DOCUMENT RESUME

ED 241 260 SE 041 797

AUTHOR Butzow, John W.; Kane, PhilipTITLE Do You Know Our Marine Fish? A Marine Education

Infusion Unit.INSTITUTION Maine Univ., Orono. Coll. of Education.SPONS AGENCY National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

(DOC), Rockville, Md. National Sea Grant Program.;National Science Foundation, Washington, D.C.

PUB DATE 82GRANT SER-8160322NOTE 73p.; Prepared by Northern New England Marine

Education Project. Also supported by the Maine MarineAdvisory Program.

PUB TYPE Guides - Classroom Use - Materials (For Learner)(051) -- Guides - Classroom Use - Guides (ForTeachers) (052)

EDRS PRICE MF01/PC03 Plus Postage.DESCRIPTORS *Ecology; Educational Games; Environmental Education;

Experiential Learning; *Ichthyology; InstructionalMaterials; *Interdisciplinary Approach; IntermediateGrades; Junior High Schools; Learning Activitiesr*Marine Biology; *Marine Education; Middle Schools;Oceanography; Outdoor Education; Puzzles; ScienceEducation; Units of Study; Word Lists

IDENTIFIERS Dissection; Fishes; Fishing; Fishing Industry; FishProducts; Gulf of Maine; New England; PF Project

ABSTRACTDesigned to provide teaching materials for middle

school and junior high school teachers in northern New England, thismarine education unit presents teacher-tested ideas and activitiesfor use in the classroom and in field trips to the ocean. Each unitincludes ideas and activities drawn from a variety of content areasso teachers of many different subjects can make use of them. Althoughspecific objectives are given for each activity, the unit has twogeneral objectives: (1) to help students develop improved knowledgeabout marine fish, and (2) to develop increased awareness of thebeauty and complex interrelatedness of marine fish. Students learnabout these complex interrelationships by studying fish shapes,classes of fish, sharks, bony fish, fish feeding, commercial fishing,recreational fishing, deep sea fishing, fish aging, and growth. Thebulk of the unit consists of student materials and activitiesincluding arts and crafts, creative writing, fish in literature, alesson on cleaning and preparing fish, visual aids, games, fishobservation, dissection instructions and diagrams, identificationkeys, tables, and checklists. Teacher resources include recipes,organizational resources, a directory of fish packers, and anannotated bibliography of books and films. (LH)

************************************************************************ Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made *

* from the original document. *

***********************************************************************

;.Z., Do You KnowOur Marine Fish?

NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF EDUCATIONEDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION

CENTER IERICI

This document Ian boon reproduced esreceived from the meson or orgrinItalion

tuouting

Mm, chilliflos bawl been math) to improvemoroduceno quality.

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Points of view or opinions stated in this doommust do not necessarily represent official NIEposition or policy,

"PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE THISMATERIAL HAS BEEN GRANTED BY

ony. \?) L &,*zztA)

TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCESINFORMATION CENTER (ERIC)."

A Marine Education Infusion Unit

Units Revision Team

John W. Butzow, Project DirectorPhilip Kane, Curriculum WriterJudith Cooper, Illustration, Design

and Production

Copyright 1982 by the University of Maine at Orono.

Permission is hereby granted to classroom teachers and informal educators to make unlimitedcopies of any portions of this material for classroom or teacher education uses.

All other rights reserved. For additional permissions write to the Northern New England MarineEducation Project, 206 Shibles Hall, University of Maine, Orono, Maine 04469.

Acknowledgement of SupportThe original editions of these units were supported by the College of Educationand the MaineNew Hampshire Sea Grant College with funding from the Officeof Sea Grant, NOAA, U.S. Department of Commerce.

This edition is based on work supported by the National Science Foundationunder Grant No. SER 8160322 and the Maine Marine Advisory Program.

Any opinion, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in thispublication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the uieu ofthe National Science Foundation.

ContributorsNNEMEP StaffProject Director: John Butzow 1975-82Project Assistant Directors:

Richard Schlenker 1976-77Les Picker 1977-78Harry H. Dresser 1978-79Peter Corcoran 1979-81

Major Contributors:John ButzowClayton CarkinPeter CorcoranVictor De SilvestroHarry DresserJohn EisemanRichard GlueckCharles GregoryRuth GruningerRichard HansenDeborah HartneyWesley HedlundMildred JonesPhilip KaneWin KelleySteve KilfoyleDaniel LancorJean Mac ConnellJulia Steed MawsonChris MorgnerLes PickerRobert PrattGail SheltonLorraine Stubbs

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Staff Assistants:Jidie BrownDeborah HartneyMichael Shirley

Developmental Art Work:Peter ArchambaultLori DombekCarol NicholsHarry DresserWilliam Hepburn

Developmental Photography:Less PickerJohn ButzowClarence Barber

Manuscript PreparationMary BrownElaine MitchellPage Eastman

Revised Marine Education Infusion Unitsfor Middle School-Junior High SchoolHave You Been to the Shore Before? A Marine

Education Infusion Unit on Seashore and AquariumLife

What Adventures Can You Have in Wetlands,Lakes, Ponds, and Puddles? A Marine EducationInfusion Unit on Wet Environments

What is our Maritime Heritage? A Marine E6, ationInfusion Unit on Ships and Shipping

is Our Food Future in the Sea? A Marine EducationInfusion Unit on Aquaculture and Sea Farming

How Do People Use Lighthouses and NavigationalCharts? A Marine Education Infusion Unit

Do You Know Our Marine Fish? A Marine EducationInfusion Unit on Finfish of the Gulf of Maine

Do You Know Our Marine Algae? A MarineEducation Infusion Unit on Algae of the Gulf Of Maine

What Are the ABC's of Marine Education?A Marine Education Primer Dealing with Many Topics

Original Trail Editions (For Grades K-12)Clams and Other CrittersMarine ArtThe AquariumThe BeaverThe LobsterWhale Multi-disciplinary StudiesOur Heritage of ShipsShipping, Ships and WaterwaysThe ABCs of Celebrating Year of the Coast in

Your SchoolHove You Ever Been to the Shore Before?Blue MusselLighthousesWetlandsSeaweedsAquocultureNavigation

More than one hundred teachers and members of past NSF sponsored summer institutes have trial tested andcritiqued these units.

iii

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Marine Art

MarineHistory

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Boats, Ships & Navigation

Fish & Fisheries

MAINE ea Mammals

Marine Plants

GULF OF MAINE

AwarenessAttitudeAppreciation

CAPECOD

1-417 MarineNavigation Aids

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Sea Birds

Tides & Currents

Aquaculture

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Recreation

ForewordMarine education is a relatively new term embracing amulti-disciplinary approach to learning about the marineenvironment: how it relates to people and how peoplechange and relate to it. These units are intended to serveas points of departure for teachers and students whodesire to increase their awareness of the watery world ofthis blue planet. Each unit includes ides and activitiesdrawn from a variety of content areas so that teachers ofmany different subjects at the junior high and middleschool levels can make use of them. These units may beused in their entirety or used as idea or activity sources toinfuse into the usual curriculum.

Our objective is to help teachers make learning morewater-related. We did not plan a structural sequence oftopics for grades five through nine, but rather offer theseteachers guides and student pages for your consideration.

The general focus within these units is the Gulf of Maine.As the Gulf extends from Cape Cod to Nova Scotia itwashes an extremely long and varied coast. We havedredged and seined themes from the activities, concerns,organisms, vessels, and the past of this vast watery regionof North America. We aim to be inclusive rather thanexclusive, suggestive rather than factual, and stimulatingrather than expert. Our hope is that your students will ;become more questioning, interested, and critical of wats.ifyconcerns. We hope your use of these materials will addwater back into our culture.

John W. Butzow

v

7

vi

A Note on Measures and GendersIn this unit metric measures will beused. We wish to strongly urge the useof metric measures as part of ournation's change to the metric system.As educators, our duty is to assist themetric conversion.

A number of occupational words haveas yet no generally used non-sexistequivalent. We have therefore retaineduse of the terms fisherman and lobster-man for either sex.

Throughout the unit, weight, length andthe other statistics used are the "bestguess" with the available data. It isdifficult to present 100% accurate dataas all data is tentative.

Contents of the Teacher's GuideTeacher Background Information

What Makes a Fish, a Fish? 1

Fish Shapes 2

Classes of Fish 3

Sharks 3

The Spiny Dogfish 4Bony Fish 4

The Atlantic Cod 5The Smelt 5

The Eel 6Fish Feeding 7

Commercial Fishing . 8Recreational Fishing/ 9Deep Sea Fish 10Fish Aging and Growth 10

Classroom ActivitiesFish in the Arts and Crafts 13

Creative Writing Poetry 13Gyotaku Japanese Fish 13Fish in Literature 13Plaster Fish 15

Fish -in the Kitchen 17Purchasing Fish 17What Fin Fish.Do You Eat? 17Cleaning and Dressing Fish 17Eating Fish 17Fish Packing 17

Fish in the Market Place 18Making Models 18Trawlerman 18

What is a Fish 19Fish Shapes 19Fish Behavior 19

Odd Fish 20Migrating Fish 20Food Webs 20Aging Fish 21

vii

Shark Dissection 23

Bony Fish Dissection 24

Keying Out Fish 2t)

Teachers ResourcesExample Recipes 27

Organizational Resources 27

Other Units 27

Directory of Fish Packers 29

Annotated Bibliography 3()

Annotated Filmography 31

Contents of the PocketFish ChecklistWhat Finfish Do You Eat?Purchasing FishFish CleaningCommercial Fishing MethodsTrawlerman Game AccessoriesInvention CardsFish KeyScale TypesBony Fish Dissection DiagramsShark Dissection Diagrams

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Poacher Background Information

The broad purpose of marine education is to develop a marine literate citizenry; that is toeducate our students about the fundamental importance of the connections of human cultureto the marine and aquatic environment. The general purpose of the marine educationinfusion units in this series is to provide tetzching materials to make this broad purposepossible for middle and junior high school teachers in Northern New England. The specialpurpose of "Do You Know Our Marine Fish?" is to make available teacher-tested ideas andactivities for use in your classroom and in your field trips to the ocean where the fish live.The important concepts in this unit are the diversity and complex interactions theseorganisms make on the marine environment. Specific objectives are given for each activity,but bear in mind two general objectives. Students should develop improved knowledge andincreased appreciation of the beauty and complex interrelatedness of marine fish asimportant organisms in our sea.

What Makes A Fish,A Fish?Several key characteristics will help to distinguish

. fish from other animals. Fish normally live all theirlives in water. A few fish, the walking catfish andeels, occasionally leave the water to move over theland. Another characteristic of fish is that theyusually have scales. Scales are outgrowths of theskin and there are several different types. Someexamples are placoid, ganoid, ctenoid, and cycloid.Fish also have gills for respiration and occasionally"lungs." The fins on a fish are appendages specialized for aquatic locomotion.

Fish are the most numerous of the vertebrates.They make up 43 percent of 37,600 species ofrecent vertebrates. Ichthyologists (fish scholars)estimate the number of recent fish species to bebetween 15,000 and 17,000, with the possibility of40,000 different species. These numbers are largewhen compared to such groups as mammals whichhave 4,500 species; and this number includespeople. Although there are many species of insects,none of those well-adapted animals can match thedegree of diversity in sizes and shapes of fish. Fishrange from the smallest animals to monsters 50feet long. It is really no wonder why there are somany different kinds of fish when their long exis-tence on earth and the extent and variety of theirhabitat are considered. They antedate people'sancestors by 400 million years and most othervertebrates by 100 million years. With more than70 percent of the earth's surface covered by water,fish range from approximately 3 miles above sealevel, in mountain streams, to nearly 7 milesbeneath the sea. Fish occupy habitats from belowfreezing waters to hot springs, and from freshwater ponds to salty seas. Fish also have diversereproductive cycles and several examples of these

. are included.

1

Depending upon the fish type, fish may liveanywhere in the water. For example, ground fishare benthic or bottom dwelling.

The Water Column

Surface

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Pelagic(in thewater columnat any level)

Benthic(on or near the bottom)

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Fish Shapes

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Eel

Body Shapes

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Mouth Shapes

Shark Salmon

Tail Shapes

Sturgeon

Epicercal tail Isocercal tail

Lamprey

Hypocercal tail

2 11

When speaking of specific fish, it is more precise touse 1Iw Latin name (including genus and Species).The use of the Latin or scientific name avoids theerror of speaking about the wrong fish. Using thecommon name, which may not be the samecommon name someone else uses, can lead to con.fusion, The same fish has only one scientific name,but may have several common names. Forexample, Chine() horennus is the scientific name ofthe herring, Its common name is herring, but itmay also be called sardine, brit, or spelling, Youmay want to discuss this with your students,

Fish ShapesFish come in many diverse shapes and sizes, Somefish appear triangular, rectangular or cylindrical inshape and others, round, flat or elongated. Withtime a fish may even change its shape, and cer-tainly its size. The reason for different shapes andsizes is adaptation to environmental stresses.Depth, bottom type, and type of food areexamples. Under differing conditions, fish haveneed of different shapes and sizes. For example,the triangularflat shape of a flounder is useful forbottom-dwelling life. With this flat shape, theflounder camouflages with the bottom, The cylindri-cal shape of the shark is useful for speed. Theshark lives in the middle of the water column anddepends on speed and size to catch its food. Somefish, such as the puffer, are round and upon theapproach of a predator expand to much largerproportions by taking in large quantities of waterthrough the mouth. The eel, a scavenger, has asnake-like body and lives on the bottom; where ituses Its body shape to get into crevices. As the eeldoes not live solely in the water column, like themackerel, it can swim more slowly and does notrequire the streamlined shape of the mackerel. Fishare often small because they need to hide fromtheir predators to avoid being eaten.

The shape and size of each fish depends on whereand how it lives. Even the shape of the body parts,such as the tail and fins, is due to the way a fishlives. A long pointed beak with sharp teeth is usefulif the fish eats other fish, but if would be prac-tically useless if the fish ate organisms out of themud. In the same trend, a shark's tail is useful forlong distance swimming in the ocean, but it wouldnot be as helpful for prowling around creviceswhere eels live.

Classes of FishThere are three classes or biological groups ofmarine fish. These are Agnatha (no jaws),Chondrichthyes (cartilage skeleton), andOsteichthyes (bony skeleton). They are soarranged because of tIug unique biological advan-tages each one has.

jawless or Class, Agnatha include the lampreys

and hagfish Both are parasitic and will ik.)t 'oe con.sidered in depth ill (air study.

