MIGRATIONS OF COD 
91 
In sum, cod eggs spawned along the coast of Maine east of Cape Elizabeth are 
probably the most prolific source of the cod fry present on Nantucket Shoals. 
THE PRESENCE OF JUVENILE COD ON NANTUCKET SHOALS 
In American waters little is known concerning the habits and migrations of young 
cod from the time they first take to the bottom until they are about 2 years old 
(about 12 to 14 inches long). Consequently, we must turn to European sources for 
information as to this stage in the cod’s life. 
Off the Norwegian coast, Hjort and Dahl (1900, p. 154), in summing up Sar’s 
findings on the cod, point out that cod fry approach the shores in summer and in 
autumn when about 10 to 12 centimeters (about 4 to 5 inches) long. They live close 
by the shore in sandy bays and in the uppermost seaweed. McIntosh (1897, 
p. 194-195) states that in Scottish waters the fry frequent shallow rock pools, but that 
they go offshore as they become older. Schmidt (1907, p. 16) records cod fry 4 to 5 
centimeters (1)^ to 2 inches) long in the fjords around Iceland in September, while 
various European investigators mention the presence of young frj^ floating under jelly- 
fish (Cyanea). Not all records of the fry have been from alongshore, for Hjort 
(1914, p. 10) states that, although the younger stages live as a rule in shallow water 
in the southerly regions, observations made to the northward (east of Vardo and 
in the Varanger Fjord) have shown that small cod, from the earliest bottom stages 
upward, are to be found widely distributed throughout great parts of the Barentz 
Sea, even as deep as 100 to 200 fathoms. 
How closely the habits of European and American cod fry agree, particularly 
with respect to the environment in which they pass their first year, is not yet known. 
We have no proof that cod fry make extensive migrations off the New England 
coast. Comparatively few have been found in the immediate shore waters during 
recent collecting, although offshore they were quite generally scattered over all good 
cod bottom wherever experimental haids were made between Nantucket Shoals and 
southern Nova Scotia. 
A few hauls made on Nantucket Shoals with a small otter trawl 16 yielded the 
following young cod: 
Haul No. 1 . — June 22, 1927; 10 miles east of Round Shoal buoy; one-half hour; 
depth, 21 fathoms; 5 cod, 63 to 93 millimeters long (2.5 to 3.7 inches). 
Haul No. 2 .- — June 24, 1927; near Great Rip buoy; one-half hour; depth, 12 
fathoms; 14 cod, of which 12 were 61 to 122 millimeters (2.4 to 4.8 inches) and the 
other two, 297 and 343 millimeters long (11.7 and 13.5 inches). 
Haul No. 3 . — October 16, 1927; near Great Rip buoy; one-half hour; depth, 12 
fathoms; 2 cod, 184 and 203 millimeters long (7.2 and 8 inches). 
In addition to the fry taken in trawls others were found in the stomachs of 
larger fish, chiefly cod. As a rule about 8 or 10 young cod from about 3 to 7 inches 
long were found per 100 stomachs examined not only in cod caught on Nantucket 
Shoals but in many other localities as well. 
Although small cod less than 8 inches long and not over about 1 year of age 
have been found quite generally distributed over Nantucket Shoals and other offshore 
grounds, only a small part of them appear to survive there, for a striking paucity of 
fish a little larger, between 8 and 15 inches long or 1 and 2 years of age, has been 
16 The trawl used had a spread of about 30 feet between the boards and was of J^-inch square mesh. Usually the cod end was 
lined with bobbinet of about $32-inch mesh. 
