The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1906-12-30
AMERICAS BIG FISH POCKET
Great Trap Is Operated by the Gulf Stream in North
ern Waters

IL might be expected that the scab-
bard fish would be found in company
with the sword fish, which is plentiful
everywhere along the New England
coast in the summer. but such is far
from being the case. 1t is, in fact, a
denizen of warm seas, chiefly of the
western Atlantic, and, while not plenti-
ful, is captured every year by fisher
men. The largest specimen recorded
from New England waters was taken
at Newport in 1901 and had attained
the highly respectable length of three
feet eight inches.
OF the pompanos genus. numbering
fifteen varieties. only two are fairly
common along the Rhode Island coast
the other thirteen deserving to be
classed with fish (which yield to the Sc
auctions of the gulf stream to stray on
long journey from their tropical
home. These are all small fish.
One of them has gained fame and n
name as the pilot fish, which figures in
sea stories as the guide of sharks.
Three specimens from Newport may be
seen In the United States National mu-
scum
The Portuguese man-of-war fish is
said to have got its name from the fact
that it mas found about a Portuguese
man-of-war on the occasion when it
was first classified. 1t is plentiful in
the tropical parts of the Atlantic and
Indian oceans in rather deep water, the
surface of which it frequents. and is es-
pecially abundant in the SaragossO sea.
The king of the mullets. one of the
cardinal fishes, is included in the Rhode
Island list from the circumstance of a
single specimen captured at Newport
nearly forty years ago. II may safely
be set down as a Gulf stream wandeTer
and one of the rarest, If not actually
| the rarest of its class.
Passing hastily down the record there
is noted among the sea BASES the
snowy grouper, which is at home be
tween Brazil and the West Indies, but
not infrequentiy finds itself in net off
Cape Cod. Judging from those taken
north it is a tiny fish, from an inch and
quarter to two and three-quarters
/ inches long, not readily identified as
| closely related to that magnificent
/ fighter the striped bass, which has
reached 112 pounds.
The triple tail is represented in north
/ ern waters by only six specimens i'm
/ twenty years, the largest of which
weighed six pounds and was taken off
Prudence island i'm Narragansett bay
. five years ago. The big eye, the gray
, snapper and the COW pilot are of about
| equal rarity. Angel fishes, butterfly
fishes and trigger fishes may hardly be
taken in long lifetime of angling,
while the frogfish, although partial to
a warm climate, is fairly FAMILIAR to the
/ investigators at Woods Hole.
Mr.. Tracy characterizes this as one
of the most interesting of visitors from
southern waters. 1t is usually found
swimming under the bits of gulf
stream in summer and autumn during
the long east and southeast blows.
The frcgfish furnishes a striking ex-
ample of protective coloring. It has a
/ IL; 70 xx-hEc attached
many filameHtous appendages, giving
the fish such a resemblance TO the gulf
/ weed in which its floats that IL is eff
fectively hidden from its enemies.
While clumsy in it's movements it is
adept at approaching and capturing
other fish. 1t is cannibalistic In its
| habits, frequently biting of the fieshy
dermal aIpendages OF its fellows, and
one six inches long has been known TO
make a meal from another four inches
long.
| Although several specimens have beer
taken at Woods Hole and Nantucket
shoals, there are records OF only two IN
Rhode Island waters. both having been
trapped at the mouth Of the Sakonnet
river within six days OF one another
Weather conditions preceding and dur
ing the time of their capture furnish
substantial proof of the theory that
these and ether infrequent visitors from
the tropics are carried northward IN
willingly i'm the great ocean river.
A heavier wind than ordinary had
been blowing southwest TO northwest
for two weeks the velocity and dfrec-
ton of which. it is believed, drove tho
floating masses of gulf weed north
ward and into the big pocket formed BY
the cOnfiguratiOn of the New England
coast. And therein lies the explanat ton
of the appearance of nearly all our ood
visitors from the south.