Cartilaginous or Class, Chondricthyes includesharks, skates, and rays. The cartilaginous fishhave a predominately marine existence, a skeletonmade of cartilage, placoid scales, no individual gillcovering and no "lungs" or swim bladder. Insteadof an individual gill covering called the opuculum,this class, with the exception of the subclassHolocephali (ratfish), )1aS five external gillopenings.

Bony or Class, Osteichthyes are those fish witha skeleton made of real bone. They demonstrateseveral types of scales (except placoid), and anindividual gill covering called the operculum. Theymay be marine or fresh water, and they usuallyhave lungs or a swim bladder. Cod, haddock, andpollock are representatives. A look at representa-tives from the Cartilaginous and Bony fishgroups follows:

Cartilaginous: SharksLiving off our coasts are sharks and their kin thathave been the subjects of many myths and mis-understandings. Many people consider the shark"primitive," "dangerous," a general "menace" toour fishermen. Although these ideas may bepartially true, it is necessary to examine theseinteresting animals more closely before we "restour case."

Sharks have always been on people's minds cer-tainly since historic times. There are numbers ofpaintings, legends, and descriptions of them fromall over the world. In spite of the great interest inthem and the comparative studies in anatomy andthe research on their physiology, surprisingly, verylittle is known about their natural habits. Perpe-tuated myths about these animals and films such asJaws I and II do very little for the citizenry otherthan whet their appetites for drama and increasetheir fears of our watery world. Many people can-not separate "fact from fiction" real from unreal.

Mackerel Shark

Presently scientists have documented the numberof shark species to be more than two hundredforty. There may be more. Of these, about onepercent are really termed "maneaters." Sincepeople do not fully understand sharks' habits, thebest we can do is describe the animal as unpredic-table Without reliable information, people often

3

12

consider many sharks as potentially dangerous orharmful; but that does not mean that these fishsingle out people as prey. It is most likely byaccident that humans are attacked by sharks. Ascited by one report, shark attacks are very rare.The chances are equated to that of being struck bylightning or being run over taking a walk to thebeach.

The idea that the sharks are a menace to society isnot so much founded by behavior, as it is foundedby the sharks' ominous appearance. These fishare well adapted to their predatory existence. Theirlong tenure of 350 million years, in spite of fiercecompetition for food and living space, supports thisclaim. Powerful and swift :.harks and their relatives,the rays and skater, are anatomically unique whencompared with other animals of the sea.

Primitive is not an appropriate description of thisfish because it is considered both more primitiveand more advanced than some of the so-namedhigher bony fish as the Atlantic sea bass or rockcunner. The bones of sharks are composed ofcartilage. When it dies, this substance quicklydecomposes. That is why shark skeletons arerarely washed ashore. Occasionally, the skull of adogfish or the hard enameled teeth of other sharksare find in the flotsam and jetsam.

Dogfish

As an example of a shark, we will look at the spinydogfish, Saila his acanthias (market name, Grey-fish).

Description of the dogfish includes a small-slendershark quickly recognized by its sharp spines thatprotrude along the forward edge of the two dorsalfins. It is grey in color and has white spots that runfrom the pectoral fin to the pelvic fin with severalat the base of its dorsal fins.

Dogfish Shark

The first dorsal fin is a rounded triangle with atrailing edge that follows close to the back and alsohas the smaller of the two spines at the leadingedge. The second dorsal is more toward the tailand less triangular with a similar-trailing edge andthe larger spine is almost as high as the fin itself.The pectoral fins are longer than the first dorand similarly triangular and rounded, originatingjust behind the gill slits. The pelvic fins have atrailing-tapered edge behind their highest point andare located between the dorsal fins in profile. Thecaudal fin is broader on the upper half and quitestubby on the lower half with both halves roundedat the tips.

4

The dogfish has teeth that are very small andpointed, and grovs, in a sideways direction, in rows,along its jaw. In size, the dogfish average 3.0 to 5.0kilograms and 1 meter in length.

Life Cycles of the young dogfish are 18 to 22months in length and the young are usually bornon the offshore wintering grounds, though somemay be born in late spring and summer, inshore.The female carries a litter of about four to six pupsand they average between 15.0 and 25.0 centi-meters in length.

Habits of the dogfish are not always consistent.They show patterns of migration, though notalways by definite times of the year. They appearon the offshore banks by early spring, but do notfind their way into the shoaller areas of the Gulf ofMaine until June and July, lingering untilSeptember. When they move into an area, they doso by the multitude, often moving in packs by yearclass. Dogfish plague the gillnetters, longliners, andtrawlers. Because of this, they have been of greatfrustration to commercial fishermen. Until recentlythere has been no market for them. A voraciousfeeder, the dogfish eat squid, crabs, worms andalmost anything smaller in size. They are verydestructive to much of the more traditionally-marketable species of fish, both pelagic and groundfish.

Commercial Fishing Methods include any hookand bait systems, gillnetting or otter trawling. Otherlarger sharks are also marketed as a by-product tosupplement the regular catch in the Gulf of Maine.These include mackerel (porbeagle), mako, andbasking sharks.

Bony: True FishThe Osteichthyes, or bony fish, form the secondmain class. Bony fish may be pelagic, such asmackerel, tuna, and herring. Bony fish may also begroundfish (cod, haddock) which live close to thebottom. Groundfish are one of our best sourcesof commercial fish. Bony fish may live close to theshore (smelt), on the bottom (flatfish), on thesurface (herring), or pass back and forth from freshto salt water (eels, alewives, and salmon).

Throughout history, people have been intrigued byfish. Pisces (fish) was a constellation in theheavens. People have been able to tell the time ofyear by which bony fish was caught. The smelt andalewives meant spring with tuna, and summer-flounder meaning summer. Mackerel signified thelast of the summer, frostfish the fall, and winter-flounder were caught in winter. People were morelikely to catch certain fish according to the particu-lar season.

Bony fish, because of their more advancedanatomy, are often termed the "true fish." In anevolutionary sense, a skeleton of bone is con-sidered more advanced than one of cartilage. Thegill covering, or operculum is considered more

advanced than gill slits with no covering. When youthink of fish, more often than not, you think ofbony fish.

Cod

The Atlantic Cod, Gadus morhua, is an excellentexample of a bony fish familiar with the Mainewaters

adultAtlantic Cod

(Gadus morhua)

Description of a cod includes color, body struc-ture and size. The color is olive green or brown onthe back and sides; the belly is white. There is awhite or pale lateral line on the sides and vaguely-edged dark spots along the back and sides fromnape to tail, not on the belly. It has a single barbelon its lower jaw the upper jaw extends beyondthe lower. The tail fin is almost square. Market sizecod are about 2.0 to 6.0 kilograms. They may getas large as 45.0 kilograms and 168.0 centimeters inlength.

Life Cycle begins with spawning occuring inwinter months from about the end of November tothe first of April or as late as the first of May in theNorthern Gulf of Maine. Spawning usually takesplace in depths less than 90.0 meters, in tempera-tures of about 2° C, and eggs are produced atabout three million per adult female. Larvae(immature stages of the fish that often look dif-ferent than the adult form) continue to float anddrift with currents heading down the coast forabout 14-30 days before becoming pelagic feedersand growing to small-fry proportions, feeding oncopepods and other pelagic larvae forms. The frystake to bottom as they grow bigger. The areas ofbottom which they are over have suitable feed,usually an upwelling area of relatively shoal water,such as a fishing bank (see map on page 8).

Habits of the Cod depend on food and bottomtype. Moving cod tend to congregate by size andoften travel in the pelagic range of water, huntingout good bottom, squid or small herring. Theirmovement is not to be considered migratory but

can also be caused by seasonable temperaturechanges in the water. These fish move as groups,but do not act as definite "schools" though thisterm is often used, caused by lack of food orpredatory harassment.

When in residence, cod tend to stay within two tothree meters above bottom types of ledge, rock,slopes of shoals*, pebbly bottom or gritty-clay shellbed. In March and April they reside over soft-mudand sandy-bottom. They range from near shoredepths (several meters or less) to about 450.0meters, in temperatures colder than 10° C. In thesewaters their main diet is mollusks and crustaceansbut they will gobble up squid and almost anything&se in a pinch.

Commercial Fishing Methods include jigging(mackerel), longlining (haddock), gillnetting(herring, sharks, pollock), purse seining (herring),and bottom otter trawling (halibut). The fish inparentheses include other fish caught by the samemethod. Some are trapped in midwater trawls orpelagic gill nets, but this is because they were intransit or paralyzed by fear, and it is not common

Fish That MigrateThe previous two species were examples of marinefish. The sea is also a habitat for fish which spendonly part of their life cycle in the sea. These fishare categorized as anadromous or catadromousfish.

Anadromous fish live in the sea and mature toadulthood. They enter and ascend freshwater tospawn. The young hatch and live there until theyreach the stage when they can return to the sea.

Catadromous fish mature to adulthood in freshwater. They descend to the sea to spawn. Theyounghatch and live there until they reach the stagewhen they can return to freshwater. A look atrepresentatives of both groups follows:

Anadromous: Smelt

The Smelt, Osmerus mordax is a good example ofan Anadromous fish.

Smelt(Osmerus mordax)

adult

larva

5

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Description of the smelt includes a slender shapewith a long-pointed head and large mo:.th. The talldorsal fin is located above the ventral fin in profileand is relatively short in length. Behind the dorsalfin and above the rear section of the anal is a smalladipose fin. The smelt has a forked tail.

The smelt is usually olive green on the back andsides. It has a broad silver strip that runs laterallyand it has a silver belly. The average size is 18.0 to23.0 centimeters and it weighs between .03 and .17kilograms.

Life Cycle begins in fresh water. Spawning occursbetween March and May. Eggs, are produced at10° C - 14° C. The average female produces 40-50,000 eggs which sink and stick together inclumps. They hatch in 8 to 27 days, depending onthe temperature.

When the fry reaches 25.0 to 50.0 millimeters inlength, it returns to the estuarine environments. Itreaches maturity after its third spring (2 years oldor more).

Habits of the smelt vary. They live close to shorein harbors or estuarine situations according to yearclass (a group of fish all born in the same year).They feed on small shrimps, worms, and small fryof herring, mummichogs, and alewives. They alsoeat small mollusks and small crabs. The young feedon minute pelagic crustaceans after they returnfrom spawning ponds and streams.

Commercial Fishing Methods include netting instreams during spawning season and also handliningthrough harbor ice in winter.

Catadromous: EelThe American Eel, Anguilla rostrata, is an excel-lent example of a Catadromous fish.

Description includes a longround shape thatresembles a snake. The skin is rich with mucus

larva

American Eel(Anguilla rostrata)

giving the eel a slimy-slippery texture. The tail hasa long continuous fin going around it which is theanal, caudal, and dorsal fins united. The eel alsohas pectoral fins, a beak-shaped mouth, and adistinct line going down the side of the body. The 15

mature female eel may reach 180.0 centimeters in

6

length. The male may grow to 45.0 to 60.0 centi-meters in length.

Life Cycle begins with spawning in the sea. In thefall, the mature eels leave freshwater and return tothe Sargasso sea. There, the eels spawn. Each

Sargasso.$.4-(e. Sea144.1.

female produces up to 20 million eggs. In mid-winter spawning adults die and the larvae(Leptocephali larvae) hatch in the shape of a widetransparent ribbon. In the fall, the larvae drift withthe ocean currents to the shore. In the spring thefemales ascend the freshwater to mature in inlandwaters, while the males remain to mature inbrackish water. After both have spent the winterbefore in metamorphosis, they become "glass eels"or "elvers" which are shaped like the adults, onlytransparent. The "elvers" become dark-brownwhen they approach fresh water. They mature andbecome spawning "silver" eels in freshwater sys-stems for 4 to 9 years until ready to complete theircatadromous life cycle.

Habits of the eel are relatively simple in nature.The eel feeds on whatever it can during the night.During the day, the eels hide under whatever theycan find for cover.

Commercial Fishing Methods include spearingtechniques, eel pots, and weirs.

ATertiary Consumers

Secondary Consumers

Fish FeedingFish feeding occurs in different ways in on manyorganisms. In the pyramid structure of the foodchain fish may enter at any level above the base.Algae and phytoplankton, the producers, make upthe base.

Fish are the consumers stated as the major feedingtypes on the diagram. The "feeding habits" listwhere the fish feeds, whits the food resources listthe types of things fish eat. By following a feedingtype of fish across the chart you find the habit orwhere the food is in the water, as well as the actualfood organism.

Feeding Strategies for Marine and Estuary Finfish

Major Feeding Types Feeding Habits

Strainershc,rr:nc3

Predatorsmackerel

Parasitic Feederslamprey

Grazersflounder

Suckerslumpfish

Planktonic(Drifters of

the sea)

Nektonic(swimming, opensee organisms)

Demersaland

Semi-demersal(living on or close

to the bottom)

Food Resources

Phytoplankton

Nektoniccustacea

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Fish eggs and larvae

Large fishes

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Detritus

Polychaetes

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Gulf ofMaine

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Fishing Grounds

Historically, fishing has been of great importance toMaine people. Fishing was of economic value tothe first settlers as it is to people today. In theearly 1600's fishing s organized commercially byWestern Europeans the first time. Temporarysettlements soon beca permanent with theestablishment of MAine ishing grounds.

Numerous kinds of fish are in demand commer-cially. Fish that were undesirable in the past aresought after in today's market. The shark is anexample. This fish, thought of as undesirable foryears, is now a popular item in the fish market.The commercial groundfish today are mainly cod,haddock, hake, pollock, and tusk. The flatfish(flounder and halibut), sardines (herring) and ale-wives are also marketed.

Fish can be marketed in several ways. Thequickest way is to sell fresh fish directly off theboat. Fish spoil quickly, however, which is thereason for processing. Canning provides a suitablemeans of processing for sardines and other speciessuch as mackerel. Freezing preserves fish, not onlyin the raw form, but in such forms as breaded,filet'S',"and steaks. Drying and smoking are furthermeans of preparing the fish for a marketable formto insure freshness for consumers throughout thecountry.

One reason for today's increased .market is theextension of the coastal economic zone up to 200miles. A subsequent reduction in foreign competi

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of theBanks

tion has helped Maine go from 3% of the total NewEngland landings in 1976 to 17% of the total NewEngland landings today (1980 data).

