Food from the sea: fish and shellfish of New England.

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UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT ·01", THE INTERIOR

Harold L. Ickes, Secretary _.

FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE . .

Ira N. Gabrielson, Director

Conservation Bulletin 33

FOOD FROM THE SEA

Fish and Shellfish ofNew England _

BY

RACHEL L. CARSON ,

Aquatic a.iologist, Division of Fishery Biology

Fish and Wildlife Service

UNITED STATES

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE

WASHINGTON : 1943

For sale by 'the Superintendent of Documents,' U. S. Government Printing Office

, Washington, D. C. ~ Price 15cents

I,

. _t \

Millions of Americans are developing new wartime food habits,

trying foods they once neglected, turning to alternates for long

familiar products. For everyone of the ten fish or shellfish that

make up more than four-fifths of New England's catch there are

seven species little known or utilized, many of which could pro-vide

tasty and nutritious foods. Turning to these under-utilized

species will conserve food resources by lifting the burden of over-exploitation

from such fishes as cod and haddock and will augment

dwindling supplies of protein foods. Exploring the seafood markets

for unfamiliar species rewards the housewife and her family with

delightful taste surprises, for scarcely any other class of food offers

so great a variety, so rich an opportunity for mealtime adventures.

Before we can try new foods, we must know what they are-something

of their nutritive value, where they come from, how

. market supplies vary with the season. Our enjoyment of these

foods is heightened if we also know something of the creatures from

which they are derived, how and where they live, how they are

caught, theirhabits and migrations. This publication provides

such an introduction to the more important fish and shellfish of

New England .

CONTENTS

FISH AND SHELLFISH OF NEW ENGLAND'

IntroductioJ - ~ pag~

New England's fish supply 2

Leading species_________________________ 2

, Fish as food____________________________ 4

When to buy___________________________ 5

, Seasonal supplies of fresh fish___________ 6

Sources of supply __c ~------~------------- 8

Fishermen and fisbing boats__________________ 10

How the fisheries began________________ 10

New England's place among United '

ThSetafteleset fisheries_________________"____________ 1113

Markets ._________ 14

Biofigsrha_p_h_ie_s, o_f__N_e_w____E_nglan_d___f_i_sh___a_n_d_ sh_e_ll_-_ 14

Alewlves "_ __ __ 15.

Sea herring_____________________________ 18

Mackerel., ___ __ _ __ 21

Bwordnsh, _______ _________ ___ 25

Cod ' .. "_______________ 27

Haddock ,,_ ,31

, Pollock " . . 34

Biographies of New England fish and shell- Page

fish-CHoankteisn_u_e_d_. ___ _'____ _ _ _ 37

Cusk __"'____ _________ ___ _ 39

Whiting____ _______ _ __ 41

E~l~ou~n~deilrss.h, -_.:_~_=~=_=_=_=_._: _====== ====== =_====== =_ :4~8

Halibut " c .; "____ _ 52

Wolffish__ ______ _ _ ____ _ 54

Butterfish c___ __ _ _ __ _ 54

Tuna '_" : ___ __ ___ 55

Summer fiounder .-- 56

Anglerfish : _______ 57

Skates c " _ _ __ _ _ 57

The ovster,«; ~ ._ 59

The Iobster.e; ._________ 63

: ~~~~~~;~::======:::=====::::===:::==~=g= ...,••Shrimp ~__" ~__ ____ 71

••. Sell mussels "_____________________ n

Bibliography , ----- 72

Conservation of the rich natural resources of the sea is a job for"

the consuming public as well as' for State and Federal governments.

Each of the millions of people who buy and eat fish can play an active

part in conservation by, utilizing a greater variety of seafoods. In

New England, the specificjob is to spread consumption more uniformly

over the nearly 80 species of fish and shellfish that are brought, into

local ports eachyear. Production records 'of the fishing industry show

a serious lack of balance-c-overexploitation of a few species on one

hand, wasteful underexploitation of many species on the other. Al-though

600,000,000pounds of seafoodare caught byNew England fish-ermen

each year, 85percent of this poundage consists of only 10species,

while the remaining 70 species are landed in quantities so limited that, '

they make up only 15'percent of the total catch.

There are two reasons for this: state of affairs. First, of course, is

the obvious fact that some species are more abundant or more easily

1

CO~SERVATION BULLETIN 33

caught than others, Second, and more important because remediable,

is the lack of demand for the neglected seventy, caused by the fact that

the public is unfamiliar with them and hesitates to try new species it

knows nothing about. The 10 seafoods the New Englander eats so ex-:

tensively are, for the most part, the best-known species-fishes by tra-dition

as characteristic of New England as baked beans or boiled

dinners. Haddock and cod, mackerel and herring, lobsters and clams- ,

these are the natural choices of the New Englander when he goes to his

seafood market to buy fish for dinner. The only newcomers that have,

in recent years, given strong competition to these aristocrats of the fish

world are rosefish (also called "redfish"), and flounders. Still little

utilized are fishes like cusk, some of the flounders, skates, hakes, anglers,

and dozens of others. From the standpoint of human welfare, thou-sands

upon thousands of pounds of these less known fishes go to waste

in the sea each year; ,

If New England fisheries are to yield their full' quota of food, now

and in future years, the burden of overexploitation must be lifted from

the few species that now make up more than four-fifths of the catch;

the slack of wasted pounds must be taken up from the fishes that now

are underutilized. To this end, the major purpose of this publication

is to acquaint the consumer with the fishes available in good quantity

in New England markets, and to introduce those fishes as individual

creatures-' individual in flavor, food values, and gustatory appeal, in

their habits, migrations, and relations to a varied sea environment,

each with its own seasons of abundance and scarcity which, in turn,

affect its availability and market quality.

NEW ENGLAND'S FISH SUPPLY

Leading Species

,At the present time, the largest item in New England's catch is

haddock, with landings in 1940 amounting to 141,000,000 pounds

valued at $4,600,000 (returns to fishermen). ' In the same year rose-fish

ranked second, producing 85,000,000 pounds worth one and a

quarter millions. Third in poundage but second in value was cod,

with a yield of 82,000,000 pounds worth two and a half millions.' '

Flounders, herring, whiting, pollock, and mackerel were the only

other speciestaken in quantities exceeding 35,000,000 pounds. Six-teen

others were caught in quantities exceeding a million pounds, and

catches of less than a million pounds each were made of about 50

minor species.

1Members of the cod family (haddock, cusk, hake, whiting, and pollock, as well as the

cod itself) ordinarily make up three-fifths of the total New England catch.

FOOD FROM THE .SEA 3

12.617

Figure 1.-Mass production is the keynote of New England's high seas fisheries.

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4 CONSERVATION BULLETIN 33

TABLE I.-Fish and shellfish lasided in New England in 1940 in quantities exceeding

100,000 pounds ' • /:>1-

Fish

3,193,400

124,300

2,475,700

82,288,900

7,966,500

Pounds Value to Fish Pounds Value to

fishermen fishermen

---- ----- ----

$19,141 Skates ______________________ 176,300 $2,331

5,494 Smelt __________________. __ 562,300 45,617

94,694 squeteatues or "sea trout" _ 153,700 11,158

2,502,745 Striped ass________________ 147,400 18,881

204,445 TSawuotordgfis_h_______________________.______________ 1,337,300 230,088 156,800 6,860

24,480 Tuna ______________'2________ 1,120,900 39,229

1,143 WWohliftifnisgh __________________________________.__.__4_0,868,900 335,855 1,233,000 33,721

279,489

218,993 SHELLFISH

'728,230 Crabs ______________________2,419,400 54,276

468,234 Lobsters ____________________11,165,300 2,000,566

214,402 Clams:

18,598 Hard _____________________4,453,100 583,721

19,426 Razor. ___________________ 342,400 11,085

4,600,513 Soft ______________________15,388,000 1,160,114

295,551 Oysters _____________________5,990,200 1,051,224

147,386 Scallops:

401'.,120 Bay ______-___.____________ 1,131,400 382,376

7,305 Sea________ r; ~.___________5,390,900 799,850

767,334 Conchs _____________________ 424,500 8,116

691,055 Sea urchins _________________ 102,500 785

'1,271,303 Seaweeds:

264,156. 'mh~~~~:~::~::::::::::::: 596,200 59,182

144,950 137,000 685

1,582 Sandvworms and blood-

22,214 worms ____________________ 55\1,000 156,794

4,375

Alewives -__

Bopito- - _-_- -- - - --

Bgtterfish _ cod _

Cusk _

Eels:

Commop_________________ 273,900 F~~~~jifi~~~;;;~;~;;:;~;;;;;;~~. Yellowtail and dab . 33,590,200

.Blackbaok 10,692,900

Eluke.; _ 3,254,400

Other ___________ ____ 550,800

Grayfish __"~ "___ 575,500

Haddock 141,193,700'

e - 14,321,500

ut, . ;__ 1,129,000

ng, sea ~ ~_ 44,051,700

L .' e_____________________ 162,400

Mac e1.._________________ 35,969,600

Pollock __,, 37,333,500

Rosefish - 85,141,700

Scup or.porgy 10,842,700

Beabass ., "__________ 3,302,400

Se'itrobin ~_~ ~---- 142,200

Sp!td-- - -_"_-- 573,300

Sharks .----------. 226,400

Fish as Food

t" .,.,

LN ewEngland's marine bill offa:re includes so many items that it

i'fb'; 4he possible to make a diffe~ent selection from it everyday for

Ida half months. Seafoods brought into New England ports

from, staples like cod and haddock to delicacies like swordfish,

_,.and scallops. They include fat fish and lean fish, fish of . , ., ( .~.. .flavor and fish of rich flavor, fish for baking, broiling, or pan-

, for delicious and satisfying main dishes or for salads, appe-ar

chowders."

rcely any other class of food offers "so great a variety-so rich

,ort~.pityfor gustatory adv~nture .. 'The housewife who experi-

}yh,:newfish species and new methods of preparation banishes

,iti¢';fu:ppotony and provides delightful taste surprises for her

,,'~ti:For':,~xample, instead of hadclOck'fm~t~ for di.nner tonight,

'''ip.ilt 'new interest in your menu byser:vingthe little known

~.' o1ii$iae:rredone of the choicest New~nglri3:idtable fish? For

a-salad surprise try New England shrimp or-flaked mackerel in gela-tine.

Instead of expensive fresh salmon, substitute fillets of wolffish,

an excellent table fish that has only begun to achievedeserved import-ance.

Any new species that is available is worth-trying, if a tested

recipe for its preparation is at hand.

2 The Fish and Wildlife Service, as well as many commercial fishery organizations and

other private agencies, issues cookbooks in which hundreds of recipes for the preparatjon

of tempting seafood dishes are provided,

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FOOD FROM THE SEA "

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\."'Besides th~Ir taste' appeal, fish lla';e solid claims t~incliision"in .'th~

:'family: diet on the basis' of actual food values. .'Outstanding among."

the 'facts 'worthy of .'attention is "thehigh "qUalityoffish" protein.ithe

·substance that replacesworn-out body tissues and promotes growth.

Fish,'oh the average, are equal to beef round in the nutritive value of

"their protein, and many kinds of fish and sh~llfish rankhigher than

beef.' "Amorigthese producers of superior quality proteinate oysters,

·pilchard; andsilver salmon from thePaeific coast; red snapper and

shrimp from thesouth, Boston mackerel, shadecod, and croakers. ,In>"

general terms, an averageserving of fish or- shellfish may becounted

upon to supply from a quarter to a half of the necessary daily allow-

· anc~ of protein. ;- -. .

