228 
BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF FISHERIES 
excepting possibly some of the amphipods. The crustaceans of November 20 were 
mostly young. 
The following table shows the foregoing in detail : 
Stomach contents of smelts taken from salt water of Harraseeket River, Freeport, Me. 
Date 
Number of smelts exam- 
ined 
Length in inches 
Stomach contents 
Number of smelts containing — 
Number of each organism contained — 
Nothing 
Isopods 
My sis 
Shrimp 
Amphipods 
Worms 
Minnow 
Silversides 
Isopods 
Mysis 
Shrimp 
Amphipods 
Worms 
Minnow 
SIversides 
1925 
Oct. 2-3 
22 
6. 18- 9. 0 
11 
6 
1 
4 
2 
1 
0 
0 
10 
1 
4 
3 
1 
0 
0 
Oct. 22-23.... 
21 
6. 4 -10. 4 
2 
11 
5 
7 
0 
0 
2 
3 
32 
11 
11 
0 
0 
2 
3 
Oct. 29-30.... 
28 
5. 35- 8. 5 
6 
3 
16 
12 
0 
0 
0 
1 
23 
16 
16 
0 
0 
0 
3 
Nov. 12 
35 
5. 47- 8. 7 
15 
9 
6 
4 
0 
0 
0 
2 
55 
4 
4 
0 
0 
0 
0 
Nov. 19-20... 
21 
7. 0 - 8. 4 
0 
14 
14 
10 
0 
0 
0 
0 
29 
10 
10 
0 
0 
0 
0 
1926 
Oct. 7 
16 
5. 8 -10. 0 
9 
7 
0 
4 
0 
0 
0 
0 
7 
0 
4 
0 
0 
0 
0 
Oct. 11 
15 
7. 12- 8. 5 
2 
16 
3 
10 
1 
0 
0 
0 
17 
3 
10 
1 
0 
0 
0 
Oct. 22 
47 
5. 9 - 9. 25 
2 
8 
11 
29 
2 
0 
0 
8 
16 
18 
62 
30 
0 
0 
10 
Nov. 2 
21 
5. 9 - 8. 66 
8 
6 
1 
9 
0 
0 
0 
1 
33 
(?) 
12 
0 
0 
0 
1 
Nov. 20 
28 
5. 8 -10. 4 
0 
9 
23 
20 
25 
0 
0 
0 
16 
120 
72 
234 
0 
0 
0 
BREEDING HABITS 
Season . — Concerning the spawning season of the European smelt, Bloch (1796) 
states that it occurs in March, when they arrive in great numbers and deposit their 
eggs upon the bare rocks. Pennant (1776) says that they appear long before they 
spawn and are taken in great abundance in November, December, and January in 
the Thames and Dee, but in other rivers not until February, and in March and 
April they spawn; after which they all return to salt water and are not seen in the 
rivers until the next season. In a footnote he indicated that in the rivers Conway 
and Mersey the smelts never continue spawning more than 3 or 4 weeks. It was 
observed that they never entered the Mersey as long as there was any snow water 
in the river. 
According to Yarrell (1836) the British smelt repairs to fresh or brackish water 
and remains there from August to May. Day (1884) stated that Lubbock observed 
migrations of roach and dace in the Thames, fleeing from smelts that regularly 
ascend the river in spring to spawn and only stop their upward course at some 
insurmountable barrier. 
Cunningham (1896) says the smelt spawns in March, April, and May, ascending 
to near the limit of the rise of the tide, where the water is fresh or nearly so. In 
the Forth it spawns annually just below Stirling, where Cunningham said he had 
taken the eggs and fertilized them artificially. 
Boulenger (1904) states that the smelt breeds in salt water, and although it 
often enters rivers it does not ascend beyond tidal influences. 
Regan (1911) says that in the early spring the smelt assemble in shoals and 
ascend the rivers to spawn, in some localities not going farther than tidal waters for 
this purpose, but in others pushing up well beyond. He also states that spawning 