1980 Catch StatisticsLanded ValueTo Fishermen

Kilograms/Year

DollarValue

Cod (Large) 2,218,429.0 1,071,529Flounder 4,555,201.0 3,865,261(Dab) (Large)Alewives 1,199,434.0 170,169Pollock 5,833,016.0 2,097,191Cusk 722,391.0 288,544White Hake 2,715,839.0 843,142Haddock 2,692,524.0 2,543,853(Large)Shark 619,063.0 93,474(Dogfish)

8

A town is considered an important fish port if ithas certain facilities and characteristics. Some ofthese are the availability of refrigeration and ice (anecessary ingredient for preserving the freshlycaught fish), the ready-access to fishing groundsnearby (important, when considering energy costs),a good harbor, an efficient fish pier, and in the caseof sardines a cannery. The town that meetsthese conditions is more likely to continue beingheavily used. A few examples of towns that aregood fish ports are Portland, Jonesport, Eastport,Bath, Belfast, and Stonington.

1_'1

In Maine, at this time, the coast from Portland toJonesport has the largest area of fishing bases.Eventually, that area will expand to Eastport.Maine has more fishermen now than ever. Onepossible reason for the increase of fishermen,besides the availability of fish and the 200 milecoastal extension limit, is that Maine is a uniquestate where people traditionally view the coast as aworking coast ano not just a recreational coast.Economically, Maine does not have the economicresources which other states do, and so the stateusually turns to its natural resources of mining,lumbering, and fishing.

Maine's fishing industry is becoming such aneconomic area of expansion that several contro-versies are of major concern. One is that Mainenow ships most of its fish to Boston for auction.The fish, caught by species goes to the highestbidder at wholesale prices. An industry in Massa-chusetts can then buy the fish. Later, the fish aredistributed to a Massachusetts production facilityfor processing. The finished product, whether it beMaine or Massachusetts fish, is then shippedthroughout the country, as well as back to Maineto be sold at retail price. Many people in Mainewould like to have the fish auction in Portland;whereby, encouraging more processing plants tolocate in Maine. The increased industry would pro-vide jobs and monetary returns for the State ofMaine and not Massachusetts. A further benefitwould be the reduced prices Maine consumerswould pay for fish products.

Another area of concern is the oil production inGeorge's Bank. The Georges Bank produces 15%of the world's fish. That percentoge signifies theimportance of fishing in this area, The oil returnsare nonrenewable and would provide only enoughoil to operate the Uniteci Buttes for several days.The controversy over the Georges Bank is one ofconcern over the possible damage that could bedone by oil production to the fishing grounds. Itbecomes a question whether the oil is worth therisk.

Yet the fact remains that Maine is expanding thefishing industry in record attempts and time. The

II

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future of Maine's fishing industry is a bright-shiningstar on the horizon. Through the medium ofinformed voters, Maine and other states will solvewhatever controversies and problems'occur.

Recreational FishingWhen one is not fishing for profit, fishing canprovide a wealth of returns. For the sports fisher-man, the returns of the sport touch one's apprecia-tion of nature. Fishermen on the waters, along thecoastal waters, on the rivers and streams, on theponds and lakes, and even under-the-water scubadiving enjoy catching a variety of species. People ofall ages can rapidly become proficient at the sportof fishing by mastering the skills necessary toperform the tasks. The tangible and intangiblereturns can be culminated in a most enrichingmanner when you can eat the days catch.

"Party boats" and other recreation& boats takepeople fishing for sport. At a fee, the rods, reds,and bait for the day are provided. With the help ofthe fish and an experienced Captain, severalspecies of fish (cod, haddock, shark) may becaught. You might contact a charter boat in yourarea for an exciting field trip.

You do not need to go out in a party boat to catchmarine fish. Fishing off piers provides the oppor-tunity of catching several species such as mackerel,Pollock, flounder, skates, and sculpins. If you are inthe right place at the right time, you may catch anice meal.

The data is from 1975 and is only an estimate ofdollar value in Maine:

Private boat $24 millionCharter boat Almost $2 millionShore $28 millionParty boat $2.5 million

These figures are tenuous due to the current lackof concise data due partly to the difficulty ofaccurately knowing how many boats and indivi-duals are really involved in recreational fisheries.

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.undianintiltwir 111111111 (01MONINI 1 101

Deep-Sea FishOne of the little-known areas is the realm of thedeep sea fish population. In the deep-sea, fishmust endure one of the most stressful environ-ments on our planet. Perpetual night, incrediblepres',ures, and a scarcity of food, make the deep-

DeepSeaFish

sea environment incredibly difficult abode. Yet,there exists in the depths, fish capable of enduringand thriving under those conditions. To cope withperpetual night, some fish manufacture their ownlight. Their eyes may reduce in size, because thereis not much need to use them. Angler fish mayhave their own "bait" (an outgrowth of a dorsalspine resembling bait) dangling in front of theirmouth. Their bodies are designed to withstand thepressure and the fish are predominately carnivores.Males may become reduced in size and parasitic tothe female (angler fish). The deep sea fish, evi-denced by their habits and adaptations, are a mostinteresting assortment of fish.

Fish Aging and GrowthThe age of a fish is important not only to the fish,but to-people as well. Fish grow as long as theylive; even though, as they grow older, growth slowsdown.The skeleton of a fish grows similarly to theway a tree does. The skeleton grows outward fromthe center in concentric rings, and this provides away to tell how old a fish is. You simply count therings. .A method used more often than skeletalcounts is scale counts, because it is easier to getthe scales. The scales grow in the same way as askeleton does. Variations in the growth rings occur

when something happens in the fish's life. Forinstance, when food is scarce for a few months, therings show the effect of slowed growth. The condi-tions show on the rings; they are growthdependent.

Using the age information of each fish you can tellhow old a fish population is. The age of a fishpopulation provides data for decisions about howto regulate the fishery ensuring a continued healthyfish population

Several agencies at different government levels areresponsible for ensurir! ' ealthy fish populations.Nationally, the Department of Commerce, NOAA(The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Admini-stration) has the Bureau of Commercial Fisheriesand the Marine Game Fish Research Program. In1976 when the 200 mile limit (extending thenation's jurisdiction of marine waters to 200 milesfrom shore) was enacted, there was also a clausecharging regional areas to form managementcouncils for fisheries. From that clause came theNew England Fisheries Management Council. TheNew England Fisheries Management Councilmakes policies from the scientific and socio-economic data that regulate fishing. Examples ofsome regulations might be the Council setting net-mesh size for selective fish capture, and the regu-lations governing closure of spawning areas. At thestate level, within the state's marine jurisdiction ofthree miles, the Department of Marine Resourcesand the Department of Sea and Shore Fisheriesregulate fishing. If the state's regulations are notequal to, or are more stringent than he NewEngland Fisheries Management Council, the NewEngland regulations apply. Fortunately, the stateattempts to set adequate regulations. At whateverlevel, the basic premise is that in order to ensure ahealthy, renewable fish population, there must besound judgments made for proper regulations. Oneway to continually provide data for such judgmentsis to have biologists study fish populations.

10 19

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(SMELT)

Adult

574Mature cr

Mature 9

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''''W27,1m=1,13,magr

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Fish in theArts and CraftsCreative Writing, Poetry*Haiku is a type of poetry invented by the Japa-nese. The structure of the poem is a seventeensyllable verse. In the verse there is the use of aseasonal word referring to some particular event.The lines are arranged with five, seven, and fivesyllables in each line, respectively. Rhyming isoptional, with a subject matter of nature andseason. When writing Haiku do not write directlyabout such things as ugliness or joy, but writeabout things for which you feel deeply. Whilewriting, carefully choose the right word for theparticular feeling and be brief by adding only aseasonal word. When written, the poem will besubject to different interpretations. You suggest theidea you want; but let the reader interpret it. Keepa sense of the present and immediacy in the poem.Use imagery to reinforce your mood in the poem.When writing the three lines answer the questionswhere, what, and when respectively in each line.Once written, read your poem aloud to someoneelse, as all poetry should be read aloud. Remem-ber, in Japan the poets who wrote these poemswere called friends of moon and winds.

An example of a poem is:

THE SHARK AND THE CRESCENT MOON

The crescent moon gives slender lightYet reason enough for the shark.To hide his head tonight

From the book: Little Pictures of JapanEdited by: Olive Beaupre'1925 by the Book House for Children

A special thank you goes to Professor Rosemary Salesiof the College of Education at UMO for her notes makingthis activity possible.

Gyotaku Japanese Fish PrintingGyotaku is an ancient Japanese method of recordingfish catches and obtaining information. It is a simpleand inexpensive procedure and a good way to gain anappreciation of the form and variety of fish. The proce-dure can also be used for making prints of other itemssuch as shells, flowers, etc.

13

Materials:

Paper (rice paper, newsprint, soft paper)Modeling clayPinsWater based ink (Pelikan Encre De Chine 17 black

is best)Small paint brushA fish

Procedure:

Clean fish well with soap and water and dry well.Place fish on a layer of newspaper.Support fins and tail in extended position with clay

and pin into place.Paint one side of the fish with ink using a small brush.

Spread evenly using a very thin film. Brush againstthe grain of the scales so ink will build up undcrthem.

Carefully place paper over the fish and gently butfirmly rub the entire surface. Be careful not to movethe paper. Rice paper works best.

Lift the paper off, being sure not to move the fish orsmudge the print.

Fish In LiteratureFor this activity, using a book you feel the studentswill enjoy, create a literature web. A literature webuses a story as the basis and expands into manyareas such as economics, biology, geography,mathematics, art, history and English. Activitiesand discussions about the areas are based on thestory in the book. Included in the reference sectionare some books that may be used, or you can useanother popular story. Some, suggestions for con-sideration are:

Economics have the students discuss howmoney and the work associated with it may befound in the story.

Biology what are the biological relationships in thestory? How are the characters alike, yet different?

Geography where does the story take place?Where else could the story take place in the worldand why could it?

Mathematics use the story to involve thestudents with math by having them find areas ofthe story where numbers are important. What are

COOKINGINTERVIEWING

& EATING

GAMES

FIELD

TRIPS

LANGUAGE

USAGE

ART

ACTIVITIES

COMMUNITY

CITIZENS

VALUES

CLARIFICATION WRITING

POETRY

PHYSICAL SKILL

DEVELOPMENT

PHOTOGRAPHY

DRAMA - DANCE

CRAFTS

RELATED

BOOKS

CONTENT FIELDS

RELATED INFO

the numerical relationships that the students candevelop?

Art have the students use characters from thestory for art projects.

Literature Web for the book The Fish in theCastle by Dale Fife*

Economics The family was on vacation. Havethe students discuss the value of vacations. Makesure the students examine the monetary aspect ofvacations with relation to why employers givevacations and how available money decides whereand for how long people go on vacation. Have thestudents discuss where they would go on a marinevacation.

Biology Have the students discuss how the tidesinfluence when the grunion "run" to spawn. Have thestudents discuss advantages and disadvantages ofeggs being deposited where the grunion do spawn.See if the students can think of other marine placesfish deposit their eggs.

Geography ask the students where the storyoccurs. Have the students discuss what is knownabout California in relation to geographical featuressuch as weather (climate), coastline, currents,water temperature, and the availability of thegrunion. Could the students find another place inthe world where the grunion could possibly spawnand live? Discuss what factors could influence thegrunion living where they do and how that helpsdetermine where the grunion live.

Mathematics have the students do a pyramid ofnumbers starting with an imaginary example of twogrunion that increase in numbers over differenttime lengths. For instance, two grunion that mategive rise to four after two weeks, and give rise toeight grunion after four weeks. You might have thestudent practice word problems using cost/kilo-gram, and different fish species and prices such asyou would find in the supermarket.

Art have the students design or draw a picturedepicting the grunion run. Models of grunion andsand castles would also be productive.

* Fife, Dale, Fish in the Castle. New York: Coward-McCann,Inc., 1965.

Plaster FishThis procedure takes the form of a simple mold. Itcan be made more complex by casting a fish in acurved position, leaving its mouth open and addingplastic fins and a glass eye. You can even moldboth sides of the fish for a more lifelike cast. The"mold" refers to the "negative" made from the fish.The cast is the lifelike model made from the mold.

Preparation:Keep the side that will be molded free from dirtand damage. If you wish to finish the cast innatural colors, it is best to take a color photograph

15

of the fish while it is still fresh. Do not allow thefish to dry out, especially the fins and tail. If youfreeze the fish, leave the side to be cast sitting up,and wrap the fish with wet cloth to prevent the finsfrom drying out and the possibility of freezer burn.Wrap in foil or freezer wrap.

Materials:

Plaster of paris, cardboard strips, pins, sand,shallow box, cheesecloth, coping saw, modelingclay, soap solution, plastic pail, cup, knife, softbrush, metal screen, scissors or snips, hangingwire, hammer, and shellac.

Source of Material:

Any hardware store.

Procedure:Any slime must be removed in order to make agood cast. A fish that is coarse and scaly is a goodchoice (freshwater bass, sea bass, herring,flounder). A more slimy fish may require lightscraping with a dull knife and slight drying. Malesalmon and trout in the spawning season producea great deal of mucus. This can be eliminated bycleanina with a diluted solution of vinegar and thenrinsing with a solution of powdered alum.

Next, fill a shallow box half-full with clean sand andwet it. Cover sand with a double layer of wetcheesecloth. Make a depression in the sand, a littleless than one-half the depth of the fish. Place thefish in a natural position and work sand up underthe dorsal and anal fins, spreading them slightly.Pin the pectoral fins, if necessary, dose to thebody, as well as the anal fins. The mouth should beclosed and may need to be pinned in place also.Build a shallow dam around the fish using eithercardboard or aluminum strips.

Care should be taken to assure a good mixturewhen preparing the plaster of paris. Always addplaster to the water; about two pounds of plasterto a quart. Sifting results in a smoother texture;stir gently to get a bubble free mixture. Allow themixture to set about ten minutes until it reaches aheavy fluid consistency.

Start at the tail and pour the plaster over the fish,covering it entirely to a depth of at least one-halfinch. The mold may be reinforced with burlap.Plaster-saturated strips of this material should belayed on after the mold has set and then coveredwith an additional one-quarter inch of plaster.Allow two or three hours to set. The plaster willfeel cool to the touch.

To remove the fish, roll the mold over carefully,remove the cheesecloth and slip a thin knife underthe tail and gently work the rest of the body free.Do not touch the inside of the mold. Any mucusleft in the mold will dry and curl as the mold cures.This will take 3 to 4 days. The plaster is curedwhen it is complexly dry and no longer feels coolto the touch.

Casting:

Where the mold is thick as at the caudal peduncle, itis best to cut the mold from the back to nearly theinside edge of the mold. This will weaken it so thatthe cast will not be broken during removal of themold.