Another reason for the high rating given fish by. nutritioniets is

their mineral. content. I'ron, copper, magnesium, iodine; calcium, and'

phosphorus, all ,essential to human w~ll being, are a few of themin-erals

that have been accumulatingin the sea for thousands of years,

·washed down from the land by rivers. Through 'complex food chains

·these minerals enter into the bodies of small sea animals which, in turn,

are eaten hy fish. To cite thr~e outstandingexamples of why these v.

faCts are .important.fromthe nutritionalstandpoip.t : Iodine, which

.keeps:the:.thyroid:glandcfunctioni~g':properlY'ris·found:in:·marine·food

.animals in quantitie~ 50 t9 200,.t~rP.esashlgh.as in any other foods.

Calcium-and-phosphorus (without whichproper deyelopmentof bones:

'and,teeth is impossible) occurinflsh :filletsiriabotitthe same:'qu~ritities

as in beef romid.Oysters,shtimp, andcrab.meat, comparedwith

milk.vprovidchalf as much calcium, five times as much magnesium,

~ arid slightly more phosphorus.". I~on and copper, which 'buildup the

· hemoglobin content of' the blood and preventorremedyriutritional·····

'anemia, are easily obtained by eating most fish. Oysters' and shrimp

are the .best known sources of these two minerals.' r' .

;. A.~for vitamins; fish-liver oils have long been recognized asfirst- "

..class .sources ofVit~mins.Aand D~ Less widely understood is the

.fact that the flesh offish also is a source of several vitamins .. On the

average, daily vitamin requirements"couldbe'obta:ined'frorh 'ordiIiaiy:;

portions of fish to the following extent : Vitamin A, 10 percent ; yita-".

minD, more than adequate amounts; thiamin (Vita:rninB1) 15 ·per..;

~cent; riboflavin (Vitamin B:Jand nicotinic acid (another element of

· the ,Vitamin B complex), 70 percent.

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.,.' .When To Buy

:,Every 'Il1onthof the year inthe '~~esh-fishmarkets, .certain fish ate

,~etter buys than others;" Although the'retail prices of most fish vary:

surprisingly "little .from season to season,' it . pays the housewife in

better quality to buya particular species offish when the supply)s':"

521544°--43--;-2 ~ ,

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6' ' , ' CONSERVATION BULLETIN 33

greatest:'" When whiting or pollock, for example, are most abundant

in local waters, boats are making their 'catches in minimum time and

the fish are arriving in the markets in the best possible condition.

, These comments, of course, .do not apply to frozen fish, which, be-'

•cause of the excellence of modern refrigeration, are usually equal to

fresh in taste, appearance, and food value., Just as quick freezing,

makes a great variety 'of fruits and vegetables available in attractive

packages every month of the year, it also makes possible the serving

"of many kinds, of fish out of season..

Seasonal Supplies of Fresh Fish

JANUARY

This is "one of the best months to try gray" sole and yellowtails-white-

meated flounders that are now being brought in abundantly by ( ice-encrusted trawlers from the fishing, banks. Another fish to get

acquainted with in J a-p,uaryis the eusk, whose delicate flavor is 'Yell

'known to connoisseurs of good food, and deserves to be.better known

to all American housewives. Theremay be a last. chance to buyfresh

mackerel this month, for a few of theseflsh.sometimes .e lingei· 'about

southernN ew England after the !ir~t of the' year; "'.:,:. ~.i,;';~ '" '

, • '.p o!' ~~. t~ ,~l4- . 11- ',~'

,-;. ""',' "" '" ''', ,j FEBRUARY

.}{ 'f. ,!, -' •

To g;ay sole,yellowtails, and cusk, still very abundant, February

adds the large cod and haddock which the trawlers are picking up

on nearby Georges; This is also a good month to buy fresh halibut

from local waters. ' \ "

MARCH

~ :. . ...•. -;;:. ,,,',

Supplies of cod, haddock, cusk, halibut: and gray sole continuegood

and the catches of wolffish,which slow,downard'tnltlith~ tl~rh of (th~ "

year, begil:itop~e~ up. ,'T, hy -wolffishisone ofJ'~:~wE;,nglan4's under-exploited

fishes, a condition that will be corrected when housewives

discover its excellence. ,I,

APRIL

This is the best month to tryout recipes for fresh cod, for with the

largest landings of the year pouring into the markets, quality should

be at its peak and prices moderate. Halibut alsois atthe peak of its,

abundance, and haddock, gray sole, andwolffishcontinuaplentiful.

Rosefish landings begin to .go up aftera slow midwinter fishery and

now a real delicacy may be added to the menu as the scallop season '

"is ushered in. Sea robins, scup, and striped bass are being caught in

",the traps of southern New England,' and the first mackerel of the .year'

are being, taken in Middle A.tlantic waters, to come by truck or. Fail

to New England markets. '

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FOOD FROM THE SEA.

MAY·

III 'May almost any fish-is a good' louy, withmany species,'coming in So abundantly that their :freshness and good quality are virtually

"assured. New .species of flounders to trytnis month are the sweet-

. 'me~ted dab, the lemon sole, a la~ge' flounder caught only on Georges

"Bank, and the 'smaller winter ..'flounder or blackback taken closerin-'

'shore. Mackerel have now ar~ived in New England waters and prices

.: drop accordingly ; butterfish, squeteague, sea bass; and whiting return-

, to the southern New England coast and alewives to the rivers.: Mem-bers

·of the cod family-cod, haddock, and cusk-' continue abundant,

as dIo w.olffishand scallops. This is" the biggest month for rosef,ish,

- JU:JI\TE .

'. WIth' few'exceptions, M~y's sea:food"advice holds good' for _J~me..

'.The so-caned "market cod" ar~ now more abundant thanthe larger

sizesand the dab fishery is at its peak.' .. . '.

;~ -.;. .~.. \' ,~.AudusT '.'; . ~

JULY

, Adcl~d,t'o the list of.seafo~ds abundant in May and June are sword-fish"

~10~ being caught about Block Island, Two rnembersof the cod

family-c-the white and squirrel hakes-. appear more abundantly in the

.markets, usually in the fqrm of fillets. Jladdoc~ Iandings continue

\ Jarge .. 'I'hisis the.peak month for thewp.itingfish~Q~~'andin southern

. NewE~gland th~ largestcatches of ]ob~ters a're being made.' .

;, "...', - , __:'. ','. :' to, ". ,. ~.' ',,', ' . , •.•.•••

',:,. n '; ..

This is'the best month of the year fors~ordfishing, hence the best

month toenjoy the tender, richly flavored swordfish steaks, Mackerel

are ext~emely abundant and lobster .fishermen in Massachusetts are"

making their biggest catches. Haddock, hake, cusk, and whiting con-tinue.

good buys, as do yellowtails, dabs, and blackbacks. Rosefish,

whitlng,and'scallops'arealso abundant. ..."

SEPTEMBER

" '-~' ~

September is the biggest month of.the hake arid yellowtail fisheries, '

. Cod' catches' are relatively low; haddock 'landings are falling' off but '

.'still good, especially from South Channel.,R6sefish and. whiting are

.coming in, almost as fast as' they did at the peak of their seasons and /

whiting arestillabundant. In Maine this is the best month for lobsters. \

:(. ,.'

/ OCTOBER

'InOctober, try pollock, a handsome member of the cod family caught

throughout theyear butin special abundance duringOctober, Novem-

8 CONSERVATIQN BULLETIN 33

.,.. . .

bel', and, December. Pollock usually appears in the markets in "con-.

venient fillets, white and fine-flavored. Haddock and hake continue

in the markets in good quantity; among flounders, blackbacks and

dabs are good buys; rosefish and scallops..are abundant. Mackerel

begin to move south but large catches of these fish, fat after their

summer's feeding, are still being made. ,.

Pollock catches are still very large and yellowtail and dab are plenti-ful,

Most of the fisheries this month' are yielding only average or

[ower-than-average catches, :but an excellent variety is still available,

with only the "s'umm(H'fishes"like swordfish, whiting, andsqueteague

missing, from local "raters. " t

SOURCES OF SUPPLY

As we have seen, from six to seven hundred million pounds of fish

and shellfish are brought into the ports of New England each year.

Half of the catch comes in the holds of seagoing vessels into the great

fishing centers of Boston, Gloucester, and Portland;' the remailider

- comes in smaller vessels and boats into the many smaller coastal cities

and towns that offer anchorage for fishing boats and means of trans-porting

fish to market. Where do the fish come from->- the haddock

and cod by the hundred million pounds, the gleaming, iridescent mack-erel,

the giant swordfish that weigh several hundred pounds apiece, the

colorful rosefish, the flounders and pollock and herring and lobsters ~

,They come from an undersea terrain as varied and as clearly defined

as the continent that borders it, avast expanse of water incluclingthe

I whole coastline from rocky Maine to the quieter and more protected

shores of Rhode Island and Connecticut, stretching out Into the semi-enclosed

sea known as the Gulf of Maine, extending into the·oce'an 200

miles to New England's famous fishing banks, and on 500 to 800miles

to the waters off Nova Scotia and the Banks of Newfoundland. ,

East of Maine, New Hampshire, and MassachusettsIies the great

basin of water known as the Gulf of Maine-its northern, western, and

. southwestern rim formed by the curving shoreline from Cape Sable

to Provincetmvn.· To the south and east, the rim of the Gulf lies

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60·

10' CONSE.RV ATION ,BULLETIN 33

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from 12 to 600 feet under water and consists of a 250-mile ridge (a

sort of submarine 'mountain chain)' that forms a barrier between the

mile-deep waters of the open Atlantic and the shallower basin of the

Gulf. Scattered along this curving ridge are the offshore fishing

grounds of New Engl,and, known as Georges, Browns, and Seal Island, Banks.'····

From Georges Bank, with its area of 22,000 square miles, about

100 million pounds offish are taken each year.3The fishing grounds

included in the Georges area lie from 80 to 220 miles from Boston,

'which means that fish taken there usually arrive in port in first-class

condition .. Browns Bank, next to the eastward, is only a fraction of

the size of Georges. Haddock, rosefish, .cod, pollock, cusk, and floun-ders

are the principal species making up its 35-million-pound annual

yield. Seal Island, the shoal which completes the seaward rim of the

Gulf of Maine, is visited only by line trawlers and is a relatively unim-portantfishing

ground. ' ' .

More than a third of all New England's fish comefrom the under-·

water domain just described-s-thebesin of the Gulf of Maine plus

the offshore banks that form its seaward boundary. Another one-fourth

comes from a more distant chain of banks that Iieoff the south-eastern

coasts ofN ova Scotia and .Newfoundlandfrom 38 to 62hcmrs'

.trawler run from Boston-La Ha~e, Emerald, Sable Island, and

Banquereau; while southeast of Newfoundland lies thefamous Grand

Bank. Ina recent year, 141 United States vessels fished th'eNova

Scotian banks and, brought back 'lOa million pounds of' fish. The

catch by United States vessels on the Newfoundland banks and the'

Gulf of St. Lawrence banks is negligible.'

The fishing grounds of southern New England contrast markedly

with those described above, consisting for the most part of gently

sloping sea bottoms where shore fish;such as flounders, squeteague, and

sea bass are found. These grounds lie comparatively close inshore,

. and so most of the fishing is done by smaller boats. '

FISHERMEN AND FISHING BOATS

How the Fisheries Began. ..:

The fisheries of New;England were the first commercial enterprise

in our country. Years before permanent colonies were established the

taking of fish from offshore waters had been under w~y. We know

that in 1497 John Cabot reported the abundance of codfish at New-foundlandto

his patron; Henry VIT. . Vessels began to sail out9f

, ~In 1940, Georges Bank proper', yielded 73,000,000 pounds; Siouth Channel, separating

th'll Bunk from Nantucket Shoals, 75,000,000 pounds ; and Nantucket Shoals, 6,OOO,Oqp

~nn~ .

