The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1894-08-22
ENEMIES OF THE MACKEREL.
Something About the Squid That Oper-
ates At RichmOnd's Island.


"A Story of Horse MackereI That Got
Into the Pound.
Of all the enemies of the mackerel.
blue-fish, seals, horse mackerel etc., per-
haps the squid is the most interesting
though not the most destructive. The
short-finned squid is the species that is
founed in these waters and attains a
length of from IL to Is inches. 1t is GER
tainly fact that the squid destroys and
eats small behring's and mackerel and
therefore che spectacle is presented of a
lower order of animals feeding upon a
higher order. For the squid is a mollusk
OF the same great order as the clam and
oyster, while the mackerel is of course
vertebrate. But larger fish, such as cod
etc., and even large mackerel feed upon
the squid.
Lately the souid has been numerous in
the vicinity of Richmond;s island and
mackerel have been found there with the
peculiar bite in the neck made by the
beak of this carnivorous mollusk.
This short-fnned squid is very active
creature, and darts with great velocity
backward or in any other direction by
means of the reaction of the Jet of
water that is thrown with much force
from the siphon, and which may be di-
rected backward or forward or to the
right or left by bending the siphon.
1t is not easy to capture them with a
dip net, SO quickly do they dart about.
In attacking the young mackerel they
suddenly dart backward among the
school with the velocity of an arrow
and turn quickly to the right or left
and seize fish with their sharp beaks.
The following account is from observa-
lions taken at Provincetown, Mass.
"The bite was always made in the
back of the neck, cutting out q trianau-
lar piece of flesh, and was deep enough
to penetrate to the spinal cord. The at
tacks were not always successful, and
were sometimes repeated dozen times
before one of these active and wary
fishes could be caught, sometimes after
making several unsuccessful attempts
one Of the squid would suddenly drop
w uuO OoptOld dntA ACStlHS uPOA UuO odud
would change the color to that of the
sand so perfectly as to be almost invisi-
BILE. In this position it would wait un-
til the mackerel came back, and when
they were swimming close over the am
buscade the squid, by sudden dart,
would be pretty sure to secure fish.
Ordinarily when swimming they were
thickly spotted with red and brown,
but when darling among the mackerel
they appeared translucent and pale.
The mackerel, however, seemed to have
learned that the shallow water was safest
for them, and would hug the shore as
closely as possible, SO that in pursuing
them many Of the squid became strand
ed and perished by the hundreds, for
when they once touch the shore they be-
gin to pump water from their siphons
with. great energy, and this usually
forces them farther and farther on to the
beach. ;e ~
These peculiar mollusks have been de-
stroying mackerel at Richmond's Island
They will attack the large mackerel
that are caught in the net of the great
pound there and bite out pieces of the
flesh, of course spelling them for market
Another enemy to the mackerel that
sometimes raises havoc in the pound at
Richmond's Island is the horse m ack-
erel. When one of those great savage
fellows six or eight feet long, follows
the mackerel into the great enclosure
of nets, the fishermen are very much
bothered. 1t is no use to try to capture
him. He will simply rush away straight
through the net, tearing it to pieces.
They are very careful with him and try
to drive him into corner, where they
have made hole in the net, hoping
that he will pass through it, and thereby
do as little damage as possible. Once a
horse mackerel was driven out of the
gate way where the fish enter, and
dashed along beside the long leader, u
or fence Of nets that runs out from the
shore. The great fish dashed straight
for the shore and ran full tilt against
the perpendicular face of rocks. He
struck with force that seemed as if it
must have smashed his head. He came
out of water three or four feet and dis
appeared, apparently not disabled in the
least.