Build a dam with modeling clay along the edge ofthe fins outlined on the shelf of the mold. This willhelp strengthen the fins. Slant the clay well overthe fin so the thicker base will be concealed. Cutmetal screen in the shape of fins for reinforcement.

Carefully remove the clay dams and saturate themold in water until bubbling stops. Brush two coatsof diluted soap solution on the inside mold surfacefor a separation layer. Use a dry brush to remove

any bubbles. Layers should be thin enough not toobscure any detail. If the soap is too thick, brush ina little water. Replace the clay dams and pour inthe plaster into the fins and other elevated areas.Add reinforcing screens, or be sure plaster hasflowed through them if they were in place beforepouring. Add hanging hooks after the plaster hashardened slightly. Let cure 6-12 hours.

Once hardened, the mold may be broken away bytapping it lightly with a hammer or mallet. Careshould be taken around fins and tail.

Finishing The Cast:

Broken pieces can be glued back when the cast isdried. Bubble holes and seams can be filled withplaster water. Seal with surface with 2 or 3 coats ofthin shellac. The cast can then be finished withmetallic spray paint or an artist's oil paints. Anartificial eye will enhance the appearance of thecast.

Fish in the KitchenFor the next activities (Purchasing Fish, WhatFinfish Do You Eat? and Fish Cleaning) use thematerials in the pocket to make copies to handout to the students. Purchasing fish involves a tripto a local supermarket to evaluate fish productsavailable to the consumer. The students will usethe form in the pocket to collect the data whichmay be discussed and analyzed in class. Beforegoing to the supermarket, the What Finfish DoYou Eat? handout may be filled out by thestudents. A discussion of what the student's prefer-ences are could follow. Once the preference hand-out and supermarket trip are completed, a "handson experience" of cleaning fish is recommended.Try the activity yourself first, to familiarize your-self with the techniques involve(' A possible check-list for student evaluation is also included in thepocket. The fish you use in cleaning and dressingmay be any you can readily obtain. You could trysome of the packing plants and local fishermen. Itis better not to use fish as small as herring. Aftertheir activity is completed, the Eating Fish Activityis suggested as an integral component of preparinga seafood fish feast.

Eating FishDiscuss what "trash fish" means to New Englandpeople. How can these fish be used as a source ofprotein?

Many fish that are sold on market today were onceconsidered trash fish (fish which are not commonlythought as edible). An example is the dogfishshark. This is often considered a pest to manyfishermen. Today though, as much as 10,000pounds of dogfish are caught by one Portlandfisherman and sold on the European market.

Another example is the American Eel. The adultsand elvers (very young) are collected by pots andnets along the Penobscot River. They are sold inNew York and on the European market.

Have the students research various types of fish,especially unusual ones. Put on a seafood feastwith such items as skate, dogfish, American eel,cusk, etc. Some of these fish may be donated bycontacting fish packing plants around the state.The nutritional value of fish could also be dis-cussed. Have students compare fish to red meats.A tentative fish feast is provided, but feel free to beimaginative.

A few recipes are included for your use. They maybe found in the resource section. Try using theserecipes in your seafood feast. See what seafoodrecipes the students are able to find.

A Tenative Fish Feast

Appetizer Sardines and mustard

Chowder Fish chowder with cod, haddock, eel,pollock and dogfish

17

Salad Fish salad with poached cod and flounderchunks

Rice Flounder tidbits on boiled rice with egg sauce

Entree Deep fried haddock chunksDeep fried eel chunksFried pollock filets with crabmeat stuffingSauteed dogfish marinated in lemon juice

Beverage Include milk as a drinkDessert Irish moss pudding for desert

Methods of Cooking

Baking the prepared fish is cooked for 20-25minutes in an oven at 350° F (177° C).

Broiling the prepared fish is cooked for 10.20minutes in a broiler.

Pan frying the prepared fish is cooked in a pan forapproximately 10 minutes over moderate heat.

Poaching the prepared fish is cooked in boilingwater which is allowed to cool from boiling to simmerafter brought to a boil with the fish in the water.

The above are only cooking methods. There arenumerous recipes and ways to prepare the fish forthe basic cooking methods listed. If you allow 10minutes for each inch or 2.5 centimeters of thick-ness you shall obtain good resolts

Fish PackingA visit to a sardine packing plant will provide anexcellent way for the students to grasp theconcepts of fish packing. This is a field activity andplanning and coordination are essential. If you havenot planned a field trip before, reference to thesection Pre-Trip-Planning in the unit Have YouBeen to the Shore Before? will be most helpful.

A cannery is a factory where fresh fish areprocessed. The processing consists of preparingthe fish and then putting the fish in cans which arehermetically sealed (airtight). The fish can then beshipped without the danger of spoilage. Eastportwas the first cannery town in Maine and America.

Freezing is another means of preserving fish. Untilthe invention of refrigeration, preserving fish wasdifficult. Fresh fish did not last long. Ice helpedpreserve fish, but only refrigeration could preservefish, and only for a few months. The processingplants use cleaned and prepared fish in differentstages of preparation for freezing. Fresh-cleanedfish may be frozen or fish may be processedfurther by breading the fish portions for freezing.There should be plenty of examples at your localsupermarket.

The reference section provides some places youmay wish to visit. If they are not convenient foryour class, there may be another plant near you tocontact.

In whatever way the fish is processed, an impor-tant part of the processing is cleaning. Using asardine factory as an example, you find that thecleaning consists of cutting off the heads and tails.Yet, portions cleaned are not wasted. Lobstermenuse the discarded heads and tails for bait forlobsters. Lobster bait needs no further preserving;the more it smells the better the lobsters like it.

Before going on the field trip there are severalquestions that will help focus the students on theprinciples of fish packing during your field trip.Upon your return to class discuss what thestudents experience.

a. Have the students discuss what technology wasinvolved with the packing. Why are the canshermetically sealed?

b. What employment opportunities are available forsomeone interested in the packing industry. Howmuch education and training is necessary?

c. How do you know that the fish are suitable to eatonce packed? Who is responsible for qualitycontrol?

d. What did you observe for working conditions?e. How does the packing plant market its products?

Who buys fish and where are the fish shipped?How are the products shipped? Would you shipthem the same way and would you change themarketing? How?

Preparing Finfish ChecklistUse this checklist to evaluate the abilities of yourstudents.

Ac hole Saislat ton; linsotisfor tore

I Identified equipment to he used

.1 Scaling knife or alternate

b ram knife Of alternate

2 Gilled and gutted littlisha cut into .trea under chinh cut belly cavity hack to anal inc avoided cutting inleslaml flaild retrieved any visible fite removed kidneys and abdominal lining

under runmno water

3 Scaled and Removed Finsa used srraprig motion horn lad to headb removed fins by ClitlIng a- along each

side

r pulled fill away, from tail toward head

4 Skinned fisha rut skin, not flesh. along top of fish and

around tinsb peeled skin away with pliers or fingers

5 Filleted fisha cur into flesh back of head at 45' angle

to naCktunleb turned knife and followed backbone to

tail

( te(110(.ed lib hours if nneln,(1,l;

d cut fillet away front taii

6 Practiced good sate:anon techniques

throughout procedure

7 Prepared fish correctly for storogeaccordm9 to directions gn.en

18

Fish in the Market PlaceMaking ModelsA good visual aid for fishing methods is a model ofa fish capture. Students could work in teams tomake models of fish capture methods. Usingscroungeable materials and pictures of models,have the students devise their own models. Creati-vity is the key.

Materials that will be useful for the models aretoothpicks, glue, string, yarn, nylon stockings forfine mesh, onion bags for wide mesh, cardboard orstyrofoam for the base, scissors, and posterboardfor fish shapes. Have the students study thepictures of the methods and see if they can con-struct their own capture method model. Whendeciding what fish is caught by what method, referto the checklist of common Gulf of Maine fish. Donot forget to see what personal finds and informa-tion the students come up with.

The pocket contains a handout master withexamples for students concerning commercialfishing methods useful for the mocel makingactivity.

TrawlermanThe object of this game is to see how much moneyyou can make on a trawler during a day's cruise.For twenty turns, each signifying units of timeduring a day, you sail your vessel to catch fish.Watch out for chance, as it may not be all smoothsailing. The game may go longer than a day if youso choose, by simply extending the turns aroundthe board for each additional day. The game canby played by one or many.

Begin at the mooring. Each player throws the diceto see who goes first. The player with the highestnumber begins by throwing the dice and movingthe indicated number of spaces. Landing, theplayer follows the instructions printed there. If youland on a space in the fishing grounds, you pickfish-catch cards as indicated. If a boat lands on aspace already occupied, immediately roll again andgo backwards. You only haul the trawl once perfishing ground. When the first boat reaches portagain, all boats return automatically if you areplaying only one "day."

At the end of the game each player totals their listand compares the weights for each species to thedollar value. Sum up the dollar value for each speciesto get a total. The player with the largest amount ofmoney from landed fish is the winner. If you playthe game alone you can see how proficient you areas a fisherman.

Your boat is one of 4,500 kilograms (10,000pounds) and you have one day until you automa-tically go home to port to sell what fish you have.Good luck. You will need it. Remember, have eachplayer keep a tally sheet. The game board andaccessories will be found in the pocket.

What Is A Fish?Fish Shapes (Invent a Fish)Materials:

Modeling clay, paper mache, wire, string, yarn,balloons, construction paper, and other scroungeable items.

Have the students inventw+

fish. Once they pick thefish they wish to make, the students will use theirimagination and any scroungeable materials tomake a model of the fish. The following is a list oftypes of fish shapes they may try. Whether thestudents use paper or clay, the principle is one ofcreativity and design.

Invent a fish adapted (designed) for living on thebottom in sand or mud. It should be able to hideby burrowing under the sand or mud surface.

Invent a fish whose appearance is so gruesomethat other fish would be frightened and repulsed.The fish must be grotesque, yet able to swim andlive on the ocean bottom.

Invent a fish that can swim very fast. The fishwould live in the water column eating smallorganisms in the water.

Invent a fish that would eat other fish. Rememberthe fish must catch the fish before it can eat it.

Invent a fish that would live between rocks or ona reef. The fish would eat whatever it could catchand would need to be able to move around rockcrevices.

Invent a fish that would eat clams or other organismsthat live in shells.

Invent a fish that would escape capture byjumping and gliding over the water's surface.

Invent a fish that lives in very deep water and mustwithstand great pressures. This fish would also eatother fish and not have any light to see by.

Once the students have invented their fish, see ifthey can find an example of the fish using booksand magazines. Have the students compare theirfish to the fish they found to see what differencesthere are. Do not worry if the students can not finda fish to exactly fit their ideas. Remember, thisactivity is invention and creation.

The actual cards displaying the designs will befound in the pocket section.

Fish BehaviorFish behavior is a series of mini activities whichneed not be done in any given order.

Materials:

Fish tank (5-10 gallons), gold fish, mummichog,stickleback or any other small bony fish with aswim bladder, two small cages made of plastic

19

which would allow water to freely circulate but notallow fish to escape, lead shots, toy boat motorwith propellor, hand nets, hip boots, small aeratorpump, and sea water.

A. The idea of this investigation is to see thechanges of fish's bouyancy through time. If onefish is kept in the upper surface waters of theaquarium and another is subjected to the bottom

changes of bouyancy should be noted. Thebottom fish will have positive bouyancy and thesurface fish will be slightly negative when first letout of their cages. This activity may be productive as a student project.

1. Have them modify the small cages so that theywill allow some movement of the fish, yetconfine' them within a few inches in depth.

2. Secure one cage near the surface and put inanother lead shot to hold the second cage onbottom.

3. Leave these overnight and allow the fish toescape in the morning, while observing theiractivity.

4. Have them discuss what is meant by positiveand negative bouyancy.

B. The next part of the activity is rheotaxis orfish alignment with currents. Use a small toy boatmotor with propeller. Place this in a 10 gallonaquarium with small fish as sticklebacks, mummi-chogs, or other fresh water species. Turn themotor on and observe the fish alignment andswimming behavior. The fish will orient them-selves with the current and use their adapted finsto swim against it. This activity enables one tostudy which fins are best adapted for swimmingbehavior.

1. Discuss what the students think would be thereaction of other fish species when placedunder the same conditions.

C. Fish also behave differently with respect tomating behavior. The Lumpfish (Cyclopteruslumpus) and the 3 spine stickleback(Gasterosteus aculeatus) exhibit similar terri-torial behaviors especially during their matingseason. The male lumpfish develops a flaming-redabdomen during mating season, compared to theslate-grey female. After spawning, the male kicksthe female out of the nesting site and guards, aswell as aerates, the eggs by sweeping them withhis fins. Any intruders, including divers, aregreeted with an aggressive bump from thisstrange looking fish. During this whole behaviorthe lumpfish fasts until the eggs hatch. The male

.stickleback manifests similar behavior and is welldocumented in psychology readings. See Fishesof the Gulf of Maine (see bibliography for addi-tional information).1. Have students find examples of other terri-

torial behavior as in sharks, small mouth bass,wolfish, etc.

nn

L. 1 -lave the students set up sticioebacKs in afresh water itr water aquarium.

Even during non-mating seasons, the fish willset up territories in-the-water-column. Theyperform this by holding their tails at rightangles to one another. Set up two separatetanks and let the lish establish territories.Introduce a fish from the opposite tank. Tryplacing a stickleback in a small jar withaquarium water (small airpocket for oxygen).Place the jar with the fish in the other tank.

1. What is the response from the other fish?2. Discuss the senses of fish and the observed

phenomenon.

D. A final part of fish behavior is adaptation tochanging salinities. Have the students performthis activity with sticklebacks which may beobtained from local clam flats where there isprominent amounts of eelgrass (Zostera). Smallhand nets or seins will enable students to collectthese forms at mid-tide in the fall and spring ofthe year. Snug fitting hipboots are also neededfor walking on the nnudflats.

After collecting these fish, place them in somesalt water aquaria. Aerate the water with a smallpump. These fish are extremely hardy and willwithstand gradual changes of temperature. Havethe students dilute the sea water by 90%, 75%,50%, 25% and finally have a separate containerof fresh water. Try placing a few sticklebacksthrough these solutions over a period of a week(allow at least one day's time for each solution).At the end of the investigation have studentshypothesize how the fish are able to do this.