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FOODFRoOMTHE SEA ,:11

European ports to fish for cod on the Grand Bank, and by the middle. .

<, . 1500'sthis fleet numbered about 300sail, and included boats from Spain,

Portugal, France; and England .. Need for land stations from which

to operate played a part in the establishment of colonies; and com-petition

for fishing advantages on the Grand Bank and the Nova

-Scotian and New England coasts was an important cause of the wars

: between France and England, as well as of later disputes between

.England and the' American. colonies. Even before the .Revolution,

their large export trade in fish had gained the colonies an important

place in world trade, and attempts by England to place restrictions

. on-this trade were among the major grievances that led to the'war--- -

for' ipdependence. . ..... '. . .'

. -The war itself was a disaster to the fisheries, for most of the vessels

.were-tnken over for naval service, while fishing wharves and shore

equipment rotted away:. After the Revolution, however, the fisheries

returned to a place of importance, only to suffer a fresh setback in the

War of 1812. The subsequent period of expansion brought' the in-creased

development of the deep-sea fisheries, the rise of the mackerel

fishery, arid the beginning of important herring,' oyster; and menhaden

fisheries.· During the past half century the yield of the NewEngland

·t?~Ae;t1iehsas varied from. 400,000,000 pounds to 'neurly700,OOO,OOO

pounds. .

.New England's. Place Among Un,ted "States Fisheries

The five New·England States that support marine fisheries provide .

I 15 percent of the Nation'ssupplyof fish; . By tradition the fishery

capital of the Nation, New Erigland .nowsees its supremacy- in this

field challenged by the. younger fisheries of other sections. In' total

production and value of fishery products it is far outstripped by the

Pacific coast, whose production of one and three-quarter billion pounds

exceeds that of all the States from Maine to Texas combIned.' How-ever,

the Pacific coast fisheries are built largely around pilchard, sal- .

mon, and tuna and their principal products are camied fish and fish oil I

-andmeal. By contrast, N~~_~!!gl~J!g'sJi~h "Withfew exceptionsgo

directly from the sea to the consumer as they are caught, 01' as parch- .

ment-jacketedflllets. Therefore, while the west coast leads in the

canned -fish and the fish-oil and meal trade, New England remains the

center of the fresh-fish industry of the country. Onthe Atlantic coast,

moreover, the waters bordering the New England States still rank

first as'fish producers, providing a third of the fish taken from Maine

to Texas. 'Fishermen who go to sea from New England's .historic

ports receive a larger total income from their aquatic harvest than

fishermen of any other geographic section of the Atlantic coast, and

their fish are a little more valuable, pound for pound, than any other

fish in the Uriited States. (Table 2.) - .

. \

12 CONSE.RVAT~ON, BULLETIN 33

12,514, '

Figure 3•...:..lnto theBo~to~Fish "Pier come two-flfths of all the flsh caught in Ne"" Englatlcl,

, . " on~-eighth of. the ,total Atlantic coast catch. 'c';'

/

FOOD FiU)M 'THE SEA 13 ' .,'. .

TABLE ,2.-The fieherie« oj New England. in 1940 ,compared withehose oj other

, ' sections oj the coast

. . .,

Catch Value manufactured - products

,.

Number

Section of fisher- .. Av:e~age -

men Value to price By mfg. Pounds By fisher fishermen recpeievred esmtaebnlitssh- men

pound

,.

.. ' .' .

New Enfland_~ --____---- _-_______ 18,546 626;054,000 $20, 494. 000 ' $0,032 $23, 324, 155 $1,356,815 Middle tlantie __________:~_____ 7,737 355,553,000 7,651,000 .021 15,815,684 513,165 Chesapeake Bay___________~_____ 14,269 320, 736, 000 7.457,000 .023 11,000,398 13,306

South Atlantic and GulL _________ 27;941 575, 533, 000 14,645,000 .025 13,838, '590 109,845 Paeiflecoast ______________________ 25,183 1,453,281,000 29,256,000 .020 62,631,235 192,948

;

The. Fleet

,New England's first-line fishingfleet-· the large vessels that bring

in ,the bulk of the catch-eonsisted in 1940 of 642 vessels, motor-

.powered with the exception of about half a dozen poweredwithsteam.

Stn~ller boats "(about half with motor power and ha1f without) to-taled

9,131, making the number ofcraft of all types and sizes fishing in New England waters or landing fish at New England ports 9,719.

. ,'" ,

521544°--43----3 \

figure 4.-New England fishermen harVest the biggest aquatic crop "taken on the

Atlantic coast.'

'",

14 CONSE.RVATION 'BULLETIN 33

Fisher;en, either on boats or ashore, used 22 different kinds of

gear in New England waters in 1940.4 Out of this assortment of fish-ing

devices the otter trawl was by far the most important, catching

400,000,000 pounds or abouttwo-thirds of all the fish landed. No other

type of gear even approached the otter trawl in production, but the

relative importance of other principal types of gear in 1940 is shown

by the fact that Iines were used £01' taking 9 percent of the total yield;

purse seines and pound nets for 4 percent each; weirs, stop seines,

hoes, and gill nets forB percent each; pots and dredges for 2 percent

each; and dip nets for 1 percent.

Markets

, ,

New England's fish are shipped in quantities at least as far as Texas

and 'Minnesota. A survey' of retail sales made in representative

United States-cities (Johnson, 1936) 5 showed such New England spe-ciesashaddock

to be among the most popular fish in such distant cities

as Chicago, Cedar Rapids, Dallas, and Minneapolis. Rosefish enjoys

popularity il1Milwaukee"and Chicago jmd wolffish in Columb~sh'

while about a fourth of the total catch of whitingis eaten "in'!th~ St. . :t- '. !J;. • ,tt" I<;j' ~ •••, ~t Louis area, .. '",< ., "<' ." '" i~~" ,

A considerable -portion of fhe 'catch'; however, is' servedon"New

England tables. 'The New England housewife, loyal to local varieties,

purchases relatively small' quantitiesof non-native species. ' Citizens

ofFaU River, Mass., for example, (according to the survey cited

above) showed a;' year-round preference for mackerel, followed by

flounders and swordfish in season, while Bostonians favored haddock,

halibut, mackerel, ana cod; 'Manchester, N. H., eats more haddock and

mackerel than any otherfish, but Providence.R, L,"votes' for haddock,

'halibut, and cod in 'th~ order named.' Save ';£01' shrimpfr6m'the"

south, salmon from Can~dn"and'·~l;Ie:\JVest Coast, and Pacific halibut,

inthe great 'volume' of their seafood purchasil1g New Englanders' buy

New England fish. ' "

.0",

BIOGRAPHIES OF' NEWENGLAN'D', FISH AND SHELLFISH ~,

People who supp~se that fish are all alike-, that they. .taste '.alike ,

, look alike, behave alike-s- are much mistaken. Fish are.as-individual

and as interesting in their habitsas any other creatures, but (because

they live in a watery world where. people can seldom observe them

in the way they call observebirds or big game animals)' they are

, 4 Information on most of these methods of fishing will be found in the biographical ~ec-tions

on the various -fishes and shellfish, and more detailed accounts are given in some of

the publications cited in the bibliography.

6 Publications referred to parenthetically by date are listed in the bibltography.

I '

FOOD FROM T'HESEA 15·.

- .

commonly thought to have no more individuality than so many. lumps

ofcoal. To dispel this impression, these biographical sketches have

.been prepared to give some account of the way fishes live and of how'

the changing conditions of the sea bring-them famine or plenty,

cause, them to migrate from one area" to another hundreds of miles

distanu.affect their spawning and the survival of their young, and

ultimately control the numbers and kinds of fishes available as human

food. It is hoped that these thumb-nail sketches of NewEngland's

most important fish and shellfish will prove useful, not only to those

who wish to become acquainted with a wider.wariety of seafoods,'

but to all who have an interest in the natural history. of the sea. -, ,

, . I . . .

Alewives (Pomo/obus pseudoharengus and Pomo/obus aestivalisJ

Salted alewives in exchange for West Indian molasses, sugar, and

" rum founded a colonial trade that has persisted with modifications

of volume and circumstance to the present day. More than a third

of New England's annual catch of some 4,OOO,OOPpounds (taken

largely in Maine and Massachusetts) is salted in barrels, in part for

horneconsumption, in part for export. Lesser quantities aresmoked,

and some alewives and 'alewife roe are canned, but only local markets'

).lave,peen developed for the fresh product. .Compared with such fish "

ashaddock or flounders, the alewife is small and rather bony (average

weightis halfa pound)' but the meat is agreeablyflavored and so~e-

,,'.what less oily than shad. Threatened shortages of other, better known

. flshes-« especially those taken on distant grounds-s- focus attention

, 'on the alewife as a virtuallyneglected potential source 'of millions of

;.pounds of protein' food." \ _'.' ' .' '.

Figure 5.-The alewife, or branch herring.

(

16 CONSERVATION BULLETIN 33

~ \ But what of the supplyi Although alewives still hold a .place

among the 14 fishes caught in largest volume in New England, pres-ent

catches are insignificant compared with those of early years.

,Prob~bly no other fish (with the possible exception of the cod) is,

mentioned more frequently in colonial literature, and eyewitness

stories of the throngs of alewives that entered New England streams

every spring remind us of the tales of the passenger pigeons. Today

a remnant of those runs remains. Compare -Connecticut's 34,000

;pounds in 1~40,with her million pounds in 1896; Rhode Island's

20,000 pounds with 2,000,000pounds in, 1896; Massachusetts' 900,000

pounds with 5,000,000pounds in 1896. II). Maine alone has the size

of the alewife catch changed little during the past 50 years. Through-out

most of New England, overfishing, obstruction of streams by

dams, and water pollution have contributed to .the decline. A brief

account of the life of the alewife will show how easily human careless-ness

can 'deplete or destroy such resources, and, by.the same token, how

the runs could be restored by planning and attention. _

Every spring the alewives' come in from feeding grounds in the

open Atlantic to spawn.. They enter rivers and small streams, pressing

up even into shallow creeks where there is 'scarcely enough flow for a

fish to swim without breaking water. The first runs of alewives reach

the streams of the Massachusetts Bay area in early April and the

Maine streams later in the month or about the first of May. These

are the true alewives (P omolobus pseudoharengus) , called also

"branch herriI~s."Most of these early-run fish spawn intl~~ numer-ous

ponds that dot the New England countryside, rather than in

streams. Two weeks to a month later they are followed by other runs

composed of their close relatives, thebluebacks or glut herrings

(P omolobus Mstivalis), although. the name. "alewife" sometimes is

applied to these fish as well. The bluebacks seldom run far above tide

. water, often spawning in brackish-water ponds or in the larger rivers.

The branch herring occurs from Nova Scotia and the Gulf of St. Law-renee

south to the Carolinas, but is 'more abundant north of Cape Cod,

while the blueback, a more southern species, is found,all the way from

the Bay of Fundy to Florida. In the more southern parts of their

range both alewives are known as "river herrings."

In ascending the streams the alewives are said to move chiefly by'

clay,dropping back a little with the current at nightfall. They prefer

warm, sunny days for traveling and especially for ascending falls.

They make their way up rapids ofeonsiderable velocity, and accord-ing

to Atkins of the old U. S. Fish Commission, "will turn on their .

sides and push themselves up a steep, inclined plane against a sheet

of water not half as thick as their bodies,"

Years ago when small dams crowding into the coastal rivers began

to obstruct the passage of migratory fishes, citizens here and there took

FOOD. FROM THE SEA 17

enough thought :for the alewives to help them over the dams with, dip-

· nets; and in some places fish ladders were built. .Any tolerably efficient'

ladder served. for the. alewives. At Damariscotta, Maine, aseries of .

