NOTES ON AN INVESTIGATION OF THE MENHADEN FISHERY. 
291 
The mackerel family is represented in the catch by the common mackerel, the 
Spanish mackerel, the cero, and the bonito; the numbers of each of these fish appear- 
ing in the returns are 631, 150, 3, aud 35, respectively. 
Nearly 500 squeteague or “ sea trout” were takeu. Of other members of the drum 
family, the croaker and spot were obtained in considerable numbers, while the red 
drum and the black drum were rarely caught. 
Flounders belonging to four species were often seiued, although the aggregate 
catch was comparatively small. The summer flounder was taken in largest numbers. 
Nearly 400 sharks were secured. Among the species represented were the common 
dogfish, the dusky shark, the hammerhead shark, the thresher, the sand shark or 
shovelnose shark, aud the angel-fish ; the dogfish and dusky shark predominating iu 
numbers. 
Almost as numerous as the sharks were the skates and stingrays. Of the 370 
taken, a very large percentage were brier rays and common skates. 
The cod family was represented in the catch by 1 cod, 1 pollock, 23 haddock, 40 
hake, and 30 whiting or silver hake. 
Following is a detailed statement of the number and kinds of fish taken, exclusive 
of menhaden : 
Kind of fish. 
Number. 
Alewives or herring (Clupea pseudoliaren- 
gus, C. aestivalis) 
Amber-fish (Seriola dumerili lalandi) 
Anchovy (Stolephorus mitchilli) 
Bluefish (Pomatomus saltatrix) 
Bonito (Sarda sarda) 
Butter-fish (Stromateus triacanthus) 
Catfish ( Ameiurus albidus) 
Cero (Scomberomorus regalis) 
Cod (Gadus morrhua) 
Croaker (Mici'opogon undulatus) 
Cunner (Ctenolabrus adspersus) 
Cutlas-fish'orhairtail (Trichiuruslepturus) . . 
Drums (Pogonias cromis, Seiaena ocellata).. 
Filefish or wolfish ( Alutera schoepffi) 
Flounders (Paralichthys dentatus, Pleuro- 
nectes maculatus, Achirus fasciatus, 
Limanda ferruginea) 
Gar (Tylosurus, species) 
Goosefish ! Lop hi us piseatorius) 
Haddock (Melanogrammus seglifinus) 
Hake (Phycis chnss) 
Hickory shad (Clupea mediocris) 
Kingfish (Mentieirrlius saxatilis) 
Lamprey (Petromyzon marinus) 
Lumpfish (Cvclopterus lumpus) 
Mackerel (Scomber scorn brus) 
Pipefish (Siphostoma fuscum) 
Pollock (Pollachius virens) 
86, 898 
1 
2 
2, 274 
35 
811 
2 
3 
1 
134 
4 
2 
11 
9 
3C9 
6 
11 
23 
40 
9 
1 
11 
8 
631 
7 
1 
Kind of fish. 
Number. 
Pompano (Trachinotus carolinus) 
Rudder-fish (Seriola zonata) 
Sculpins (Cottus, species) 
Soup (Stenotomus chrysops) 
Sea bass (Centropristis striatus) 
Sea herring(Clupea harengus) 
Sea-horse (Hippocampus hudsonius) 
Sea-raven (Hemitripterus americanus) 
Sea-robins (Prionotus carolinus, chiefly) 
Shad (Clupea sapidissima) 
Sharks (Carcharinus obscurus, Squalus 
acanthias, Sphyrna zygaena, Carcharias 
americanus, Mnstelus canis, Alopias vul- 
pes, Squatina squatina) 
Skates and rays (Raia erinacea, E. eglanteria, 
R. lsevis, Dasyatis centrurus, Rhinoptera 
quadriloba) 
Spanish mackerel (Scomberomorus macu- 
latus) 
Spot (Leistomus xanthurus) 
Squeteague or weakfish (Cynoscion regalis, 
C. maculatus) 
Striped bass (Roceus lineatus) 
Swellfish, swell-toads (Chilomycterus geo- 
metricus, Tetrodon turgidus) 
Tautog (Tautoga onitis) 
Whiting or silver hake (Merlucius bilinearis) . 
8 
1 
19 
73 
39 
5 
4 
1 
43 
1, 816 
388 
372 
150 
20 
8 
1 
6 
17 
30 
Total 
94, 795 
The animals besides fish taken with the menhaden were not especially numerous 
or important, but represented a comparatively large number of species of mollusks, 
crustaceans, reptiles, echinoderms, and porifers, most of which were bottom forms. 
The mollusks consisted of 2 oysters ( Ostrea virginica), 75 mussels (. Mytilus edulis), and 
34 squid (Loligo pealei). Besides 12 lobsters (. Astacus americanus ), aud 322 blue crabs 
( Callinectes hastatus ), numerous other crustaceans were obtained, such as rock-crabs, 
spider-crabs, hermit-crabs, shrimp, and horseshoe or king crabs, of which no accurate 
count was made. The order of reptiles was represented by 2 loggerhead turtles ( Thal- 
assochelys caretta) and 1 green turtle ( Chelonia my das). Several species of starfishes 
and sponges were taken on numerous occasions. 