Odd FishMany fish that inhabit our oceans have interestingpeculiarities such as unusual skin structures, fleshyappendages, luminescent lanterns over theirbodies, strange walking legs (modified pelvic fins),etc. Have students bring in pictures and describethese strange modifications. Perhaps actual speci-mens may be available from a local zoologicalexhibit such as the one at the University of Maine.Use what sources you have available, such asencyclopedias, picturebooks, and magazines.

Have each student research a survival factor.Examples include: distruptive coloration, camou-flage, mimicry, school behavior, countershading,speed, hiding ability, spines, teeth, size of body,aggressive behavior, etc. A mural of examples ofsurvival factors could also be developed.

Migrating FishThere are certain fish that move regularly betweensalt and fresh water. With this mobility, these fishmust overcome certain chemical barriers. Living inthe watery environment, a fish must keep an equili-brium of the salts in its blood and body fluids and

3 00

tnose wnicn may or may not oe in me surrounaingenvironment. A salt water fish has less salt contentin its body fluids than the surrounding sea water. Afish's body uses water to dilute the higher saltconcentration on the outside. Thus, the marine fishmust contend with the loss of water from its bodytissues and blood. It must constantly gulp water tokeep from shrinking up. The freshwater fish hasthe opposite problem. Water constantly moves intothe body so the fish must excrete the excesswater.

Freshwater fish may be divided into two groups;1) those that spend their entire lives in fresh waterand 2) those that spend part of their lives in theysea. Those fish that feed and grow in fresh water,but return to the sea to breed, are called catadro-mous. These include the Common Eel (Anguillarostrata), the stickleback (G. aculeatus) andothers. Those fish that feed and grow in the seaand ascend the rivers at regular intervals to spawnare termed anadromous. Such examples are theSturgeon (Acipenser), which spends time in theKennebec River, the Atlantic Salmon (Salmo),Shad (Alosa), and others.

Many fish undergo a metamorphosis (change ofform) from the young larval stages to the adult.This is not unlike insects or crustaceans such aslobsters and crabs. Such fish examples ofmetamorphosis include the flatfish (winter flounder,plaice, halibut, etc.), the giant oceangoing sunfish(Mola molo) which is often seen on the surfacewaters along the Gulf of Maine, and the semi-tropical fish called the lookdown. There are manyexamples of changing body forms with fish. Haveyour students research them and report these to therest of the class.

Food WebsObtain the film, Life in the Sea, from the UMO filmlibrary and show it to your students. Tell thestudents to watch carefully for relationships theycan find about the food habits of differentorganisms. Discuss the pyramid structure of foodwebs with producers at the bottom making foodfrom sunlight and nutrients. Notice how there aremore producers at the bottom which is necessarysince energy is lost by the transference involved byconsumers eating the lower level organisms. Therelationship is generally 10 grams of producernecessary for each gram of the consumer. Eachlevel you go up requires 10 times the lower levelweight to become 1 gram body weight of thatconsumer level. Use examples from the film.

You might have the students discuss the following:

1. Give some examples of primary producers.

2. Detritus is decaying organic matter on the seabottom. What organisms would consumedetritus?

J. dire ollianisitis mai eat omerorganisms. Name some consumers.

4. Try to start with a primary producer and goup the food chain naming the primary con-sumer and any secondary or tertiary con-sumers the students can think of.

Fish in the LabAging FishGiven adequate food and space, fish will con-tinually grow. In this case the oldest fish would bethe largest, but in nature conditions are less thanideal. Generalizations do not &ways hold true. It is

safe to say, though, that most fish in the naturalenvironment rarely stop their growth or die ofsenility.

If recently hatched fish are examined from thesame brood (hatched at the same time from theparent) their size would be the same. These newlyhatched larvae begin to feed on planktonicorganisms in the surrounding water column;however fish such as the trout may live off theiryolk until it is completely absorbed. Conditions offood, space and other requirements may be equalupon hatching, but some of these fish are morehardy and grow faster than others. As time passes,the fish may become separated. Currents maycarry some of the larval forms to areas where thereis less food. Such factors may account for variationin length and growth rate among members of thesame brood.

There are a number of methods to calculate theage of members of fish populations. They are: scalecounts, otolith counts, and vertebrae counts. Eachhas its limitations and advantages. The advantagesare being able to judge the number of years ofgrowth by observing scales (like that of studyingannual rings in trees), otoliths (earstones) and evensuch structures as the vertebrae. The otoliths andvertebrae are usually a secondary means of deter-mining age. They require dissection and sometimeselaborate techniques to prepare them. As a result,scales are used more often.

Scales grow as the fish grows. As they grow,annual layers are deposited in hard parts of thefish. This is especially recognizable in fish of thetemperate and boreal zones (above Cape Cod tothe Arctic waters). New growth is laid down by thelayer of skin which covers the scales on theoutside, forming all around the edges. The scaleand other hard parts of the fish grow faster duringthe heavy feeding months of the summer and slowdown during bad feeding seasons, usually winter.When the growth subsides, the rings are closertogether and appear darker, when observed underlow microscopic magnification (20-40X). Each ofthese darker rings is an annulus and usuallydemark one year's growth. The age of the fish canbe roughly determined by counting the rings

21

skirling with we clear area of tne center caect thefocus. The focus represents the original scale ofthe young fish, It appears on most fish when theyare one-half inch to one inch long and do notincrease in number, but grow as the fish grows. Atypical fish that exemplifies good growth patternson its scales is the haddock (Melanogrammusaeglefinus).

Lab Investigation: Determining the Age of FishThrough Observation of Scales.

With increasing demands on fish stocks around theworld it has become very important to know theage composition of each type of fish. Such know-ledge abOut the amount of growth gained each yearand the life span of fish, enables man to harvestthe fish crops more efficiently.

One method of determining age is the length-frequency distribution. This is performed on largenumbers of fish and is based on the theory that allfish of one size are approximately the same age.The limitation of this method is that: 1) it does notseparate older age groups which tend to remainthe same size; 2) variable environmental conditionsmay favor one age group over another; 3) hatchingdoes not occur at the same time each year; 4) themethod requires a large number of randomlyselected fish.

Another means of determining age is by markingthe fish. This is a positive means to identifyreleased and recaptured fish of a known age, butoffers a number of disadvantages as: 1) cost ofmethod; 2) time involvement; 3) damage to thespecimens; and 4) the small amount recaptured.

The last method of determining age is throughexamination of the annual layers deposited in thehard parts of a fish of either the scales, otoliths orspine. The limitations of this method is thataccuracy depends on the interpretive ability of theexaminer and the distinctiveness of the annuallayers.

Methods

Select fish with large scales. These include suchfish as herring, alewife, bass, perch, haddock,cunner, salmon, anchovy, silversides, etc. Otherswift-swimming fish such as the mackerel and tunahave reduced scales to enhance streamlining. Thescales of common eels (Anguilla) are microscopicor not present. You may obtain some of the abovefish from a local fish market or directly from aseafood processing plant or local fisherman. Fully-formed scales from each specimen should beselected. When a scale is lost, the regeneratedscale does not form the old rings. Also, a falseannual ring is produced by females just prior tospawning as reabsorption occurs.

After scales are selected they may be stored forlater use by placing them in an envelope or bypressing them between pieces of paper. The scales

31

have their own cement called mucus. The paperthat the scale is on should be labeled with thefollowing information: type of species, weight,length, place, sex, time and method of capture andname of the collector. Another useful means ofexamining the scales is by placing them betweentwo layers of thin clear plastic and mounting themin a 35 millimeter slide blank. The magnification ofthe scales is accomplished through projecting themwith an ordinary 35 millimeter slide projector. Thismethod facilitates storing and cataloging and canbe done by the whole class at once. Scales mayalso be examined under the stereoscope at 20.40X.Detailed examinations of parts of the scales mayalso be of interest. A compound microscope with50-100X objectives would be of some use especiallyfor smaller scales if large ones are not available.

Fish Growth and Scale Size Relationship

Scales from a large number of different species offish would serve to show the variety of size and thedifficulty of analysis of age. Start out with some ofthe easier specimens first, such as herring orhaddock. A comparison of bonyfish scales to thescales of sharks would also be of some interest.The scales are more primitive in type in theseanimals. These are called placoid sales. Othertypes of scales include those of the Gar and theAtlantic Sturgeon. They are termed ganoid scales.Example diagrams of scales will be found in thepocket.

Age and GrowthIn order to determine the age of fish by studyingthe scale structure, several terms should beexplained:

Annulus the annual mark or zone on fish scaleswhich is formed once a year. 32 22

Focus -- the small, clear area near the center ofthe scale which represents the original scale of theyoung fish.

Ctenoid Scale the scale of a bonyfish (teleost)which possesses small sharp spines (ctenii).

Cycloid Scale the scale of a bonyfish withoutspines (ctenii).

There are variations of these scales. The spines ofctenii and the position of focus varies with eachspecies of fish.

The annulus is recognized in one of the followingways: 1) "crossing over" where the onset of fall orwinter causes several ridges or circuli to flare out-ward and end on the side of the scale, rather thancircle the focus; 2) "discontinuous circuli" wherethe individual circuli do not grow together in acomplete line because the scale stops growing and3) extreme crowding of the circuli which occurs,first, prior to resumption of growth.

Purpose:To determine the age of a bonyfish by examinationof its scales.

Materials:

Hand lens or dissecting microscope, compoundmicroscope slides, various species of fish or scalesprovided by teacher metric ruler, projectormicroprojector or slide projector, and plasticsheeting and empty slide (if demonstrations aredesired).

Procedure:Remove a scale from several areas of eachspecimen and determine if it is cycloid or ctenoid.If the scale is ctenoid, remove further scalesaround the area of the pectoral fin. Cycloid scalesshould be taken from an area between the dorsalfin and the lateral line. Remove 3 scales from theindicated area from each specimen. Make a wetmount of the scales or place them between twoglass slides for microscopic observation. Use botha compound microscope and a stereoscope. Recordall observations.

Data Recording:Make illustrations of the general features of thescale noting: annuli, focus, circuli, ctenii (whenpresent). Determine the distance between annulion the scale by the use of a metric ruler. To deter-mine the age, each scale should be counted twice,at different times to arrive at an accurate inter-pretation. Count one year of growth for eachannulus.

Limitations and Sources of Error:This could result in incorrect reading of scales.Some fish show no definite annuli. Other errorsmight result in the use of imperfect scale or scalesthat have been rejuvenated. Errors in age

determination increase with the age of the fish anderrors made in determining the location of the firstannulus.

Shark DissectionThe dogfish (Squalus) is a good example to studyin the lab. Diagrams are found in the pocket.

External Anatomy:

Fresh or preserved specimens should be used tostudy the shark. Refer to the shark dissectiondiagram for the features as you complete theseexercises.

A. Body Structure

1. Study the jaw structure and teeth of thespecimen. What type of diet do you think thedogfish has? The size and shape of teeth varysignificantly among sharks. Compare the toothstructure of the dogfish to those of people.Unlike man who has permanent teeth, shark'steeth are continually replaced. They are notanchored in the jaw bone but grown in its skin.They move steadily forward as they increase insize. How do the shape of the dogfish compareto the dentacles (placoid scales) covering theouter skin of the body? (If a specimen is avail-able, remove a small piece of skin and view itunder the microscope.)

2. You might have the students discuss thefollowing: Noting the spiracle on the shark,compare this with the gill opening of a fish.Count how many gill openings this shark has.Do all sharks have the same number of gillopenings? Where does the spiracle lead, whatfunction does it serve, and from what structuredo you think the spiracle has evolved?

3. Have your students study the eyes of theshark. Have them notice that there are nolachrymal glands or ducts developed at themargins of the eye like in humans. Ask whythis is not necessary? Sharks have a third eye-lid known as the nictitating membrane at thefront corner of the eye. Have your studentslocate this and inform them that this can bepulled down to cover the whole surface, andask what use this serves? Make a list of otheranimals that have this structure. The generalstructure of the eye is not unlike our own. Itcontains the lens, iris, cornea, retina, etc. thatare found in land forms. Have your studentsfind some of these structures. Notice thecornea is somewhat flatter than our own.

,Scientists once believed that sharks wereextremely nearsighted but further investiga-tions have demonstrated the shark to haveexcellent eyesight.

4. The shark's sense of smell is also well deve-loped. The shark's brain is small, but itssmelling area, the olfactory bulbs, give the

23

shark one of the most sensitive noses of allfish. It is well known that the smell of flesh orblood, or of a decaying carcass will attractsharks from ireat distances. When bothnostrils of a dogfish are plugged, the sharkloses its power to find food. When one nostrilis blocked, the animal keeps turning towardthe side that is getting the strongest scent. Thefish tracks its food by comparison between theresponses of the two sacs. Study the nostrils ofboth the shark and the skate, Where are theylocated? Do the placement of these suggestanything about their feeding behavior? Do thenostrils lead to the inside of the mouth cavity?

5. Note the two dorsal fins of the dogfish. Theupturned (heterocercal) caudal fin and the twosets of paired fins. The front pair (anterior) arecalled pectoral fins and the back (posterior) aretermed pelvic fins. The two dorsal fins arepreceded by spines. These sometimes inflict apainful puncture wound for those fishermenthat handle these fish carelessly. Have yourstudents suggest some relationships betweenthe presence of well developed fins and theexistence of paired-biting jaws.

6. Sharks have a third sense which they usuallyuse first in homing-in on their prey. The systemis called the lateral line which extends alongthe sides of the body and divides into severalbranches over the head. The system is likeinborn radar. Sensory cells located in thisintricate canal beneath the skin are sensitive towater movements and underwater soundsespecially those of low frequency. Note theabundant pores around the head and beneaththe snout. These are called ampullae oflorenzi. Squeezing these pores results in theexuding of a jelly-like material. Cutting a smallsection of skin around one of these pores andexamining the underneath surface reveals anexpanded ampulla. Can your students suggestwhy the lateral-line sensory structures are con-centrated around the head? Why might thelateral -line system be more effective than earsfor sensory detection?

7. Sharks and their kin have internal fertilization.Ask your students how this compares withmost other fish. Males have claspers located bytheir pelvic fins. These aid in copulation. Howis the sperm transferred to the female?

Internal Anatomy:

View a dissected specimen or open the coelomiccavity on an unprepared specimen. Examine theinternal organs and compare the structures to thediagrams,

B. Internal Organs1. Examine the large liver lobes. During World

War II sharks' liver was used as a source ofvitamin A and thousands of sharks were netted

daily. Con vou sumest why the liver is somuch larger than the rest of the body organs?(This is thought to be o food storage organ,)

2, The short digestive canal terminates at theanus. Cut open the stomach and examine thecontents, Many larger sharks such as the Blueor White shark have been found to containsuch things as rolls of tarp paper, bottles,sneakers, wrenches, etc. within the stomach,Can your students suggest why a shark wouldeat such objects.