25 or 30 artificial pools were built of loose stones to allow the alewives

· to ascend a -50-foot ledge of rock over which Damariscotta Pond

spilled its waters to ra tidal stream below. The pond was stocked

about 1816,and in a few years a large run, of fish had been built up at

·this point.> In most places, however, fishways were not provided, or

were allowed to fall into disrepair. '-"

, Probably the longest alewife migration on record is 'their ascent

of the east branch of the Penobscot River, where they once reached a

poiht200 miles from the sea. Ordinarily, however, they spawn much

nea~er to the ocean. . , J .

After depositing their eggs in masses which' cling to the submerged

roots and stones of the stream bed, the fish return to the sea in an

emaciated condition, for they have taken no food during.the spawning

migration. As S0011 as-they reach the brackish tidal estuaries on their

return journey they begin to feed.

'- Meanwhile. the young, resembling small, transparent eels more

than alewives, are beginning to appear in numbers in the rivers. They

grow rapidly and by 'the time.they are an inch long have assumed the

tYPical body :£ormof their race. During the sumrnerand fall, when

about finger length, most ofthe young drop downstream to the sea.

, ,The movements of young and adult alewives in the ocean are little

known. Like the sea herring, mackerel, and menhaden, they appar-

, ' ently keep together in large schools, fish of a -size'congregating to-gether..

Sometimes they are taken in .large numbers in seines and

pound nets 'along _the'coast, and during the winter. months a few have

been caught in otter trawls (whioh are fished along. the bottom) on

such offshore grounds as Georges Bank and South: Channel.

It is believed that the alewives, like the Pacific, salmons, return at

maturity to their nativestreams. Probably they live three years in

the ocean before returning for the first time to spawn. . ,

Building up thealewife fisheriesto much higher levels 'of.abnndance -

is considered entirelyfeasible. ~any established facts support this '

belief;' For example, small' runs have been maintained: in streams

blocked by dams merely by releasing a few barrels of alewives above

. the dams each year. Stockingof barren ponds has established runs .'

within the three to four years necessary for the fish to complete the

first prolongedperiod of residence in the ocean. The alewives of New'

England are not a doomedresource, but a neglected one. In great

numbers of ponds and streams, all thatis needed is stocking to restore I

'exterminated runs; in others, the removal of screens at the mouth of

ponds and the building of fishways .over dams will bring back the

alewives.

18 CONSERVATION BULLETIN 33

Sea Herring (Clupea harengus)

Probably no other fish i~' the 'Atl~ntic is so abtindant as the sea

herring, and probably no other is so continually 'and extensively preyed

upon by so large a variety of .natural enemies., Although fishermen

have taken .herring in their nets for untold centuries', it is probable

that the total supply in the sea is little diminished from the days when

whales and fishes and sea birds were the only predators. This does

not mean, however, that the ,supply in any particular part of the sea,

remains the same from year to year. Like most of the so-called pelagic

fishes that are taken as they school near the su:dace,the herring come

and go with markedand often disastrous fluctuations in the numbers

available locally to' fishermen.

"

, 12.637."

Figure 6.-The· sea herring.

The most important use made of the hEtJ':ringis the. canning ,'ri,s

sardines. From half "a million to 2 or 3 million standard Gases(each

containing approximately 20 poupds) are packed each year in Mai~l~,

sardine canneries. ' According to long-established practice, every year

the canneries import almost as many young herring from Canada. as

they receivefrom local waters. Even with this additional source of,.'

supply the pack of sardines varies greatly from year to year. Canned

\ sardines are by far the most valuable product of this fishery, bringing

3%, million dollars in 1940,when 1,117,748standard cases were packed.

, While the young herrings are canned as sardines, the larger sizes-the

"fat herring" approximately 3 years old and the large mature

herring in their fourth summer or older-are utilized chiefly for srnok-ing.

Most are either soft- or hard-smoked in the round and thus pre-pared

are known as bloaters. In New England, most 'of the smoked

) herring marketed in retail stores are sea herring; but from New York

southward, the product called by the same name usually is prepared

from the alewife or river herring. Lesser quantities-are salted. or:

spiced. Some of the smaller sizes-young just past the "sardine'!

size-are processed as smoked boneless herring. .Even the waste.prod-

':' FOOD FROM T:HE 81M': '" 't9

'uctsof the' herring-processing plants are used, .flsh meal for poultry

, -and fox food and oil foruse in paints being prepared from these scraps.

, In New England, only rosefish, haddock, cod, 'and flounders were

taken in larger quantities than the herring iri1940. In that year a'

44,OOO,000-pound.catch,worth $408,000to the fishermen, was landed.

The value of the various products manufactured from herring in New

England was 7:1;2 million dollarsin 1939,and 4 million dollars in 1940,

a comparatively poor herring year. , " r

The sea herring has so many natural enemies that man is, in a sense,

an incidental predator. Almost every large fish of the sea, and some

of themediurn-sized ones as well, feed at sonie time on herring or on

thein spawn, which is deposited 'on the sea bottom. : Fish like the

haddock, cunner, and cod find the eggs that Cluster on rocks and sea

weeds a convenient sourceof food.. Even winds and tides may be a

cause of destruction, as' when whole 'schoolso£ young herring are

washed ashore by storms to silver'the beaches, with their' scales.' In

European waters quantities of spawn are tossed up on the shore, and

this happens also in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, but not, apparently, in

New England. . ...' ' ' , .

It is in the surface waters of the open 'sea,however, that the greatest

slaughter of the herring takes place. The whole fraternity of pis cine

sea hunters-the bluefish, pollock,' mackerel, salmon, cod, thresher

shark, mackerel shark, swordfish and tuna-s-feed in part on herring .

, to satisfy appetites born 'of the strenuous life of the open' sea. .Fin-hacks,

the commonest whales in the Gulf of Maine, devour enormous

numbers; packs of dogfishtear through ,the closely massed' schools;

. whiting drive the luckless herring before them in, so frenzied achase

that pursued and pursuers often rush heedlessly into 'shallow water

where death by stranding puts anend to the hunt.

From such a listing of enemies (an incomplete one, at that) it would

appear that the herring are born butto be eaten, but they themselves

stand in the relation 'of dangerous predators to the lesser creatures

that populate the waters of the open sea. Among the favorite foods

of herring are .small shrimps .of.surface-dwelling habit, which they ,

actively pursue through the water. If the preferred shrimps are not

to be had, they strain the smaller copepods from the water, their gill ,

rakers serving as sieves for, the purpose. Although fish are not im-port

ant in the diet of herring under ordinary conditions, they oc-casionally

take small launceor sand eels, silversides, or even yo~ng

of their own kind.

Well known though the herring is, at various stages of its life it is

called by other names that are less familiar. ,The so-called "sardines"

that, are, canned on the coast of Maine are in reality young h~rring,"

,which are caught in great numbers when they come inshore, during'

.. -'"

20 CONSE.RVATION BULLE'TIN 33

the spring'"and summer. These young fish, 3 to 4 inches long, appear in.

enormous numbers off the coast of New England in the spring, usually

arriving in MassachusettsBay about the middle of April, and along

the coast of Maine, the Bay of Fundy', and the west coast of Nova

Scotia progressively later. Schools of young herring, ranging in size

from 3 to 8 inches and including both one- and two-year-olds, usually

may be found eastof Penobscot Bay all summer. Tn July and August

the sardine herrings of Massachusetts Bay are joined by schools of

"sperling," the herring in their secondsurnrner that have grown toa

length of 5 to7 inches. ..

,~;.;,

",' ; .

.~ ."/"- 12.638

. Figure 7.-Herring eggs adhere to weeds, stones, or shells. The dark eyes of the developing

young are easily seen.

Although the one- and two-year-old herring, as well as the large

spawning adults.iare still numerous along the New Englandcoast line

during the early autumn, they move out into deep water soon after the

middle of October, probably to winter on the bottom .. , During their

third' summer tli.eyoung herring,' still immature, grow rapidly and'

accumulate large amountsoffat among the body "tissues-. In Europe,

large fisheries are based 'on these "fat" herring, but on our side of

the Atlantic the herring in this stage of development lie offshore

more than do the younger fish, and so are less accessible to the fisher-men.

A few are. taken by mackerel seiners, and stragglers .come in

along the Maine coast. . ., I

During the winter following this third summer the herring become

leaner and attain maturity .. During most of the year they live some

FOOD FROM THE SEA' 2.1··.. , ,

distance offshore, probably near the bottom, but come inshore £0 spawn

from: midsummer to early winter. -The chief spawning grounds of

the herring along the coasts of Maine and Massachusetts and in the,

Bay of Fundy lie at depths ranging from.Izdown to 180 feet: Her-ring

spawn not only close inshore but on the various banks andshoals

as: far out as 25 miles from shore.. ,When boats are engaged in cod

and haddock fishing on such banks the anchors often come up with

herring eggs attached. The herring deposits from 20,000 to 40,000

eggs, in contrast to about 400,000 produced by the mackerel and up-warcls

of 3,000,000 by the cod. .f ~._..' • • • _

Primarily a North Atlantic fish found from northern Labrador to,

Block/Island, the sea herring is taken occasionally as far south as Cape

Hatteras. It occurs also in great numbers in the eastern Atlantic.

Mackerel (Scomber scombrus) . . .

: Every spring the mackerel rise from the deeper waters off the At-lantic

coast, where they have spent the winter, and strike in toward

. the shore. Traveling in vast schools or associations of schools that

may be miles in length, the 'mackerel approach the coast in two great

divisions, one that arrives in the offing -of the Chesapeake and Dela-wareBays

in April, and a more northerly groupthatcomes inshore

in the-vicinity of southern New England in late.May. Both of these

groups work up the coast in a northeasterly direction.. ' ,

.: '':

...• ' . -..-.•,.i'. :.

.,1~.639

,Figure8 •....,..Themackerel.

. This annual visit of the mackerel brings them to the principal spawn-ing

grounds-an area that lies from 10 to30 or even 50 miles offshore,

and extends from the vicinity of the Chesapeake, Capes to the offing .

of Cape Cod.' The eggs are shed in. the surface waters of this area;

After, spawning, the mackerel spend the summer feeding on the rich

surface life which abounds in the waters over thecontinental 6h81£.

Wherever swarms of small crustaceans (especially the 'red copepod,

OalanU8 ) are most abundant, schools of mackerel are likely to be con-centrated,

The southern group of mackerel spends the summer in the

521544°--43----4

22 CONSERV ATIONBULLETIN 33

~ -

Oltl£ of-Maine, while the northern division summers in the GulLof • . . J . St. Lawrence. ' ,. ,;.' l.' ." '

The firstappearance 6£ mackerel in the spring is awaited by fisher-men

operating usually out ofWildwood and Cape May, N. J., and

often there is keen rivalry- tobe the first to.land mackerel and reap the

profits of early-seasonprices for this seafood delicacy. ,These vessels

work up the coast with the fish,' and fora period: of 2 to 3 weeks land

their catches chiefly at New York. As the mackerel approachNew

England waters, more boats from that area enter the fishery, and

landings are made' at more northerly ports-' especially at Boston, New

Bedford, and Gloucester.. During recent years mackerel fishinghas

been carried on through' so great a portion of the, year, that the fresh -,

fish are available; in varying quantities, from Aprilthrough December.

The heaviest Iandings cOlueinmidsummer.,

Mackerel in the fresh state is considered by many to be one of the

choicest of all food fishes. It is rich in fat and when properly pre-pared

is a flne-flavored fish.. Some cookery experts consider it too' fat,

to fry, and prefer tosplit and broil it. ' Large mackerel ,m~y bestuffed '

and baked. ;F-resh mackerel should reach the' fish ma.rk.ets already ~t

_dressed, for .theydo not 'keepso.well j'in the-round." They are 'often

sold as fresho:r;frozen:fillets-the l~tter, aY~dlablethroughoy.ttp,eY~,~r.

