The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1899-11-19
TILEFISH ARE BACK AGAIN.
THEIR DIsAPPEARASCE WAS ONE OF
THE OCEANS MYSTERIEs.
Three Years After Their Discovery in 1870 n
Billion and q Half of Them Perished in n
Catastrophe in the Gulf Stream Not Yet
Explained by scienoe-vaIue of tho Fish.

BiiI,on and n Half OF Them Perished in q
Catastrophe In the Gulf Stream Not Yet
Explained by scienoe-vaiue of tho Fish.
Some day II may be that the detective forces
Of science will discover the secret Of the disappear
ance Of the tefsh from the waters OF the eastern
coast OF this country AT present II remains
one OF the mysteries Of the ocean depths and scien
lists can only guess at the catastrophe that in
1882 strewod the surface Of the Atlantic for an
area of 40 by rs miles with the bodies Of this
splendid fsh and so nearly wiped tho species
OF existence in this part Of the world. at least
that II did not rcappear for nearly ten ycars
recent bulletin from the United States Fish Com
mission tells the history Of the tilehsb far as
II liz known from the time Of its first appearance
10 its present unexpected temperance Tho
pamphlet is by Dr. II. c. Bumpus Director Of
the Biological Laboratory at Woods Hole, Mass.
The tilefsh IL n bright. hued and handsome
fsh running az high as thirty pounds In weight,
and is known scientifically as Lophoidfflus cha
ndeieonftespS II belongs 10 the family Of Mdlo-
canihidae and as its relatives are found mainly
in tropical waters IL IL believed 70 belong 70 the
West Indian Gulf Stream fauna, a northern con
tinuaiion Of which has found habitaton In the
warm waters. Of the Gulf Stream long distances
to the north Of its proper habitat These fish. II
Is believed could not exist in water Of tho
but In the warm belt Of the Stream they fnd
suitable conditions OF life, and outside Of that
belt they are not found.
To Capt Kirby Of the schooner william V.
Hutchins belongs the credit Of the discovery Of
the tilcfsh. Sailing out from Gloucester for
cod and hako in May. 1879. he fshed
in water varying from eighty 10 ono
hundred and twenty fathoms and almost d.
rectly south Of Nantucket in latitude <Oo o.
north. longitude 7Oo 23' west and took on his
travis about two thousand pounds Of what he
described a. strange and handsomely colorcd
Ash. Perhaps because Of the strangcness he
ordered most Of them thrown overheard for your
Down. East fisherman IN not prone TO new de-
parturcs In fishing, but this wastefulncss he
very heartily regretted after he had had some
few Of them cooked. for he found them the finest
Ash he had ever eaten" and. giving the cod and
hakc the go-by for the present he set about get.
ting more specimens Of the new fish with view
to the home market. which he Judged would take
kindly TO them. Again that day the travis
were set some miles to the cast and another catch
Of 1000 pounds was the result On the following
day Capt Kirby tried IL TO the southeast and got
a third finc haul He sent 4 900 pounds Of dressed
,ilefsh TO Gloucester where they found q ready
market. Specimens were sent to the National
Museum, for nobody in Gloucester had ever seen
the like Of those fishes before. and the species
was duly examined and classified with the scien.
,iiic name given above: but Gloucester christcnoi
the new discovery tilehsh. IL In said because Of
its brighthued scales. and set out 10 catch IL.
Presumably the other fishermen didn't strike
the right locality az the only luck reported was
by Capt Dempsey OF Gloucester, who. while fishing
for cod hfty miles south by cost OF No Man Land,
in July, 1879 pulled nine Of the strangers out Of
T..h
tcmbcr. 1880. three specimens were taken. An
Psychological expedition chartered a schooner
late in September 1880, and A., out for the tile
fishing grounds with trawl line OF 400 hooks
bai,ed with menhadon. The net result was
sworihsh and two skates. A storm then camo
up and the party returned, In August. 1851,
another expedition. fishing in the vicinity oflongi.
tudc 40 north, latitude ZOE to 10 wcst got about
seven hundred pounds Of tilensh. In 1892 no
iilensh were taken. DR. Bumpus says
in March and April, 1882. vessels entering
New York and other Atlantic ports reported that
they had passed through countless numbers
81 dead fish while crossing the northern edge
u the Gulf Stream. Investigation proved that
thes- were ulrfsh and that they appeared on
the surface Of the water over an area 10 miles
in length and 20 miles In width. A conserve
Commission Rspor, Tor iss2,. who has e f.
a detailed history Of tho hehsh up to the time
Of 'h's %H,1n plHsea their n numb at Upward
fish. he has estimated that there would BE- 2ss
pounds OF fsh for every man. woman and child
IN The United States In September 1882, Prof
BairI chartered the Josie Reeves snd sent her
To the tlefish grounds that he fright ascertain
to what extent ME species had ben depleted
a single individual This seemingly unpre-
cedent"d destruction Of marine life was exirn.
Si'ey commented upon both by newspapers
For several years attempts were made 10 find
specimens OF the fish, but none caught and
the tilehsh was relegated by most scientists to
however Prof Ncrill who had made a careful !
study 81 the nature Of the ocean bottom in that
with results Of tho greatest value, predicted as
result, Of his invest ration thai the tilefsh would
probably reappear when conditions should again |
In the report Of the dredging along the tiIefsh !
grounds he states that there In a rapid incline !
q the sea bottom beyond the hundred fathom |
line usually as steep as the side of great noun
Snr New sna hF r. s ss Mount Wash
he sHps s sn Of ns
in sxiy'h 10 one hundred and Nifty fathoms
and sometime to two hundred fathonis OF more, |
the tempe aturc Of the bottom watr,
along this bel, is decidedly higher Than il is along
!" ssS" 's% . sSs f fsSom. n':' the shS
may Therefore call the upper part Of the slope
in nbou, eighty Ave 70 one hundred and My
cupicd by a northern continuation Of the southern
or West Indian Gulf STRAIN fauna
that could not exist there II the Gulf Stream did
not flow along this area at the bottom both In win.
ter and summer. One Of tho most peculiar f.c,.
connected with our dredging this season Qss2) |
was the scarcity or abs nee of many of he species
crustac'a, that were taken in the two |
previous Yeas in essentially the same LOCALITIES
and depths in vast numbers scyo raj thousand
., time lis probable therefor. that the find,
ng Of vast numbers 81 dead ulchsh floating At
The surface In this rrgon last winter was connected
with Wholesale destruction Of the life al The
bottom. along the shallowcr part Of this belt din
seventy TO one hundred and nifty fathoms) where
Inc southern forms Of life and higher tempe nature
Az To 52O are found. This great destruction
II life was probably caused by very severe storm
hat occurred in tho region at that time, which
ly agitahng tho bottom water forced outward
he very cold water that even in summer occupies
he wide AREA 81 shallower sea in less than siyty
athomS along the coast, and thus caused sudden
Ow"rng 81 tho temperature along this narrow
wa rm zone whore the tilehsh and tho crustarra
referred 10 were formerly found. II is probable
however, that these southern species, Including
he ulcfish were not thus destroyed farther south
Therefore II is probable that In a few years they
will again occupy these grounds by migrating
north ward even II there be not enough left here
% replcnish their races"