that the fish is abundant every fall at Cape Cod and some years 

 common in summer. It swims close to the shore and is caught in considerable 

 numbers in Buzzards Bay at night with spears, for home use and sale in New 

 Bedford. The Whiting caught in traps usually weigh 5 to 6 pounds. Young 

 specimens, 2^ to 3 inches long, are seined in fall about Woods Hole, Mass. 



Family GADIDiE. Codfishes. 



221. Pollack {PollacJiius vircns Linnaeus). 



The Pollack is a common inhabitant of the North Atlantic, ranging southward to 

 Cape Cod and France. It grows to a length of nearly 4 feet and is an important 

 food fish. 



DeKay describes the Pollack under several names : The New York Pollack, the 

 Coal Fish, and the Green Pollack. He states that the fish occurs in New York 

 waters occasionally during the winter and that it is taken with the Common Cod. 

 He has seen a specimen weighing 17 pounds which was 3 feet 2 inches long. 

 Speaking of a young fish, which he calls the Green Pollack, he says an individual 

 was taken by hook in Long Island Sound out of a large school. The fish flipped in 