Some are salted either as fillets or .splitfish, arid some ,are, smoked.

Although the early mackerel fishery-was built on the salt product.Iittle

of, the catch is consumed 'in this .form in New Englund today.' The

usual size of mackerel seen in the markets is about 10 to 16 inches.

. Most mackerel fishing is done .from purse-seine vessels, but there

is also a small gill-net fishery. Seiners fish" during the dark .ofthe

moon; netters on moonlight nights. ,This is because seiners must s~e

the fish in orderto surround the WoY~ng.ScllOOls'With their nets; while

the gillnetters .cannot ' catcJi' fish if their nets are visible; Mackerel

feed 'near 'thesurface in the midst of innumerable small creatures that

give off a phosphoresc~nt1ight when disturb~d.The effect produced

by a large school of mackerel is a diffuse glow that can be seen by

, lookouts on the cruising .seiners for a long distance on a, dark night,

although it is practically invisible when there 'is a sheen of moonlight

on the water. 'Netters, however, set mile-long, perpendicular strings

of webbing in the water at duskand.fish them a~ daw:t;l.For,these .'

fishermen, darkness .has a different effect, .for die luminescent food-.

animals gather: on the strands, of the net and gleam as it sways in the

water. For this reason the mackerel seethe nets best on darknights

,and so escape "gilling" in the twine. At certain seasons and in certain,

localities mackerel are taken in pound nets and floating traps close

~~, ' -

FOOD FROM THE, SEA 23

I·

I

12.447

figure 9.-Mackerel from the open Atlanticarfi~e at a New England wharfside, completing

the first lap of their journey to America's dinner tables.

'.( ,". . '

The most interesting chapter .inthe-Iife storyof the maekerelis

the period spent in theteeming nursery of the sea, first as atransparent

egg about the size of a pinhead, later as a tadpole-like larva-that drifts

inthe currents so, helplessly that it is unable to keep right side upper-

"most; " During these stages the young mackerel is a member of the

, plankton, the namegiven to the driftingcotlimunjty of oddly assorted

. creatures and microscopio .plants in the upper layers of the sea. Dur-irig

a part of each year the plankton includes the eggs of many fishes

and of a great number of invertebrates, such as barnacles, starfish,

mollusks, and worms. Later, the eggs are replaced by the recently

24 CONSERVATION BULLETIN 33

I"

hatchedIarvae of all of these forms. In addition, there-are hordes

of the small crustaceans which form an important source-of food for

adult fishes. Enemies of the young fishes are everywhere to be found

in these surface waters. Among the more important of these foes

are the small glassworms that prowl through the drifting plankton,

or the destructive comb jellies which sweep the water practically clear

of fish eggs and larvae wherever they swarm in large numbers.

The mackerel egg is about one-twentieth of an inch in diameter and

is buoyed-up by an oil globule so that it floats near the surface. When

water temperatures-on the spawning grounds are normal, the larval

mackerel-about an eighth of an inch long-hatches in about a week.

About 4 weeks after hatching, the young mackerel develops fins like

those of the adult fish and, for the first time is able to swim .against

the currents. This so-called "post~larval"period lasts for 6 weeks,

making the total period of infancy some 11 weeks from the time of

spawning. "~ .

Recent, studies' by the former Bureau of Fishedes showed that the

mortality during this early period of themackerel's life rnay be ex-'

tremely high. IIl.Years whenconditions on the apawniriggrounds are

particularly llIrfiivor~bie; as happened in 1932, -asfewas four young

for every million eggs produced may survive theIarval pe?iod.·.·"The

un~8:voi-abl~direction of the prevailing winds and currents, which

carried the young mackerel away from-their usual nursery grounds,

combinedwitha scarcity of suitable food for the young were probable

causes of the disaster. (Sette, unpublished manuscript,') .

Studies of this sort· have thrown light on the hitherto puzzling

question of why the supply of adult mackerel fluctuates -greatly from

'year to year. Records show that the catch may fall as low as about

6,000,000 pounds or rise as high as 179,000,000 pounds. Thesefluctu-ations

are due to actual changes in the number of -fish in the sea;

and these changes, in turn, are due to the varying -survival of the

young in various' years. .A succession '0£ poor spawning years may

result in a scarcity of mackerel for a number of years. On the other'

hand, with proper conditions for the production and survival of young,

a brood of such enormous size may result thatthe fishery will be ata

high level of product ibn for several years.

Records of the Fish and Wildlife Service that trace the commercial

mackerel fishery back to its beginnings in 1804 show the extent of these

ups and downs in production; From 1804 to 1831 the catch gradually

increased to a level of about 70,000,000 pOUllds.During the next 9

years there was a gradual falling off to 23,000,000 pounds in 184().

Again the pendulum' swung, and for a long period the catch ranged

from 80,000,000 to 100,000,000 pounds a year. In 1884, the record year

for mackerel landings, the catch was 179,000,000 pounds. Compared

FOOD ,FROM THE SEA ' 25

'with';these early years, 1886 ushered in a period of low catches that ' "

persisted to 1926. Variations in the sizeofthe landings are still evi-dent,

'with the catch sometimes doubling from one year to the next, but

the general average for the-modern period of the fishery is near 40,-

.000,000pounds annually. ' '

Swordfish (Xiphias g/adius)

,From 30 to 70 vessels outfit each summer for the most picturesque

of the 'New EnglandBsheries-e-swordfishing. ,Cruising offshore wa-:

tel'S from' the offing of Block Island to the' Nova Scotian, banks,

swordfishermen capture their prey individually with harpoons-200

to 600 pounds of fighting fish armed with a weapon that is capable

of splintering the sides of a dory. The fleet lands about 3,000,000 "

, pounds a .year inN ew England ports, but so far does 'this amount .

fall short of satisfying the growing demand that in recent years

more than 4,000,000 pounds of frozen swordfish, have been imported, .>.

annually from Canada and Japan.

" Figure 1O.~The ~wordflsh., ' "

The,swotdfish ranks high, among the "quality fish'" of New Eng-.

land, Thick steaks entirely' free from small bones are cut from this

large fish,". They . are excellent-when-broiled; and planked-swordfish

.isa special delicacy. The flesh 'is somewhat like .that of halibut in

consistency, but ismore oily: and has a rich, indescribable flavor that'

is different from that of any other product of the sea.

The vitamin content of swordfish-liver oil is exceptionally high.

This oil has been found by chemists of the Fish and Wildlife Service)

to be "100 times more potent in Vitamin .A.than the U. S. P. reference

sample of cod-liver oil of 3,000 U. S.P.tinitsper gram, and 500 times .

more potent than the minimum U.S.P. requirement forcod-liver

oil." ~It·is interesting to compare this product and certain-foods that

we ordinarily regard ~s good sources of Vitamins A and D. - ~or

-26 CONSERVATION BULLETIN 33

,# -,.

example, the Vitamin A content of swordfish-liver oil is 25',000times

as high as that of butter or eggs.

The swordfish is so widely distributed that it is well known

throughout much of the world. On the western side of the Atlantic

it ranges as far as the Newfoundland Banks and Cape 'Breton (un-confirmed

reports of fishermen also place them, off Labrador); and

in the eastern Atlantic as far north ~s Norway.' Southward, their

range extends to the Gape of Good Hope. They are found also in

'the Mediterranean and Red Seas and' in the Indian and Pacific '.

Oceans. '

Swordfish appear off Block Island late in Mayor early in June,

and are seen at successively later dates on Nantucket Shoals, Georges' -

Bank, and on the Nova Scotian Banks, where they usually arrive in

July. They keep mostly to, the offshore banks, and are most numer-ous

in July and August. With the approach of cold weather they

vanish.' On rare occasions stragglers have been seen during the win-ter

months, as. when 13·were #lUnd .entangled in line trawls set for

tile fish in9~to125 fathoms of water off Long Island in midwinter.

Although no one knows, precisely where the spawning grounds of

the swordfish may be, it is certain that they lie at a considerable dis-tance

from our coast, for fish with ripe ovaries have never been taken

in American waters; The smallest specimen ever, caught in New

England weighed 7% pounds. In the Mediterranean, 'however, small

swordfish weighing half a pound.arecommonly taken, and about the

y~ar 1890 Liitken found fry in the North Atlantic that must have

been recently hatched (for they: were only about three-eighths of-an

inch long) in several 'localities scattered between the latitudes af'206

and 39° N. Therefore, .although the birthplace of the swordfish that

appear seasonally in American waters remains one of the mysteries

of the sea, it is assumed that it may lie somewhere in the, eastern

Atlantic, possibly in the Canaries Current off the western coast of

Africa.'

Along with the tunas and the sharks, swordfish rank' as the largest

known 'fish.of, the seas. It isgenerally supposed that the very large

specimens taken from time to 'time are of considerable age, although

little is known about the rate of growth or the greatest age attained,

The largest swordfish definitely recorded from the Gulf of Maine is

described by Bigelow and' Schroeder as having been caught in the'

Bummerof 1921and landed at the Boston Fish Pier. The fish weighed

915 pounds dressed; hence upward of 1,000pounds alive. The sword

alone was more than' 5 feet long. Another large swordfish was caught

in 1931, a l3-foot specimen weighing 644 pounds dressed. ,Theusual

weight of the fish taken commercially in the vicinity of Gape Breton

is stated by Nichols and LaMonte (1937) to average 265pounds dressed,

while Bigelow and Welsh .< 1924) say that the larger run of swordfish on

,\

FQOD FROM THE SEA 27

Georges Bank and in the Gulf of M~ine average 30~ pounds, although

Block Island fish run smaller.

The annual visit of swordfish to our shores is probably a feeding

migration, with abundant schools of herring, mackerel,' and other'

schooling fish serving as the bait that lures them to American waters.

These smaller :fish,in turn, are feeding upon the minute crustacea and

other planktonic animals which swarm abundantly in the surface

waters over the continental shelf during the spring and summer.

Closely schooling fish form an ideal food for the swordfish, which,

with its toothless mouth and weak jaws, is poorly equipped to capture

individual prey. Acporcling to common belief, it rises up in-the midst

of a; school, swinging sharply to right and left with its sword and

either wounding or stunning the smaller fish. The factthat fish with

broken backs have been found in swordfish stomachs seems to support

this belief, although, the exact method of underwater feeding is, of

course, hard to observe. '

Judging by the stomach contents of several specimens, the swordfish

may sometimes descend to considerable depths in search of 'food, rang-ing

down a thousand feet or more to capture small black fish (stomia-

," tids) with phosphorescent organs that live below the z011eof light pene-tration,

,

, The swordfish is a relatively accessible target for _the fisherman's

harpoon because of its habit of drifting lazily at the surface of the

water on calm, sunny days; with the dorsal fin and the upper lobe of

the tail fin protruding. Since virtually all of the specimens so taken

have their stojnachsfllled with .food (several bucketfuls of small fish

have been taken from a single stomach) it is thought they' may seek

warm surface waters after feeding to digest their meal. Apparently

fish so occupied are more or less oblivious to their surroundings, for

boats a!'e often able to approach within harpoon range without diffl-

_culty. '

Fresh swordfish ordinarily is, available only during the months 'of

June, July, August,' and September. Wholesale prices are highest -in

June, when the fish are just comingInto season, and lowest during,

the August peak of abundance'. Frozenswordfish is to be had through-out

the year.

Cod (Gadus callariasJ

, During every month of the year, while the seasons for other fish

come and go, vessels come into Boston, Portland, and other New Eng-land

ports with fares of codfish. , Cod from the Grand Banks of .New-foundland,

from Sable Island and La Have, from Browns Bank and

Quereau, from almost every bank and ledge of the inshore and off-shore

grounds from Cape Sable to Nantucket pass through the fishing

ports of New Englandto the tables of people all overthe United States.