Have your students sketch the opened digestive tract and label each section with itsfunction and how it is adapted for thatfunction. Have them find the spiral valve in thesmall intestine and ask why this design isadvantageous. Compare it to a human intes-tine.

3. Discuss how the ovaries of the female dogfishshark differ from the testes of the male.Examine the uterus for embryos. Ask if theembryos are surrounded by an egg case. Mostsharks are viviparous (young born alive) com-pared to ovoviviparous (egg laying) as in theskate. Compare egg laying development andsurvival with live bearing, and how mightinternal development of the young be ofsurvival advantage to most species of shark.

4. Extend an incision between the gills to thelower jaw. Observe the cartilaginous rodswhich support each gill arch. Do such struc-tures indicate the probable origin of the lowerjaw?

5. Have your students examine the heart andheart cavity. Cut into the heart and observethe two cavities, the atrium which receivesblood and the muscular walled ventricle whichpumps the blood. Blood is pumped from theventricle via the aorta to the gills. From thegills, oxygenated blood is delivered to the restof the body. Have your students diagram thecirculatory system of the shark from the pointwhere blood enters the heart until it leaves thegills. Have them indicate this by using arrowsto show the direction of flow.

C. Skeleton, Eye Formation1. If you have time, have your students examine

the cartilagenous skeleton and skull. Notingthe size of the olfactory lobes in relation to therest of the brain, have them expose the brainand semicircular canals which are used forequilibrium and balance. Tell the class that theolfactory lobes are used to interpret smell.Have them find the olfactory nerve from thelobe to the nostril, and ask if the sense of smellis well developed in shark.

2. Examine the internal areas of the eye for thevarious parts such as: lens, iris, pupil, ciliarymuscle, retina and various eye muscles. Ask

34 24

your class how this compares to the human,Also point out the optic nerve attached to theback.

Bony Fish DissectionExternal Anatomy:It would be good for your class to select severaldifferent specimens (whatever fish you have locally,such as perch and sunfish) and compare theirexternal features. The fish may be fresh or marineas both have the same anatomical features. Theinternal anatomy is in the pocket, as well as thegeneral external anatomy of a composite fish.

Commonly, a fish's body is torpedo-shaped(fusiform) and slightly ovoid in cross-section. Thereare many interesting departures from this idealizedcase. These range from globe shapes (puffersglobiform) through serpentine (American eelsanguilliform) to thread-like forms (snipes). Howcan you tell that a flatfish like a flounder islaterally compressed (flattened from the sides)rather than dorso-ventrally compressed (flattenedfrom the top as observed in the skate).

There are many interesting forms of fish butbasically all are formed on a common plan calledbilateral symmetry. This means the body hasdistinct left and right halves that are nearly mirrorimages of one another. There is strong cephaliza-tion (forming a head) and a compactness andstreamlining of the body right to the end of the tail.The tail is considered a complete part of the body.It is not an appendage, as the fin is.

A. Body Covering

1. Many fish have thick skins which are conti-nuous with the lining of all the body openings.Mucous cells provide a coating which is bothprotective and effective in streamlining the fishfor swimming. Does your specimen have a verytough skin? Does it feel slimy?

2. Scales are usually imbedded in the skin, too.They may be small as in the mackerel or verylarge as in the herring. The herring also hasloosely-attached scales (deciduous) as com-pared to those firmly-attached as in theflounder. The types of scales (ganoid, cycloid,or ctenoid) serve as charaCteristics of majorbony fish groups. The types of scales andthe number of scale rows along or around thebody aid in identification.

3. Use the activity on age determination andscale type. What type of scales do yourspecimens have?

B. Appendages1. The appendages of fish include the various fins

and the cirrhi (fleshy projections as on the Sea

Raven). Fins are categorized as median orpaired.

2. The dorsal fins show much variation. Theymay be continuous, or divided partially orcompletely into separate parts. The dorsal finmay also consist of either spines (soft or hard)or rays or both. Spines appear to be transparent, hard and sharp at the ends. Rays a-soft and appear segmented when held to ttlight or under low power under the stereo-scope. The rays may also branch out at theend. Spines may further be found associatedwith other structures such as the opercularspines of the Sea Raven. What type of dorsalfins do your specimens have? Some dorsal finsfold down, as in the mackerel. This is to aidthe streamlining of a fish built for fastswimming. Make a sketch of two differenttypes of dorsal fins. What advantage is there tohaving spines or soft rays?

3. Other median fins include the tail (caudal fin)and the anal fin (just behind the vent on thelower side). The trout or salmonlike formshave a fatty adipose fin. Fins also may bereduced to a few disconnected spines as in thestickleback. If sticklebacks are alive and avail-able in the aquarium, net one and try to pick itup. How do the spines respond?

4. Pectoral fins may vary also. They may beenlarged as in the sculpin, sea raven or flyingfish, or more regular in shape, as in the troutand flounder.

5. Pelvic fins vary in shape and position. Theirsupport comes internally from the pelvic girdle.Most soft-rayed fish have pelvics locatedabdominally, as in salmon forms. They may belocated below the pectorals (see figure ofgeneralized fish) or they may be under thethroat (jugular), as in the blennies, which usethese as support as they rest on the bottom.Some pelvics are modified, as in the shark andskate, to form claspers used in reproduction.The lumpsucker has modified pelvics whichform a holdfast organ that looks like a suctioncup on the belly. Observe these on an avail-able specimen. Where are the pelvics on yourfish? What function do you suppose they form?

6. Observe the caudal fins of several demonstra-tion specimens. Is there a relation between thetype of tail fin and habit of fish (for example:the tail of a mackerel is forked and thin)?Compare a mackerel tail fin and that of acunner, mummichog, or perch. Select at leastthree types of tail fins and draw them.

7. On some fish such as the mackerel, there arefinlets near the tail or a lateral keel (found alsoin sharks), as in the tuna. What do you thinkthe function of the lateral keel is?

As a follow up to the study of fin patterns, observesome sticklebacks in a 10 gallon aquarium. Studythe 3 spined stickleback (Gosterosteus aculeatus)which is well described in the Fishes of the Gulf ofMaine. The kind of life carried on by a fish isexpressed not only in the form and flextures of itsbody, but also in the patterns and motions of itsfins. For example, watch the nest building stickle-back. Pectoral fins are used in braking motion asits other fins are unsuited for grasping. Therefore,the fish must use its jaws to build the nest. Thisactivity requires a long and varied series ofregulated movements of the body. What allows thisprecise motion is the lively and adaptable motionsof an array of flexible fins.

A second activity that could be done is to studythe variation in body form among fish and find fishin the lab that would fit each category. Comparetheir fin structure and body form and make a hypo.thesis of their behavior and habits. A check withthe checklist will be helpful. (Hint: To aid identifi-cation of form, make silhouettes with the use of anoverhead projector or slide projector as a lightsource.)

Internal Anatomy:

Take a modern representative of a bony fish, suchas a perch, cunner, sea bass, rock bass, etc. andcarefully cut the left side-belly area to expose theinternal organs of the fish. The picture will help inidentification of structures.

A. Gill Structure

1. Take the gill cover (operculum) off the left sideof the fish and observe the gills. If thespecimen is fresh, note the red color producedby blood capillaries. Sketch the gill structure. Ifpossible, study the gill structures of a herring.Hypothesize its eating habits. How does thefish obtain its food?

B. Internal Organs

1. Identify the major internal organs. Make adiagram showing the route of the blood fromthe heart (two chambered) to the gills.

2. What is the color of the lining of the digestivecavity? This lining is called the peritoneum. If itis white, the fish is generally a carnivore. Blackindicates a herbivore.

3. Observe the swim bladder which is foundunder the vertebral column and kidneys. Notethat it connects to the esophagus. Thisflotation device is unique among the bony fishand very important for maintaining bouyancy.How does this compare to a shark?

Depending upon the fish, the swim bladdermay be used to breathe air.

4. Study the digestive tract. Make an incisionthrough the small intestines and a small cross-section. How does the internal surface area

25AS

compare to that of .1 ..ihark's intestine? (Notethe spiral villa(' in the shork.)

5. Count the number of body openings forexpelling body wastes. How does this compareto the shark?

Keying Out FishA fish key is a series of questions or statementsthat may be asked about the characteristics of afish. If you do not know the scientific name (genusand species) of a fish, you observe the fish andanswer the questions in the key to find the scientificname. At the end of each question that pertains toyour particular fish is a number directing you tothe next question. When you have answeredenough questions, you eventually find, not anumber, but the scientific name of your fish.Choose a fish and carefully answer each questionproceeding through the key. If a question is

answered incorrectly you will not obtain thecorrect scientific name.

The hammerhead shark is taken through the key

as an example of "Keying out a fish." A key isprovided in the pocket and the key may be copiedand handed out to your class.

Answer GuideFish Key

Sumpfe key forfurnmerhead Shank

1 a Does the fish have a body like a snake, 2 Pio)

Does the fish not hose a body like a 'OW,' 3 Eves)

2 a DQes the fish have a beaklike mouth? American Lelb Dues the fish not have a beaklike mouth" Lampreys and Hagfish

3 a. Does the fish hove eyes on the same side and a flotteriecl body? 4 (no)

b Does the fish not have eyes on the same side and no flattened body? 5

'1 a Does the fish have a linked tail? HalibutI, Does the fish not have a linked toll? Flounder

5 a Does the fish have placard scales? 6 /0.0b Does the fish have scales tither than placoid? 7 two

6 a. Does the fish have a pointed head? Dogfish shark Into

b Dues the fish not have a pointed head? Hammerhead Shark (ves)

7 a Is the fish body lull moon shaped with a little caudal fin? Ocean sunfishb Is the fish body not distinctly moon shaped and ha, a highly visible larger caudal

fin? 8

8 a Is the fish club shaped like a baseball bat? Wolf fishb i5 the fish body not club shaped like a baseball bat? 9

9. a Is there evidence of a chin barbel? 10

h Does the fish have no chin barbels? 13

10. a Is the caudal fin not notched or only slightly Oust harelY/ crotched? I

h Is the tail decidedly notched"' 12

11 a ()tics the fish have three distinct dorsal fins (top side)? Codb Does the fish have two distinct dorsal fins' flake

12 a Does IN' towel law extend beyond the upper fan" American pollockh I:/oes the lowet taw not extend beyond the tipper taw"' Haddock

13 a Does the fish hove (inlets Istnall 1ff I likegrowth between tad and dorsal and anal

fail' 14I k,es the fish not hose halms' IS

1.1 a Are the tInnsa1 MackerelIn Are I he (II,N,1 tills not separated dtstinctl,:', Tuna

15 a Dt tes the (1.11 have a ',Malt Amos,. fin Ismail fleshy (in lvt,A,.,,n rhea audal arid

dorsal ftnt" Smeltb Doet. the Itsh not have a small adipose Alewife

26

2

(--(u

haddock

Fishes on the key

flounder

6hake

8

4004Y/ /0/

4,\

wolffish

tuna

16

spiny dogfish

3

smell

eel

ocean sunfish

7

hammerhead shark

eJ9 lamprey

alewife

American pollock

cod

Fish RecipesFish Pie

serves 4 to 6

1 kg. (2 lbs.) boneless fish (cod, pollock, haddock)1 small box Ritz crackers (crushed).25-.5 kg. (1/2 to 1 lb.) margarine (or butter if preferred)3 ml. (1/2 tsp.) of Worchestershire sauce3 ml. (1/2 tsp.) of brown sugar

1. Melt 1/2 margarine2. Pour over crumbs and mix well with Worchester-

shire sauce and 1/4 of the crumb mixture on thebottom of the pan.

3. Put 1/2 the fish on top of the crumbs, add a layer ofcrumbs, add the rest of the fish and top off with therest of the crumbs.

4. Bake for 1/2 hr. at 400° F (205° C)

Dieter's Delight

serves 6

1 kg. (2 pounds) haddock fillets30 ml. (2 T.) melted fat or oil30 ml. (2 T.) lemon juice5 ml. (1 t.) salt3 ml. (1/2 t.) paprikaDash pepper

1. Cut fish into 6 portions.2. Place fish in a single layer, skin side down, on a

well-greased baking pan.3. Combine remaining ingredients and mix well.4. Pour sauce over fish.5. Broil about 10 cm. from source of heat for 10 to

15 minutes or until fish flakes easily when testedwith a fork.

6. Baste once during broiling with sauce in pan.

Eels Roasted en CasseroleSalt and pepper90 ml. (6 Tbls.) Olive oil1 lemon, extra1 kg. (2 Lbs.) prepared eelsJuice of 1 lemon15 ml. (1 Tbls.) chopped parsley

Once the eels are prepared in 10 cm. chunks,make a seasoned olive oil of blended parsley,lemon juice, and olive oil. The eel is dipped and saltand peppered for one hour. Next the eel is placedin a preheated broiler (350° F) 175° C at 10 cm.

27

Resources

below the flame in a baking dish. After 10 minutesof broiling, baste with the olive oil and blend. Broilanother 5 to 10 minutes till done and serve hotwith wedges of lemon. This serves 4-6.

Smoked Hake Steamed1 kg. CA lb.) butter, melted30 ml. (2 Tbls.) chopped fresh mints1 kg. (2 lbs.) Smoked Hake Fillets

Arrange the fillets in a steamer. Steam over boilingwater for 12 minutes until done. Next place the fishon a platter you preheated and pour over meltedbutter. A garnish of chopped mint and you areready to serve 6 people.

Shark N' Chips

Cut a prepared shark into 1 cm. chunks. Afterpreparing a batter of 3 ml. baking powder, 1 ml.pepper, 1 ml. salt, 250 ml. flour, 175 ml. water, and2 beaten eggs, dip the shark chunks. Deep fryturning once at 375°F (190°C). When goldenbrown, serve with french fries or potato chips.

Other Unit MaterialsYou May Wish To UseNorthern New England MarineEducation Project Infusion UnitsA. Have You Been To The Shore Before?This unit has an excellent section on establishing asaltwater aquarium. The saltwater aquarium wouldbe a necessity for keeping your own live marinefish. A valuable aid for integrating fish with themarine environment.

B. What Adventures Can You Have In Wetlands,Lakes, Ponds, and Puddles?

This unit would be excellent for integrating fresh-water fish with marine fish encompassing all thefish of our state. A section on creating an aestheticclassroom environment is an excellent activity withsubsections on fish pri,iting, yarn fish, and clay fishplaques which are directly relevant.

