Excerpt from Number and Lengths, by Season, of Fishes Caught With an Otter Trawl Near Woods Hole, Massachusetts, September 1961 to December 1962 The catch data provide information for certain species on occurrence in relation to season and water temperature, growth during the first year, and sizes and seasons when the young end their pelagic stage and become avail able to an otter trawl. The data also help to define the role of the shallow water coastal zone as a fish nursery area. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

The cunner, Tautogolabrus adspersus (Walbaum), also known as the chogset or bergall, is commonly found around wharves and docks and on rocky bottoms along the northeastern coast of North America. It is distributed from Newfoundland southward to the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay, with a major center of abundance in the Massachusetts Bay area. In these northern waters, cunners are most numerous in shallow inshore areas, although they are frequently taken near wrecks and shoals up to 30 miles at sea. There is little evidence in support of seasonal migration patterns and individuals remain near their areas during their formative years. At one time, the cunner was a favorite fish of New England anglers. During the 1880's between 200,000 and 300,000 pounds of cunner were taken in the New England commercial harvest. However, since the turn of the century, commercial catches have been negligible because of poor demand.