28 . CONSERVATION BULLETIN 33

12.753

Figurel1.-The cod.

\

The name "cod"is applied to an entire family of fishes, most of

which are important sources of food. The cod itself, the haddock, the

pollock, the white and squirrel hakes, the cusk and the whiting all have

heen caught and marketed in increasing quantities since the develop-ment

of fish filleting in the ea~IY 1920's. 'All the members of the family

are soft-finned fishes and maybe separated from herring, salmon; and

other fishes also having soft fins by the fact that the large ventral fins

lie under or in front of the pectorals, not behind them. The cod has

3 separate dorsal and two anal fins, a heavy body, large head, blunt

nose, and wide mouth. It may be distinguished from the haddock by

FOOD F'ROM THE SEA

/ '

th~pale lateral line, and from the pollock by the square, broom-shaped

tail; projecting upper ja')', and mottled color pattern. None of its other.

relatives are sufficiently'like it to prove confusing.

Most of the members of the cod family are popularly designatedas-

"groundfish." However, the cod itself is not always exclusively a _

groundfish, for, unlike the strictly bottom-living haddock and cusk, it

often roams freely' above the banks anclledges which are its home,

ascending even to the surface. These roving habits of the cod have

been discovered in' several ways. The most direct way is, of course,

by observations of fishermen and other people at sea, who have often

seemcodfish chasing squid, herring, or capelin in the upper waters,

sometimes coming-so'close to the surface as to permit their observers to

gaff them. It' is reported, also, that they sometimes strand on the

beaches of Labrador while pursuing capelin. The codthatsupport the , ~ ~- . famous Lofoten 'Island fishery off the northern coast of Norway often'

are taken some distance above the bottom, where they congregate pre-sumably.

in search Qf the most agreeablewater temperatures. Their

presence in these intermediate water layers has been demonstrated by

. European scientists by the use of an.eoho-sounding apparatus. On

this side,of the.Atlantic, a few hundred pounds are taken each year as

.incidental.catches of purse-seines, which are .fishedat the surface." /

:Eve:n~moretelling evidenceof the movements ofcodcomesfrom our

knowlsdgeof their diet.' The. stomachs of-theverysmaJI,est ~od that _

,a:r:e caught at the surface in tow nets, contain ,the· rninute.plants-end

animals that driftIn.the upper Iayersof the sea. 'Coda little larger

have eaten; in addition to the small crustaceans that areto be found-at

practically, al] depths, such typicalbottom forms as amphipodsand

small 'worms.. ,Examiningadult cods,-wefind that the bulk of. their: -

dietis made.up of animals that live only on the bottom, "

"Molfuskspredorninate over all other items in the cod's diet, and if

both large and small shellfish are available, the codappearsto choose

the b'rger va.rieties.> Sea.clams, cockles, and sea mussels 'are, eatenin

quantity. Theyareswallowed whole,the meats digested out, and the

empty' shells,stacked-in thestomaeh-like-a-nest of ash trays, probably

to be expelled later. Remains of various kinds of crabs, lobsters; and

prawns are often found in cod stomachs, showing that" they also cap-turethe

more active residents ofthe bottom. The spiny-skinned tribe,

including 'starfish, sea urchins, brittle stars, and sea cucumbers are '-.

eaten, as are the sand worm, Nereie, and the sac-like animals known

as sea squirts. Apparently no fish that lives on the bottom or hunts

.-close above it is immune to the attacks of the cod, which picks up

flounders and skates off the sea floor and hunts out cunners, blennies,

rock eels, sculpins, and sea ravens from the.tangles of sea weeds and

521544°--43----5

30 CONSERVATION BULLETIN 33

"" the shelter of overhanging rocks and .ledges. In finding its prey, the

cod probably uses its sense of smell more than sight, and so hunts with

equal success by night or day.

From such a diet list it is evident that the cod is the enemy of prac-tically

every smaller animal of the sea. Since even an average-size

cod weighs about 10 pounds and 50- to 60-pound cod are sometimes

taken (the record size is 21114 pounds) the number of animals that

must count it a foe is large indeed. On the other hand, the cod in

New England waters has comparatively few enemies.. Among fish,

only the dogfish and sharks can attack it .successfully, and of other

aquatic animals, only the seals, which are not abundant in this region,

are potentially important enemies; Very young cod are, of course,

.at the mercy of the usual predators of the plankton, and the slightly

larger sizes that frequent harbors and inshore locations are devoured

in numbers by such active fish as their relative, the pollock.

1.2.642

Figure 12.-Found in th,e bottom of the net, these inhabitant$,of·the seafloor are aIUist~d'

on the cod's bill of fare. c. r

The longest codmigration on record is that of an individual tagged

in Iceland that crossed the Atlantic and was recaptured in Newfound-land

2,000 miles from thepoint of. tagging. On this side of the At-lantic,

tagging has demonstrated a regular mass migration of the cod

that live in summer about Nantucket Shoals to the coasts of New York

and New Jersey and even farther south in winter. During this south-wardmigration

the cod spawn, and in the spring' they returntoNan-

't.·'

....•

FOOD FROM THE SEA 31

tucket Shoals.' Whether the larvae produced in these more southern

'waters manage 'to return to New England waters, is unknown, but fry

1% to 2% inches 1011ghave been taken on the bottom as far south as

the area: off southern Virginia .. Few, if any, cod from' within the

Gulf of Maine join the Nantucket cod on their southerly migration.

'l'he most important spawning grounds are on Georges Bank, the

.'Nova Scotian Banks, and the Newfoundland Banks. Many cod con-gregate

for spawning in Massachusetts Bay, but their eggs and the

resulting fry are all swept out of the bay by the water currents that

move steadily around it in a counter-clockwise direction. There is

-some evidence thatfry produced on these Massachusetts Bay grounds

_rna]' be carried away, some northward to Nova Scotia, some south

around the outer arm of Cape Codto the region of Nantucket. At any

rate, it is certain that cod spawned in Massachusetts Bay do' not grow

up there, and' that local stocks must IDe kept -q.pby immigration of

y(),ungfromotherspawning areas, ."',i,,,' ...• '

"Codaremar.4:eted in.threedistinct size ea:t~gc;>~.i.es-Thewell-known

;~,'scrod" isnet.a.distinct. species of fish, but"~Y,9lillg,c9,dweighing 1%

,.to 2Y2 pounds.' So-called.fmarket cod" weigh'fr'()m2.1hto 10pounds ;

."larg~" cod rnaY,be anyweight oyer 10pOlln,gS. In general, the spring

';;'<~A4;~~J;IY~~r:nrn~rmonths are the p~ri9dsof ;iargest cod.catches,

. . .. '.",', -.' - .....

Hacl~~ck (Melanogrammus ~egl;fin~s)

'The haddock is now the;fir~t-ranking New Englandfish'both.irrquan-tity

produced and in value, with the annual catch amounting to about

; ,:,140,000,000pounds, which fishermen sen for apprbximatelY,$4,OOO;000.6

'The sudden increase in the catchof haddock from the 40-'to 60-million-pound

level ofearlier Yearsca'm~about'1925,withtheQ.e'velop~~nt of

, 'a. rapidly expanding 'm~rk~t £orfilleie(f .and-quiek-frozen fish. The

.. haddock proved to be perfectly adapted to the demands -of this 'new

. market, being available in large quantitiesfrom nearby grounds. It

.is a very white-meated, firm-fleshed fish, of mild and-pleasant.flavor •

.Besides being suitable for filleting, it maybe smoked orsaltedvmade

into fish flakes, or used in the preparationo£ fish chowders. Lightly

smoked haddock is known as "£innan haddie." .

The future trend of the haddock fishery IS in doubt. The recent tend-ency

to'bring in larger and larger catches of young, immature fish is

eating into future reserves at an alarming rate. If continued, this

.practice will undoubtedly bring about a serious decline in the catch;

'which is already well below the 1925-28 level. On the other hand, if

:. the young are given, proper protection and.allowed to pass the period

6 In 1942 the catch of roseflsh exceeded that of haddock by about six million 'pounds.

See page 46 for the stOl'y of the rapid development of this fishery. .

32 CONSERVATION BULLETIN 33

of most rapid growth before they are caught, biologists believe that

much larger catches-possibly amounting to a hundred-million-pound

increase-may be made with safety in the future.

Most haddock of the western Atlantic live east of Marthas Vine-yard

and to the north along the coast of Massachusetts, Maine, and

Nova Scotia. In winter, however, some are taken southward to New

York and New Jersey. A few have been trawled h\ deep water as far

from their center of abundance as Cape Hatteras, although their south-ward

migration apparently is not nearly so extensive as that of the

Nantucket Shoals cod.: Neither does the haddock range as far north

as the cod, for few are taken even in the southern part of the Gulf of

St. Lawrence, and none along the coast of Labrador where cod are

abundant in summer.

, 12.643

Figure 13.-The haddock.

As far as the United States fishery is concerned, the principal had-dock

grounds lie on Georges Bank, in South Channel.iandon the Nova

Scotian banks farther east along this same southward tim of the Gulf

of Maine. On Georges Bank haddock are much morenumerous than

cod. This is true also of the 'inshore grounds all around the 'Gulf of

Maine, for although the catch of cod in coastal waters amounts to a

greater poundage than the catch of haddock, it is composed of fewer

indi vid uals.

It is easy to distinguish the haddock from the cod, in spite of their

close relationship. The haddock has a considerably higher and more

triangular first dorsal fin, and is conspicuously marked by its black

(rather than pale) lateral line and the black patch on the side, below

the lateral line and above the pectoral fin. In size, haddock average

considerably smaller than cod. The 'largest on record is an Iceland

specimen that measured 44 inches and weighed 37 pounds. In New

FOOD FROM THE SEA 33

England waters the average size is about 20 inches weighing 2'Y2 to 3

pounds. The largest haddock recorded from the northwestern Atlantic

(caught on the northeast peak of Georges in 1935) was 3'7inches long

'and weighed 15 pounds.

Haddock, on the average, live deeper, than cod and remain more

closely on the bottom, probably never rising far above it in their pur- '

suit of prey. They never school at the surface like pollock and do not

drive their prey in to strand on the beach as the whiting and pollock

often do. While cod may be caught over almostany kind of bottom,

haddock prefer smooth, hard sand, gravel, pebbles, or broken shells.

_ Although they move from one feeding ground to another, they wander

less than cod. However, recent tagging of haddock along the Maine

coast shows that they may migrate from these coastal waters to the

Nova Scotian banks, the South Channel, and Georges Bank.

, 12,754

Figure 14.~Biologists go to sea on the haddock trawlers, measure fish, and determine the

trend of the flshery-up or down.

In March or early April-sometimes as early as the end of Ja~uary-haddock'

eggs are to be found adrift in the sea. Most of the known

spawning grounds in the Gulf of Maine lie at depths-less than 450

:feet,and it is believed that the haddock never descend into the deepest

parts of the basin to shed their spawn. On the other hand, they rarely

come into inshore shallows for the purpose, but rather choose shoals

of moderate depth, often where the bottom is smooth sand and gravel.

34 CONSERVATIONBULLE'TL.~ ' 33

," The newly spawned eggs cannot be distinguished from those of cod,

but shortly before hatching the granules of pigment become arranged

in a pattern that is characteristic of the haddock. When the little fish

completes its development it hatches as a larva less than a quarter of

an inch long-a fragile, thread-like creature with nothing but its color',

pattern to mark it as a haddock., For about 10 days it carries the larval

yolk sac; then this is absorbed and' the-fins begin eo develop. A baby

haddock only an inch long can be distinguished at a glance from a

'young cod or pollock because it has the same high first dorsal fin that'

is a striking field mark of the adult haddock.