C. What Is Our Maritime Heritage?This unit can integrate the .fishing industry withfinfish. The section on fishing vessels under sailprovides historical data with the section oncommercial vessels today giving an overview ofcurrent practices and boats.

u. Is (Jur 1- 000 ruture In r ne nearThis unit has d ti ii r,rr 1111k11 and IS

CMTIICtit for integrating finfish into tfw overallpicture of food from the sea,

E. Marine Education Materials Service at theVirginia Institute of Marine ScienceGloucester Point, Virginia 23062

This is another source of useful marine educationmaterials. If you are interested in a specific topicyou may call for d (omputer search which willprovide you with the appropriate materials availablein MEMS. You may then view the microfichematerials on the MEMS microfiche viewer at theUMO Marine Science Education Department inShibles Hall, or for a nominal fee have the microfiche duplicated for your use.

MEMS Topics:ludod hvw un a Iruv ul tho MEW micro/who topics

inioshthle

When ordering MEMS microfiche include theMEMS number.MEMS# 000106 1977 Schuman, S. Make YourOwn Fish Trophy.This article is a good reference for severaltrophy making techniques.

MEMS# 001068 1979 by AFTM Sport FishingEducational Foundation. Leaders Guide ForOrganizing Sport Fishing Group ActivitiesYouth Fishing.An excellent reference and guide forencouraging fishing activity.

MEMS# 001070 1979 by AFTM Sport FishingEducational Foundation. Fishing Fundamentalsfor Beginning Anglers Student's Edition.An excellent reference for fishing basics.

MEMS# 001047 1973 by unknown authorFirst Aid for Fishermen.This resource is excellent for informationconcerning what to do when the occasionalaccident occurs.

F. Anderson, Gary, and Bromer, Ann.Salar: The Story of the AtlanticSalmon100 Park AvenueNew York, NY 10017'A source for integrating salmon into the curri-culum. This unit is complete in presenting themany aspects of this fish. History, fishing, and thelife of the salmon are among the topics given.

National AgenciesUnited States Department of the InteriorFish and Wildlife ServiceOne Gateway CenterNewton Corner, Massachusetts 02158This organization can be an invaluable resource.

ney tnicr i.t %vim vinery t)i initrunrivti III 111011mi

on the Nation's fish and wildlife resources,

National Marine Fisheries ServicePost Office Box 1188Gloucester, Massachusetts 01930This organization is a branch of the NationalOceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Theyconduct various programs of management,research and services related to marine resources.

Regional Fishery Management CouncilsNew England Council Suntaug Office Park5 Broadway, Route 1Saugus, Massachusetts 01906

State AgenciesNew Hampshire Department of Fish and GameEducation DivisionBridge StreetConcord, New Hampshire 03301Telephone: (603) 271-3421The department can provide printed material forteachers. Write or call for details,

University of New HampshireMaine Advisory ServiceMarine Program BuildingDurham, New Hampshire 03824Telephone: (603) 862-1889Extensive special services include outreachprograms in the schools, a speaker's bureau, andmarine resource workshops.

State of Maine Department of Inland Fisheriesand Wildlife

284 State StreetAugusta, Maine 04333Telephone: (207) 289-2871The department can provide a variety of materialsprepared for the general public and also appro-priate for your students' level. The department'smagazine, Maine Fish and Wildlife, is very highlyrecommended.

State of Maine Department of Marine ResourcesState House Station 21Augusta, Maine 04333Telephone: (207) 289-2291The DMR provides many valuable services toclassroom teachers, including numerous publica-tions, study projects by students, and assistance insetting up programs and planning curriculum.

University of Maine Sea Grant Marine AdvisoryProgram

Sea Grant OfficeCoburn HallOrono, Maine 04469Telephone: (207) 581-2666Sea Grant has many research and commercial

38 fishing publications available. One resource wehighly recommend for your age group is MarineFisheries of Maine, a series of six color illustra-tions with cassette tapes.

28

Department of Marine Resources/BigelowLaboratory for Ocean Sciences

McKown PointWest Boothbay Harbor, Maine 04575Telephone: (207) 633-2173This institution can offer teachers material to assistthem in preparing to teach many marine relatedsubjects.

Maine Fisherman's Cooperative AssociationPost Office Box 4812 D.J.S.Portland, Maine 04112

Commercial Fisheries NewsPost Office Box 37Stonington, Maine 04681Telephone: (207) 367-5590Robin Peters, General ManagerThis is a newspaper dealing with the commercialfishing industry.

Maine Department of Marine ResourcesFisheries Research LaboratoryWest Boothbay Harbor, Maine 04575This is an excellent spot for a field trip.

Mr. & Mrs. Fish Education ProgramGulf of Maine AquariumMarine Educational Program21 Vocational DriveSouth Portland, Maine 04106Deborah Hall and Jeffrey SandlerTelephone: (207) 799-6234The Fishes present a program dealing with manymarine aspects. A reasonable fee (there are no pre-set fees) brings Mr. & Mrs. Fish to your school.Creative dramatics with a marine approach tolearning are demonstrated.

AquariumsAquarium of the National Marine Fisheries

ServiceWoods Hole, Massachusetts 02543Telephone: (617) 548-7684

New England Aquarium CorporationCentral Wharf, off Atlantic AvenueBoston, Massachusetts 02110Telephone: (617) 742-8830

The Gulf of Maine AquariumCommercial StreetPortland, Maine 04101Telephone: (207) 772-2321

Field SitesFish Packing Plants in Maine andNew HampshireAddison Packing CompanySouthwest Harbor, Maine 04679

Boothbay Harbor, Maine 04538

Paul F. BayleyPine Point RoadScarborough, Maine 04074

Bayview ShellfishBeals, Maine 04611

Belfast Canning CompanyAddison Packing CompanyBox EWater StreetBelfast, Maine 04915

Booth Fisheries Division of Consolidated FoodsCorporation

1 Booth AvenuePortsmouth, New Hampshire 03801Booth Fisheries Sub Consolidated Foods

CorporationPost Office Box 96Lubec, Maine 04652

Borden incorporatedSnow Food Products DivisionPine Point, Maine 04074

Bucks Harbor SeafoodMachiasport, Maine 04655

Central Wharf Fisheries incorporated27 Central WharfPortland, Maine 04111

Coastal Fisheries incorporatedPost Office Box 643Portland, Maine 04104

Coastal Fisheries incorporatedAtlantic AvenueBoothbay Harbor, Maine 04538

Global Seafoods incorporated7 Brentwood RoadCape Elizabeth, Maine 04107

Holmes Packing Corporation60 Ocean StreetRockland, Maine 04841

Jay Fisheries incorporatedEast Sullivan, Maine 04632

Maine Fisheries CorporationHolyoke WharfPortland, Maine 04104

McCurdy Fish CompanyLubec, Maine 04652

Mid-Central Fish Company45 Custom House WharfPost Office Box 643Portland, Maine 04111

Oceanview Fisheries incorporatedRobinsons WharfRoute 27Southport, Maine 04569

2939

366 Route 1Falmouth, Maine 04105

Port Clyde Foods IncorporatedPost Office Rox KEostport, Wine 04631

Port Clyde Foods IncorporatedStonington, Maine 04681

Portland Fish Company IncorporatedCustom House WharfPortland, Maine 04104

C.H. Rich Company IncorporatedBass Harbor, Maine 04653

Royal River Packing CompanyYarmouth, Maine 04096

Saltwater Farm IncorporatedVarrell LaneYork Harbor, Maine 03911

Scandia Seafood Company Incorporated102 Pleasant StreetBrunswick, Maine 04011

Scandia Seafood Company IncorporatedBailey Island, Maine 04003

Scandia Seafood Company IncorporatedGeorgetown, Maine 04530

Seafood Products IncorporatedPort Clyde, Maine 04855

Sebasco Wharf IncorporatedSebasco Estates, Maine 04565

Sid's IncorporatedJonesport, Maine 04649

Stinson Canning CompanyProspect Harbor, Maine 04669

Stinson Canning CompanyWater StreetBelfast, Maine 04915

Stinson Canning CompanyProspect HarborGouldsboro, Maine 04669

Stinson Canning CompanyMain StreetSouthwest Harbor, Maine 04679

Stinson Canning CompanyBowery StreetBath, Maine 04530

Villanova Incorporated30 Tilson WharfRockland, Maine 04841

Willard Paggett Fish Company15 Central WharfPortland, Maine 04111 40

30

Battery StreetEastport, Maine 04631

Jasper Wyman and SonMilbridlie, Maine 04658

BibliographyScientificAllyn, Rube. A Dictionary of Fishes. St. Petersburg,Florida: Great Outdoors Publishing Company, 1967.A highly illustrated general look at some of the morecommon types of fish.

Bigelow, Henry B., and Schroder, William C. Fishesof The Gulf of Maine. Washington, DC: UnitedStates Government Printing Office, 1953, 577. Thisbook may be ordered through the University ofMaine, Orono Bookstore.A good complete reference for marine fish of theMaine Gulf, even though the book is slightly dated.

Herald, Earl S. Fishes of North America. NewYork: Doubleday & Company, Inc., 1972.A brief, but informative glance at North Americanfish. A very readable volume that should be in thecollection of anyone interested in studying fish.

Lee, David S. et al. Atlas of North AmericanFreshwater Fishes. Raleigh, North Carolina: N.C.State Museum of Natural History, 1980.A thorough, up-to-date account of North Americanfreshwater fish. Extremely accurate details con-cerning characteristics and habitat.

Lindberg, G.U. Fishes of the World. New York:John Wiley & Sons, 1974.This text is fairly technical, yet would be a goodreference source due to its abundance of data. Verycomplete and well-organized.

Maine Department of Sea and Shore Fisheries.Harvesters of the Sea: The Story of Maine'sCommercial Fisheries.A concise book of the industry and its history.

Muus, Bent J. Collins Guide to the Sea Fishes ofBritain and North-Western Europe. London:Collins, 1974.A richly-illustrated handbook providing brief andunderstandable introductions to the structure,habits, distribution, and economic importance ofthe fish of the Northeast Atlantic Ocean.

Stubbs, Lorraine L. The Atlantic HerringClupea Harengus. Department of MarineResources, Augusta, Maine, 1979.A good educational unit for herring. It could bevaluable for studying this fish.

Wheeler, Alwyne. Fishes of the World. NewYork: MacMillan Publishing Co., Inc., 1975.Superbly illustrated, non-technical work consistingof brief descriptions of the world's fish. Could behelpful as a general resource.

Home EconomicsMaine Department of Marine Resources. BuyersGuide for Maine Seafoods.This book is available from D.M.R. and shows theeconomic importance of several key species of fishand the marine organisms.

New England Marine Advisory Service. TheSeafood Sourcebook. A Sea Grant ProgramSummer, 1978.For $1.00, single copies are available from theState's Sea Grant Office at the University ofMaine, Orono, or NOAA Marine Advisory ServiceNational Sea Grant Program, 3300 White HavenStreet, N.W., Washington, DC 20235.

Planet Ocean. The Dogfish Cookbook. TheInternational Oceanographic Foundation, 3979Rickenbacker Courseway, Virginia Key, Miami,Florida 33149.This book is humorous as well as good for tastyrecipes.

The Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State Univer-sity Sea Grant Programs. Seafood Products: AnInstructional Guide for Home EconomicsPrograms.This guide is available for viewing at the ResourceCenter at the Northern New England MarineEducation Project at University of Maine at Orono,Science Department, Shibles Hall, or Sea GrantExtension Division, Virginia Polytechnic Instituteand State University of Blacksburg, Virginia 24061.

Children's LiteratureCarrick, Carol. Sand Tiger Shark. New York:The Seabury Press, 1977.This book provides a superb account of the lifecycle of the Sand Tiger Shark.

Darby, Gene. What Is A Fish? Chicago: BeneficPress, 1958.The 48 page book is excellent for young studentsand helps them understand what a fish is. Availablefrom University of Maine at Orono LearningCenter, University of Maine at Orono Library,Orono, Maine.

Fife, Dale. Fish in the Castle. New York:Coward-McCann, Inc., 1965.This book would be useful for a literature web. Ittells the story of a boy and the grunion run.

O'Neill, Mary. The White Palace. New York:Thomas Y. Crowell Company, 1966.This book would be good for a literature web. Thestory concerns the life of salmon.

Annotated FilmographyFish and Their CharacteristicsThis film is good for basic anatomy and differen-tiating a fish from other organisms. One drawback,

easily corrected, is to tell the students that "coldblooded" is properly referred to as exothermic.Available from University of Maine at Orono. FilmRental Library, Shibles Hall, University of Maine atOrono, Orono, Maine 04469. Telephone: (207) 5817541.

Life in the SeaA film extremely useful for showing the intolrelationships of fish and their environment in themultitude of food chains. May be available fromUniversity of Maine at Orono, ISC, Film RentalLibrary, Shibles Hall, University of Maine at Orono,Orono, Maine 04469. Telephone: (207) 581-7541.

Fishes of the GulfThis slide show is excellent for showing fish fromthe Gulf of Maine. Available from D.M.R. StateHouse, Station 21, Augusta, Maine. ContactLorraine Stubbs.

Fence in the WaterA 44 minute film about Maine weir fishing. A goodmultidisciplinary film about fishing off the coast ofMaine. Contact Peg Dice, Bodacious Films, 2022 DatStreet, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48104. The rental fee is$48.

Marine Fisheries of MaineFilmstrip. A good filmstrip series relevent to fish,with gill netting, seining, trawling, and some weirfishing techniques displayed. Available fromNNEMEP, Orono, Maine, University of Maine atOrono, Shibles Hall or University of Maine at OronoLibrary Learning Center. The filmstrip may bepurchased from Sea Grant Marine AdvisoryProgram, 30 Coburn Hall, University of Maine atOrono, Orono, Maine 04469. Telephone: (207) 581-2719. The cost is $48. which will be billed to you.Send no money initially.