Whel'rtlieyare about three months old young haddock are ready to

leave the surface waters and take up the-bottom life of their kind.

By this time they are usually far from the spawning place. Biologists

who have studied the migrations of baby haddock by making systematic

collections of planktonic life ill fine-meshed nets have found that eggs

from eastern' Georges Bank (which is one of the most important

spa wning grounds) under-normal ocean conditions drift to the south-western

part of the hank, where they hatch. Part of the larvae are

then picked up by the currents that swirluround the banks. 'When

they are ready to, descend to the bottom they are over Georges Shoals,

where favorable conditions await them. Some of the haddock fry are

less fortunate, for they are picked up by another current that carries

them westward toward Long Island. Evidently' they do not find the

surroundings they need in order to survive, forno young haddock have

been found on the bottom in that region. Still-others, it is believed,

may sometimes 'be carriedoutbeyond the banks overthe deep-Atlantic

basin. These are doomed to death', for when they seek bottom'fish weighing 11/2 to 2 pounds are average size. .

44 CONSERVATION BULLETIN 33

12,649

Figure 19.-The scup.

_Although commercially the scup is one of the most important shore

fishes of southern New England, it is a New England fish during only

part of the year. - In spring, the scup appear in the vicinity of the bays

of Rhode Island and southern Massachusetts, apparently coming in

from the southwest between Block Island and Marthas Vineyard.

They enter the shallow coastal waters late in April, heavy with spawn

and traveling slowly-according to some accounts drifting in and out

with the tides. After spawning they move offshore, to wander in

schools through the rich feeding grounds of the continental shelf.

They are typically bottom feeders, and find on the rocky floor of the

southern New-England coast a great variety of the small invertebrate

animals which they eat; Often during the summer they rise to the

surface, swimming there in schools as mackerel or herring do and prob-,

ably feeding on the small animals that drift abundantly in the upper

layers at that season. When the water begins to chill in the fall, many

of the scup leave the New England area, and by mid-October most of

them have migrated south to winter quarters off the mouth of the

Chesapeake Bay. ,

As recently as a decade ago, no one knew where the scup went when

they left New England waters every fall. About 1929,trawlers began

to fish during the winter on the deeper offshore bottoms off the mouth

of the Chesapeake Bay and southward toward Cape Hatteras. Among

their catches of sea bass, flounders, croakers, and weakfish they found

many scup. A few years later, Bureau of Fisheries biologists marked

FOOD FROM THE SEA 45

large numbers of scup with numbered tags. Recoveries of these tagged

fish proved that many of the scup wintering off Virginia had been in

southern New England in the spring.

Almost the entire New England catch is taken in the waters of Rhode

Island and southern Massachusetts. Although occasionally a few seup

wander into Massachusetts Bay (Eastport, Maine, is the northern

record for the species)', this happens so seldom that these strays are

regarded as curiosities when they happen to be caught.

In Rhode Island and Massachusetts the scup season extends from the

last of April to the end of June. The spawning season over, the fish

no longer enter the traps readily and soon move outside. the waters

where traps and pound nets operate. The floating traps used in this

spring scup fishery are much like pound nets, but are buoyed by large

floats and anchored in deep water instead of being attached to stakesor

posts driven into the, bottom. Floating traps can be used where deep

water, rocky bottoms, or strong tides would prevent the use of fixed

gear. When the scup season ends, these traps usually are dismantled

until the following spring. To counteract to some extent the disad- .

vantages of the short season, the fishermen hold their excess catches in

pounds anchored in protected coves and ship the' fish to market

throughout the summer.

Such inshore waters"as Narragansett Bay and Vineyard Sound are

the places where scup .deposit their eggs, of pil~!le~~{~i~eand buoyant.

When the water is as warm a,~7,~o,,,th~,egg passes quickly through the

period of development, producing a larval fish.in only 40 hours. When

first hatched; a youngscup is about a sixteenth of an inch long.

. Like mackerel, scup experience' many years when unfavorable con-ditions

of one kind or another kill almost all the young produced.

In other .years the reverse is true, and enormous numbers. of young

survive. A~ a result, scup of commercial size are very abundant in

some years and comparatively scarce in others .. However, such fluc-tuations

are much less extreme than those"that oc~u+in the mackerel

populations.";' "

Scup have the usual enemies of moderate-size fish. It has some-times

been maintained-but without good evidence-that their spiny

fins protect them from. bluefish, which attack most smaller surface

swimmers with great ferocity. 'While living on the bottom, scup are

.preyed upon by sharks, halibut, cod, and other ground fish.

An increasing number of small boats from such places as Woods

Hole, Mass., Montauk, N. Y., and Wildwood, N. J., carry sportsmen to

fishing grounds for scup, now well 'established on the list of, popular

salt-water game fish that includes sea bass; bluefish; and weakfish. The

catch by anglers has increased so greatly that it is believed to amount

to a large part of the total New England catch of this species.

46 . OOi]~qS,ERVATIONBULLEiTIN 33

..Rosefish (Sebastes marinus)

Although long familiar to fishermen, the rosefish (called also "red-fish")

was practically unknown to the fish-eating public until about

1935. Before that time, the small catches made incidentally as fisher-men

sought other species were thrown overboard. Early in the 1930's

this picture was completely changed. Catches of haddock were falling

off; and in 1934reached the lowest level of any year during the period

, from 1918 to 1938. Otter trawlers made trips to Georges Bank and

even beyond to Browns and the Nova Scotian banks, only to return with

too few haddock to pay the expense of operation. Skippers began

to bring in their catches of the smaller and brightly colored rosefish.

In 1934-the year of the poorest haddock catches-they marketed one

and a third million pounds of rosefish, whereas the year before they

had brought in less than 300,000pounds.

Figure,20.-'-The rosefish.

About this time the industry began to experiment with filleting

rosefish and found it adapted to this method of preparation, hence

..suitable for shipping to inland markets in the middle west and south.

The next year (1935) 17,000,000pounds of rosefish were landed at New

England ports, and in 1936the catch rose to nearly 67,000,000pounds,

which was almost more than the market could absorb. Nevertheless,

the catch has never fallen below 58,000,000pounds since that year, and

in 1940it reached a peak of 85,000,000pounds. (Recent figures indi-cate

that the 1941catch may have been as much as 139,350,000pounds.)

In the few years since 1933,therefore, rosefish has risen from a place

. FOOD. FROM THE SEA 47

of relative insignificance to rank with haddock and cod among the

leading species of the New England fisheries. .

The rosefish is an excellent food fish, with ,flesh that is firm and of a

rich and agreeable flavor. ; Probably only the fact that it had not been

introduced to a wide enough market prevented its fuller utilization in

earlier. years. It is a well known food fish in Europe, and has long

been used in the more northern parts of its range along the western

. Atlantic coast. It is found from Greenland and Davis Strait as far

south as New Jersey in deep water, also in the eastern North Atlantic

and the Arctic Sea. . .

In general appearance the rosefish suggests the basses or perches,

but it is not related to either .. 'I'he brilhantcolor 'makes it easy to

identify in life, for it is' a"vivid orange or red.rwith paler underparts

and large, black eyes contrasting ·shatply. The head, large in' pro-portion

to the' body, is armed with prominent spines. Average mar-ket-

size rosefishjrre about 11 inches; the average weight is three-fourths

of a pound. The maximum size reported from American

waters is about 2 feet and 12 to"14 pounds. In the eastern Atlantic

and in Arctic Seas this fish reaches a length of 3 feet or more.

Typically a bottom fish in the weste'en Atlantic, the rosefish is taken '

in otter trawls.' Comparativelyinsigniflcant quantities are taken on

lines, especially in South Channel. Beginning in the 1939 season the

deep .channel .known as the Gully, off easternN ova Scotia, became

important as a source of rosefish, furnishing more.than half the total

eatch of the large otter ,:trawlers,. which, "with their long cruising

radius, 'are the only vessels able to reach' these grounds. -

. Unlike any 'of-the other fishes described in these, pages, the rose-fish

brings forth its young alive; that is, the eggs develop al~d hatch

within the body of themother instead of free in the water. The birth -:

of the young takes place during themonths ofJune, July, and August ..

Just before and during this-period it is possible to detect the presence

of young in many of the fish brought to market, because. their black

eyes show through the body wall of.the mother. Just.,hatched rose-fish

(which are about 14 inch long) have been taken at 'many places

scattered over the northern part of the Gulf of Maine .

..When first hatched, the young retain part of the yolk .sac, and none

of the fins are ,formed. Sog11they develop many· recognizable char-

. acters of the species-> large, spiny heads, large eyes, and relatively

short tapering bodies. 'I'he characteristic fins are fairly well de-:

veloped by the time the -little fish are an inch long, and about this

stage the .red coloration appears. During the early "reeks of life the

larvae and fry live near the surface, and about the three-quarter

inch stage they descend to the bottom and take' up the normal life

. of adults ..'

48 OONISERVAT'ION BUL,LEiTIN 33

-"

The food of rosefish, as might be expected, consists of a great variety

of bottom forms, including crustaceans, the smaller mollusks, shrimps,

and small fish. Its enemies include most of the larger predaceous fish

that inhabit the same areas.

Flounders

In New England at least five different species of flatfish or flounders

are brought to market from nearby coastal waters as well as from off-shore

banks. These are commonly known as the dab (H ippo-glossoides

ptatessoideev, gmy sole (GZyptocephaZus cynoglos'sus) ,

yellowtail (Limanda fer-ruginea), winter flounder (Pseudopleuro-nectes

amerioanusy, and lemon sole (Pseudopleuronectes dignabilis),

although other names may be applied to them as well. Of the five,

the winter flounder or "blackback" is perhaps the best known, being

found in almost every bay, cove, and harbor along the entire coastline

of New' England. Several of. these five flounders were virtually un Co

known until large-scale otter trawling brought them to light, because

their small 'mouths prevented them from taking the large hooks com-monly

used in the older methods of fishing. At the same time the

development of the filleting trade has led to more widespread appreci-ation

of the excellent food qualities of the various flounders. The

gray sole or witch flounder formerly was caught only in limited quanti-ties,

but during the past 5 years the expansion of the fishery and the

discovery of new grounds has brought more of them into the markets.

This species now has the largest total value of any of the flounders

landed at the three large ports of Boston, Gloucester, and Portland

(six million pounds worth $255,000 in 1940).

12.651

figure 21.-~.:thewinter flounder.

FOOD FROM THE SEA 49

These five flounders differ slightly in food quality. The gray sole

is considered one of the best of all flatfishes in flavor, and the bases

of the fins have large amounts of gelatinous fat of the sort for which

the European turbot is noted. Of the smaller flatfishes, the winter

flollllder is regarded' by many as the best flavored, the thickest, and the

meatiest. This is the predominant species taken in southern New

England and .the Long Island Sound region. The lemon sole, taken

! only on Georges Bank, is very similar to the winter flounder. The

yellowtail is a thinner-bodied fish than the winter flounder, and in this

respect is a less desirable food fish, but it has a good flavor and is now

marketed in large quantities. The dab is another flatfish that has only,

recently; come into its rightful place, for ill .1924 Bigelow reported

"so little market for it that few are brought in," although he described

it as an excellent pan fish. Now, however, about 2lh million pounds

a year are landed at Boston, Portsmouth, and Gloucester. The dab

has a thick layer of flesh; free from bones, on both upper and lower

sides. The meat is sweet and not oily, with a distinctive flavor and'

texture. "

Although the item "fillet of sole" appears often on the menu cards of

restaurants, none of the flounders taken commercially in American

waters is related to the renowned English sole (Solea. vulgaris). -The

only representative of the family Soleidae in New England is the

small hog choker (Achirus fasciatus). Althoughthe flesh is said to

be delicious, its small size (6 to 1 inches long) bars it from commercial

\ ' markets. "

The flounders are a particularly interesting group of fishes because.

of their habitof lying on' their sides. Usually associated with this

mode-of life are the loss of all pigment on one side of the body (either

right or left according to the habit of the species) and the migration

of one of the. eyes across the forehead, so that both eyes are on the

same side of the head ,(the upper side as the fish lies). Most surpris-ingof

all is the fact that young flounders begin life swimming upright

, like any other fish. At the age of 5 to 1 weeks (in the winter flounder)

the.left eye begins to move upward until it may be seen above the dorsal

profile of the head. From this point the transformation proceeds

swiftly, with the left eye moving across the forehead to lie beside the

right eye. The pigment on the now eyelessside fades, while the eyed or

uppermost sidebecomesuniformly pigmented. The little fish has by

this time abandoned its former swimming habits and swims and lies

on its side. The transformation is completed by the time it is not much

more than three-eighths of all inch long. With the transformation of

structure goes a change of feeding habits, for the little flounder, in-stead

of swimming actively in the open water and feeding on minute

50 CONSERVATION BULLETIN 33

12,652

Figure 22.-Lemon soles resemble large winter flounders but, are caught only on

Georges Bank.

FOOD F-R,OM THE SEA -51

plankton organisms, now lies on the bottom much of the time, like

the older fish. ..

Besides the longer migrations undertaken for the sake of finding

suitable temperatures, or at spawning time, someflounders probably

. wander in groups from place to placeas food becomes scarce. A,roying

habit is, however,' more characteristic of the flounders' large relative,

the halibut, and of tile summer flounder or fluke than of any of the

5 species discussed here. Both the halibut.and the fluke are exceedingly

active as flatfishes go, pursuing small fisheslike capelin and launce to

the surface, or roaming over the bottom in bands as they hunt fish,

crustaceans, mollusks, and other food. A typical flounder habit, dis-played

by both winter and summer flounders, is to bury in the mud im-mediately

upon settling to the bottom, leaving only the 'eyes uncovered,

On sighting a shrimp or other prey the ~ounder may dartupwith '~'

surprising speed to seize its: victim. On, the flood"tides, wheri the

water is bringing new, food. into the shoals from farther at sea; these

..flounders .are moreactive, .and roam about through theeelgrass in

search of food. The occa-sionalcapture of dabs and yellowtails in gill

nets shows that these species also may roam actively at times.

A female flounder of average size produces about 500,000 eggs an-

,nually, a large fish well over a million. Spawning occurs during the

winter months,. at which time the fish congregate in shallow inshore

waters. The eggs hatch in 15 to 18 days. ;

While flounders grow 1110rerapidly 'in some.areasthan in others, in

general the youngwinter flounder reaches a length of about 4% inches '

atthe endof the first year: Fish 71hin6hes long are 2 years old; 9%

inches, 3 years old; lllh,inches, 4 years old; 13inches, 5 years old; and

13%, inches, 6 years old.

Because it lives in coastal waters, sportsmen find the winter flounder

·the most accessibleofthe New England flatfish. In some localities

'anglers take as "many winter flounders as commercial, fishermen: .do,

and during the entire summer season virtually every southern .New

Eiiglandport, largeorsmall, sends outfrpml its docks numerous small

boats carrying anglers .to fish for winter flounders. In spite of its

.small mouth this 'flounder takes" the hook readily. Clams" are ap-

"puretitlyone of the best.baits.' ' ..-

"".During the. winter, from October to April, the winter flounder is

intensively fished by small trawlers or flounder draggersthat 9perate

".o.utof·th-e" bays, .coves, and inlets.ofsouthern NewEngland, At this

~inieo:fthe year 'the fish are somewhat more concentrated in bays and

'in..,letsas a-result ofa seasonalmovingin from more offshoregrounds .

· 'tospawn. Some 12;000,000 pounds of winter flounders' are caught' by ,

'commercial fishermen each year, with more than 10,000,000 pounds of

. this total coming' from the States of Masgachusettsand Connecticut.

52 CONSERVATION BULLETIN 33

Figure 23._The halibut.

Halibut (Hippoglossus hippoglossusl

The largest landings of halibut arrive in New England ports during

the months from March to September, although catches are made find

landed every month of the year. Because of the good keeping qual-ities

of halibut and the excellence of the frozen product, the steaks of.

this large fish, white and flaky and of delicious flavor, may be enjoyed

fit any time of year. Much ofthe halibut consumed in New England

, comes from the Pacific coast, but North Atlantic waters still yield an

aunual catch of one to two million pounds of this excellent food fish.

Close inshore, the halibut was virtually fished out more than half a

century ago and now all the coastal grounds combined furnish barely

a quarter of a million pounds. The outlying banks; being less accessi-ble,

have held up better. Browns, St.Pierre, Banquereau, and the dis-tant

Grand Bank of Newfoundland each yield approximately a quar-ter

of a million pounds of halibut. Because they are very large fish

and also because they often frequent the deeper gullies; halibut are for

the most part caught individually on line trawls (only a quarter of the

catch is taken by otter trawls). .

The halibut is the largest of the flatfish-in appearance an enor-mously

overgrown flounder. It sometimes weighs as much as 500 or

600pounds, but usually a large halibut now means one weighing about,

200pounds, while average sizes are probably 50to 100 pounds. Halibut

are such slow grow~rs that they do not reach sexual maturity for 9 or

10 years. As fishes go, they are exceedingly long lived'. The 7-foot

fish that are occasionally caught may,it .is believed; be as much as 50

years old.

The halibut's slow growth and relatively high age at maturity makes

it possible for a stock to be depleted very rapidly where a fishery is

FOOD FROM, 'IHE SEA 53

intensive enough to remove a large proportion of the fish before they

have spawned. Regulation of the Pacific coast halibut fishery by an

international commission has proved very successful, however. Biol-ogists

believe that controlled development of the more distant east

coast halibut grounds-such as Davis Strait and the Grand Bank- .

might result in increased Atlantic coast catches, perhaps as much as a

12-million-pound total.

12,656

Figure 24.-The .wolfflsh will 'furnish many thousand pounds of excellent food when the

, American public becomes better acquainted rith it~ '

54 CONSERVATION BULLETIN 33

12.657

Wolffish (Anarhichas lupus>

,The wolffishis all excellent table fish that deserves to be hetter known,

It is somewhat similar to the hadd6ck (to which, however, it is no

relation) in the texture and flavor of its meat, and is often marketed

in the filleted form.- Biologists believe that the, present catches of

approximately three/million pounds could be doubled withoutdanger

to the future 'productiveness of the fishery. '

The wolflish is solitary, never schooling up in great droves as most

of the cods do, which may account, in part, for the fact that it has

never been marketed in quantities great enough to allow the public to

become well acquainted with its good qualities. Belying its fierce and

aggressive appearance (dory fishermen have to kill it immediately it

is taken aboard to prevent being bitten) it is thought to be a weak swim-mer

that spends most of its time hunting among seaweeds and over

rocky ground for the shellfish, crustacea, and starfish-like animals

which it eats. The wolflish has never been known to turn cannibal and

eat its own kind, in spite of legends to the contrary.

Although wolflish probably are not abundant in anyone place, they

are widely distributed from Davis' Strait on the north to Gape Cod

(and rarely to southern New England) on the south, and from near

the tidelines outward to depths of 500 feet or more. '

-Figure25.-The butterflsh.

Butterfish (Poronotus triacanthus)

The butterfish is one cf the best of table fishes. Fat and delicately

flavored, it is an ideal-pan-fish that fries to a crisp golden brown and

melts in the mouth. Most butterfish are only 6 to 8 inches 'long; the

largest run to about 10 inches. Schools of butterfish appear in the

shallow coastal waters of New England in summer, arriving in the .:/

, I

FOOD FROJ,\!CTHE SEA 55

vicinity of Rhode Island in late April, but seldom are plentiful north

of Cape Cod before Jlily. Although typically inshore fish, the butter-fish

nevertheless are not wholly confined to coastal waters but are

taken in some abundance 011' Georges Bank. In winter no butterfish are

to be found in New England waters, but where the fish go when they

disappear in October 01' November'is unknown.

Present catches of butterfish amount to about two million pounds-'

a considerable nu,~ber of individual fish, in view of their small size."

Figure 26.~The blue6~ .rune •.

TUlla (Thunnys ,thynnus)

The'bluefin tuna has only recently been considered a commercial fish

on the east coast. Present catches nowapproach a million poundsa

year (1940 catchwas'1,121,OOO pounds) and probably could be, in-creased

to four or five million pounds; , Lack of facilities for large-scale

canning in New England and competition with the Pacific coast prod-uct

have not encouraged fishermento develop 'an important tuna fishery,

but. recent' activitiesi'n the canning of tuna at Gloucester and other

placesmaychange the situation. '

Th'}fleshof the tuna is rich and oily, better adapted for canning

thanfor.consumption in the fresh form. East coast tuna are light-meated,

as are most.of the Pacific coast tunas (only the albacore has

true "white" meat) ." ',' ,

The bluefin tuna is found on the eastern coast of North America as

far north as Newfoundland, also on the Pacific coast and in the Medi-terranean.

Being an inhabitant of comparatively warm water; it "

visits our shores only during the summer and disappears.in autumn.

Noone knows where the tuna spends the winter months, or where it , '. spawns. ," , ,

The tunas are among the strongest and most active fishes, roving the

open sea in packs like. the predatory animals which, in fact, they are.

They feed on a great variety of smaller schooling fishes. Fishermen

(who call them "horse mackerel") often locate feeding tuna by the

56 OOiKlS.ERVATlQiN BULLEITIN 33

~, . .

flocks of sea birds that gather where the small fishare being driven to

the surface .

.On the .Atlantic coast bluefin tuna are said to grow to a maximum

size of 14 feet and a weight of 1,600 pounds. These large fish (as well

as the smaller "school tuna") provide sport for numerous big game

anglers fromMaryland to Nova Scotia. Most fish now caught com-mercially

fall into two size categories: school tuna weighing from 8

to 65 pounds, and large tuna ranging from 65 to about 600 pounds.

Summer Flounder (Paralichthys dentatus) .

In addition to the five flounders caught in abundance in New England

waters (see pages 48 to 51), the summer flounder or fluke is locally im-portant.

A commercial catch of a little over a million pounds in 1940

was made chiefly in southern New England, for this fish occurs only

in. small numbers north of Cape Cod, and the center of its abundance

is south of New England. Massachusetts boats fishing off Virginia

took another 2% million pounds, credited to New England in the

statistical records,

The fluke is considered one of the best of table fishes-white-meated

'and of excellent flavor. Average size flukes run from a pound to 5

pounds; the largest on record measured 3 feet and weighed 25 pounds.

Because of their seasonal migrations, flukes are taken in greatest

abundance in the summer months .. Then they are found in shallow

inshore waters, lurking about docks and over sandy or grassy bottoms.

In the winter they move out into deeper water. Flukes range at least

as far offshore as Georges Bank.

i

II

figure 27.-The summer flounder.

. I

FOOD: FROM I THE SEA 57

Its' size. and active, habits' make the fluke .an excellent game fish.

Unlike most of its sluggish relatives, the fluke pursues its prey (small

fishes, shrimps, crabs, and the like) swiftly, driving shoals of small

fry to the surface and sometimes leaping clear of the water.

" .,

. Anglerfis.h (Lophiu,s piscatorius)

.Among the virtually, untouched seafood' resources of New England

is the anglerfish. In-reality an excellent food fish, white-meated, free

of small bones, and with a pleasant flavor, until recently the angler

was considered unmarketable by the trawler crews and was pitched

overboard when it came up in the net. In 1940, h