_

II

124

114'

.cr

-

Shark Dissection Diagram

4

Exterior (Side View)

1. Nostril2. Spiracle3. Lateral line4. Spine5. First dorsal fin6. Second dorsal fin7. Claspers (male)8. Pelvic fin9. Pectoral fin10. External gill openings

Interior (side view)

1. Olfactory sac2. Brain3. Interior spiracle opening4. Spinal nerve cord

10 1 5. Vertebrae6. Testes (male)7. Ductus Differens8. Posterior vein9. Dorsal aorta10. Kidney11. Seminal vesicle12. Genital papilla (male)13. Anus14. Cloaca15. Rectal gland16. Spleen17. Spiral valve18. Intestines19. Pancreas20. Stomach21. Gall bladder22. Esophagus

25 23. Liver --26 27 24. Heart

4 425. Gills26. Pharnyx27. Mouth

1214 15

43 13

Interior (side view)

1. Olfactory sac2. Brain3. Interior spiracle opening4. Spinal nerve cord5. Vertebrae

6. Testes (male)7. Ductus Differens8. Posterior vein9. Dorsal aorta10. Kidney11. Seminal vesicle12. Genital papilla (male)13. Anus14. Cloaca15. Rectal gland16. Spleen17. Spiral valve18. Intestines19. Pancreas20. Stomach21. Gall bladder22. Esophagus23. Liver24. Heart25. Gills26. Pharnyx27. Mouth

Interior (ventral view)

1. Nostril2. Gill slits3. Liver4. Gall bladder5. Stomach6. Gonads (ovaries or testes)7. Pancreas8. Intestine (spiral valve)9. Claspers (male)10. Cloaca11. Uterus (female)12. Spleen13. Ventricle14. Atrium15. Aorta

Generalized Bony Fish External Anatomy

47

1. Upper jaw2. Lower jaw3. Barbel4. Nostril5. Eye6. Maxillary barbel7. Cheek8. Operculum9. Pectoral fin10. Pelvic fin

11. Spiny (first) dorsal fin12. Fin spine13. Soft (second) dorsal fin14. Fin ray15. Adipose fin16. Caudal fin17. Caudal peduncle18. Anal fin19. Anal spine20. Lateral line

48

Scale Types and Growth Rings

focus

annualring radii

cteni(small spikes

or teeth)focus

annualring

radii

Cycloid Scale(from cod)

exposed area L-exposed area

Ctenoid Scale(from striped bass)

Bony Fish Dissection Diagram

11

1. Gill rakers 6. Pelvic fin 11. Caudal fin2. Gill filaments 7. Intestine 12. Soft (second)3. Heart 8. Gonad dorsal fin4. Liver 9. Urinary bladder 13. Spiny (first)5. Swim bladder 10. Anal fin dorsal fin

Key Out These Fish

10

/1/1/10/filtoSIP

.

9

11

12

13

Invention CardInvent a fish adapted (designed) forliving on the bottom in sand or mud.It should be able to hide byburrowing under the sand or mudsurface.

.1111 ...0111111O AMINO ..11MI AMIENS

Invention CardInvent a fish that can swim very fast.The fish would live in-the-watercolumn eating small organisms in thewater.

4111. MEN 11111JIIIM=1111

11111.11M 11M.Mt..11

Invention CardInvent a fish that would live inbetween rocks or on a coral reef.The fish would eat whatever it couldcatch and would need to be able tomove around and in rock crevices.

Invention CardInvent a fish that would eat otherfish. Remember the fish must firstcatch the fish before it can eat it.

5j

Invention CardInvent a fish whose appearance is sogruesome that other fish would befrightened by it, not wishing to eatthe fish. This fish must be grotesque,yet able to swim and live on theocean bottom.

MEN

Invention CardInvent a fish that would escapecapture by jumping and gliding overthe wave's ,

Invention CardInvent a fish that would eat clams orother organisms that live in shells.

Invention CardInvent a fish that lives in very deepwater and must withstand greatpressures. The fish would also eatother fish at.,1 not have any light tosee by.

Fish Key

Sample key forHammerhead Shark

1. a. Does the fish have a body like a snake? 2b. Does the fish not have a body like a snake? 3

2. a. Does the fish have a beaklike mouth? American Eelb. Does the fish not have a beaklike mouth? Lampreys and Hagfish

3. a. Does the fish have eyes on the same side and a flattened body? 4b. Does the fish not have eyes on the same side and no flattened body?

4. a. Does the fish have a forked tail? Halibutb. Does the fish not have a forked tail? Flounder

5. a. Does the fish have placoid scales? 6b. Does the fish have scales other than placoid? 7

(no)(yes)

(no)5 (yes)

6. a. Does the fish have a pointed head? Dogfish sharkb. Does the fish not have a pointed head? Hammerhead Shark

7. a. Is the fish body full moon shaped with a little caudal fin? Ocean sunfishb. Is the fish body not distinctly moon shaped and has a highly visible larger caudal

fin? 8

(yes)(no)

(no)(yes)

8. a. Is the fish club shaped like a baseball bat? Wolffishb. Is the fish body not club shaped like a baseball bat? 9

9. a. Is there evidence of a chin barbel? 10b. Does the fish have no chin barbels? 13

10. a. Is the caudal fin not notched or only slightly (just barely) notched? 11b. Is the tail decidedly notched? 12

11. a. Does the fish have three distinct dorsal fins (top side)? Codb. Does the fish have two distinct dorsal fins? Hake

12. a. Does the lower jaw extend beyond the upper jaw? Americanb. Does the lower jaw not extend beyond the upper jaw? Hadd

13. a. Does the fish have finlets (small fin like growth between tail andfin)? 14

b. Does the fish not have finlets? 15

14. a. Are the dorsal fins distinctly separated? Mackerelb. Are the dorsal fins not separated distinctly? Tuna

15. a. Does the fish have a small adipose fin (small fleshy fin betweendorsal fin)? Smelt

b. Does the fish not have a small adipose fin? Alewife

pollockockdorsal and anal

the caudal and

52

Key Out These Fish

2

1

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4

8

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. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

53

erman's Luck Fisherman's Luck

iy, subtract all I No dogfish today, subtract alldogfish so far

ierman's Luck

lay, subtract all

ierman's Luck

)ouble your next

ierman's Luck

today, subtract all'ar

4

note to teachers:Duplicate each set of cards (Fisherman'sLuck, Radio Check, Catch Cards) ondifferent colored paper, if possible.

Trawlerman Game Board

Copy both sides andassemble as shown below

Tape

14 together

here

Catch TallySheet

Species

Kilogram value in cents. Thiswill vary and you may adjustthe prices if you wish.

Cod $.40 kg,

Haddock $.80 kg.

Hake $.30 kg.

Halibut $3.00 kg.

Flounder $.60 kg.

Dogfishsharkthrow thedie if 1,,t1 no

markettoday so nomoney. $.20 kg.

Tuna $3.50 kg.

ContactDMR forupdate onprice.

55

sherman's Luckr today, subtracttoday

herman's Luck

mooring (port) to

isherman's Luck

inning rough, lose

isherman's Luck

ig well today, go to

fore next figure and

lice

n

-4

Fisherman's LuckEngine running poorly (leaking

oil) go back to mooring

Fisherman's Luck I

The Coast Guard is checkingfor smuggling, lose 2 turns

Fisherman's Luck

Your trawl has been badlydamaged, go to mooring

Fisherman's Luck

Fish have been sliding in thehold due to poor storage,lose 1/2 catch

Fisherman's LuckA baby is due at home, goto mooringGood luck! Double you next

Fisherman's Luck

Your trawl has been damaged

by dogfish, lose 2 turns

----------

r

Fisherman's Liit is really hot and you didr

ice fish, lose 1/2 catch

Fisherman's Li

Your crew is really ready!Take a free turn

amp ------ winr11101111.01. MIN 1001

Fisherman's Luck

You forgot to ice the fish! Lose

1/4 catch

Fisherman's Luck

You are leaking due to a logyou hit, lose 1 turn

1

Fisherman's Lt

Go to next radio check

Fisherman's Lu

Man overboard, lose 2 turf

57

Radio check

Squall hitsLose 1 turn

Radio check

Boy, are you in for trouble!

Hurricane warnings, go back

to port

Radio check

Weather, intense rain

Seas roughUnable to fish

4

Radio check

Weather rainyCalm seasOnly problem is you get wet

58

Radio check

Weather clearSeas roughYou can't keep any

M . rnrar,r

Radio check

Weather clearSeas choppyNext fish catch, keep 1/2

(Skip next fish catch)

Radio check

Weather clearCalm seasNo problem

Radio check

Weather rainySeas choppyKeep only 1/2 next fish catch

(skip next catch)

-4

Catch Tally Sheet

Species

Kilogram value in cents. Thiswill vary and you may adjust .

the prices if you wish,

Cod $.40 kg.

Haddock 00 kg.

Hake $.30 kg.

Halibut $3.00 kg.

WOININ.IN

Hounder $.60 kg.

Dogfishsharkthrow thedie if a4 nomarkettoday so nomoney. $.20 kg.

Tuna $3.50 kg.

ContactDMR forupdate onprice. 53

Catch Card

caught 300dogfish shark

\ Catch Card

You have caught 500kilograms cod

Catch Card

You have caught 200kilograms cod

Catch Card

You have caught 500kilograms cod

NMI 1.0..." r1r 111. WV OM ma WIW Wag .0.1 towl mot wwr 111/ .......... WW WW0 WSW Nw Ow. Jima ...... ........... way is

Catch Card

caught 200dogfish shark

gr MO .0

Catch Card

caught 500dogfish shark

Catch Card

ve caught 200ns halibut

63

Catch Card

You have caught 300kilograms cod

Catch Card

You have caught 200kilograms halibut

Catch Card

You have caught 50 kilogramsflounder

COCatch Card

You have caught 100kilograms cod

(16 Catch Card

You have caught 500kilograms cod

!WON Rar. we= NJwrap maw ...........

Catch Card

You have caught 50 kilogramscod

Catch Card

You have caught 100kilograms haddock

Catch Carc

You have caught 100kilograms hake

(3/46 Catch Car(

You have caught 100kilograms halibut

61

You just sankyour boat, TheCoast Guardtakes you home.

Past her,Pull netsunce drawcatch cardsequal to numberon left

You were half asleep and \ \failed to keep to the properside of the buoy. You sank!

uO

aqwnu

lenbaspiv

Catch yoaeo

cards meal)

here nuosou !Indanti ped

64 65

Fishing Methods

Otter Trawlingcod, hdlibut, haddock

Jiggingmackerel

Spearingeels

Long liningcod, haddock

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Steaking a dressed fish

Cutting Steaks Large size dressed fish may be cut crosswise intosteaks, about an inch thick (fig. 6).

Filleting a whole fish

Filleting With a sharp knife cut along the back of the fish from thetail to the head (fig. 7). Then cut down to the backbone just back of thecollarbone.

Turn the knife flat and cut the flesh away from the backbone and ribbones (fig. 8).

Lift off the whole side of the fish or fillet in one piece (fig. 9). Turn thefish over and cut the fillet from the other side.

10

Skinning a Fillet If you wish, you may skin the fillet. Place the filletskin side down, on a cutting board. Hold the tail end tightly with yourfingers and with a sharp knife cut down through the flesh to the skinabout 1/2 inch from the end of the fillet. Flatten the knife against the skin

Cleaning and Dressing FishMaterials:Scaling knife (optional), filleting knife, cutting board or surface, sink for cleaning,garbage bags for "remains," towels and of course, safety.

1

-2

Dressing a whole fish for baking

Scaling Wash the fish. Place the fish on a cutting board and with onehand hold the fish firmly by the head. Holding a knife almost vertical,scrape off the scales, starting at the tail and moving toward the head(fig. 1).

Cleaning With a sharp knife cut the entire length of the belly fromthe vent to the head. Remove the intestines. Next, cut around thepelvic fins and remove them (fig. 2).

Removing the Head and Tail Remove the head and pectoral fin bycutting just back of the collarbone. If the backbone is large, cut down toit on each side of the fish (fig. 3).

Then place the fish on the edge of the cutting board so that the headhangs over and snap the backbone by bending the head down (fig. 4).Cut and discard any remaining flesh that holds the head to the body.Cut off the tail.

Removing the Fins Next remove the dorsal fin, the large fin at theback of the fish, by cutting along each side of the fin (fig. 5). Then givea quick pull forward toward the head and remove the fin with the backbones attached (fig. 5). Remove the ventral fin in the same way. Nevertrim the fins off with shears or a knife because the root bones at thebase of the fins will be left in the fish. Wash the fish thoroughly in coldrunning water. The fish is now dressed or pan-dressed depending on itssize.

These forms are passed out in classes at the very beginning to tell a little about the eating habits of students.

What Finfish Do You Eat?Finfish Often Sometimes Seldom. Never Taste

Did Not LikeSmeltSharkSalmonPerchMackerelSwordfishHalibutHaddockTunaCodSoleFlounderCuskPollockWhitingSardines

Fish PurchasingTable of Fish Products and Cents or Dollars

Price/Wt. Form: Fillets, Steaks, Breaded, Etc.

Canned Fish

Fresh Fish

Frozen Fish

Hamburger

Common Gulf of Maine Fish Checklist

Fish Scientific Water Market Size Commercial Common

Common

Name

Name Column

Location

Kg, Usage Fishing

Method

Cusk Brosme bottom +4.5 kg. fresh long

brosme (groundfish) lines

Spiny Squalus surface to +4 kg. breaded otter

Dogfish acanthias bottom trawl

Herring Clupea pelagic sur +.6 kg. canned fillets weirs

(sardine) harengus face to bottom scmhaltz

(breaded,

pickled)

Atlantic Hippoglossus bottom +20 kg. steaks otter

Halibut hippoglossus (groundfish) to 90 kg. trawl

Smelt Osmerus

mordax

pelagic +.15 kg. frozen dip nets

fresh

Tuna Thunnus

thynnus

pelagic +450, kg. gutted & headed harpoon

steaks, fillets

fresh or frozen

American Pollachius pelagic +6.0 kg. smoked, fresh, gill nets

Pollock virens salted, frozen otter

fillets trawl

Mackral Scomber

scombrus

pelagic +.6 kg. canned whole purse

fresh seine

Alewife Pomulobus

pseudoharengus

pelagic +.20 kg. fillets weirs

fresh, whole

smoked

Swordfish Xiphias

gladius

pelagic +70. kg. steaks harpooned

Haddock Melanogrammus bottom +1.5 kg. fresh fillets otter

aeglefinus (groundfish) fresh, frozen trawl

72

Northern New England Marine Education Project

The objective of NNEMEP is to encourage and supportmarine education among the teachers of Northern NewEngland so that their students will appreciate theimportance of water in their lives and in the life of theplanet. The project has received support from theCollege of Education of the University of Maine atOrono, the National Science Foundation, and the Maine-New Hampshire Sea Grant Program.

206 Shibles HallCollege of EducationUniversity of MaineOrono, Maine 04469207/581.7027