The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1861-05-04
The Delaware Shad Fisheries.

ed ,arv sketch in reference to Shai tiShirv on
the Delaware river. There are a number
Of >had fisheries in this county 1.-THE largest
one. we BEEHIVE, being IN the vicinity Of Blis-
tol). hut none so extensive or valuable as
thnse located in the vicinity of Gloucester
city: The fish, tries Of the Delaware are Justly
noted FOR their prodnciiventSs. In the item
OF >had. its wat,rS are unrivaliel foi the fat
ness aud fine flavor Of the fish and in the
markets Of New York, and Northern and
Western cities. Delaware Shad are indspcn-
sable dclicacics The fishing season has Just
been inaugui atcd IN these waters Freshness
with >had Is an item Of more Importance than
with flesh or fish of most descriptions. The
Shad dies in few moments after removal
from the water and loses us flavor in the lapse
or "A few hours. 1t iss superstition common
To fishermen, also. that the fish is spoiled hy
being preserved IN ice. Those " hu have pa-.
taken Of the luscious dinners Of plankrd "
Shad, Mt Gloucester and the Fish House well
know the distinction between fresh and STALE
shad Al those locslnieS, they are quilted
while st i'll alive, roasted upon IA hot plank
and placed upon ones pla!e in about ten min.
uieS after hcing taken from the net.
The siad has two technical varieties, If
which the Alice shad is hat chiefly known
sea to the head waters Of the rivers in the
months Of April and May. In The clear.
upper waters the female deposits her spawn
and the Older >had pass down toward the SEA
The fish at the head. watcS VI thcrver are said
to be fatt,r aud Of finer flavor than .ho|.
where the water is tnrgid and dep. THESE
fish ascend the Thames and Severn l>o in
May. They 90 up the Rhine IN March,
and the Mic III DECEMBER. In Europe, they
d. not appear to he h. i! IN much estimation
bni MAINTAIN in this country d. served reuu.
t!tlnn among al! classes OF people
There are. upon he shores 0flhc De lawar.
'e:wcen Ileaton and Salem large number
of shad ti-h.li,> About twenty are included
between Burlington aud PrnuSeroyc. These
are Of m"in','oth character. and fun
ni,h 10 the markets Of PHILADELPHIA aud New
York about three hundred thousand shad
every spring. Most Of these arr oca ed upon
the New Jersey side OF the river. as the sill.
ciuus character Of The soil on that sid. has
formed alung the river Inc xtenSlve Sh.llowS
aud narrow strips Of beach, wilh fl,quent
c"vcs and capeS. To facilitate the fisheries
The Pennsylvania shore i. ablupt. and the
waters deep. and constant, pl0ugh,d hy
steamers. There are but few, fisheries on
taS, SIDE. and these are located at Chester
al Ma'chns Hook. AMI at Tacony. The fins,
OF these Is situated upon the channel side of
linicun Island. Uf TIA, jersey fisheries the
finest are located III tle'vicniy nf Guuccs-
Ter Guy. Two OF these are situated ON the
>,ra"d. on either side Of Ncw ton creek cove, :,
hali.nllle above Gloucester, and two upon
either side Of Timber creek cove, half mile
/, low Gloucester.
The >.cond ol these will rival. in the num-
Der OF ihen employed, the prutuctrycue>S al
the fishery. and the l"crahry Of the li-hin.
arrangements. any sln.le fresh water fishery
IN the country.
The used at this fishery is said to be
three miles i'll length. aud cost Two Thousand
Il liar. 1t MAS Knit tniittly 10y hand, md is
formed Of stout cord If the thickness of wine
1t floats upright in The wafer. by means of
BLOCKS attached 10 the rope at the sur face
and an immense nl-hntlomvl boat, rowed by
twenty mcn, II USED /" pay uul the net =
! his Is done by Two ;ncn who stand in the
stern Two swalIer boats are stationed u,
places along the hnc Of net. and WHEN full,
distributed ;he surface. line dotted wi,lI
buoy, aud blocks. forms All ublons s.mi.clr.
Gle. reaching half way across the river The
net is So knlt that the under line dr4gs heavily
upon the button and escape from Its folds
ON the part o! amy tinny captive Is thing
Impossible. ~ net Of Tins character must DC
renewed after every second spring.
1he iahd arrangements for this fishery
| consist Of three four armed cap,tans, manned
When III operation, h! twenty men ,ach.--
The Iemote capStan Is situated II quarter ol
a mile lrom lhc n"ltheily one at the cove
poln'. 1t is adjom,d by long csbn con.
tanning sleeping and cooking apaI ments. and
| a dining Iooiu. Two cooks are constantly
employed here during fishing season,
I" provide meal, for The sixty.odd fishermen
| employed by the arrangement.
AT this single fishery. durirg the months
OF Apr! and May Of last slrilg. twenty.uine
thousand shad we've caught. They wer. sold
| at an average price Of twenty cents by the
thousand, and probably netl,d The proprietor
the neat sum Of &5.SU0 In the same net
with these. hundreds of bushels Of rock. per IA
| and fish were caught. swelling the sum to
| 81 600 or more. From this must he sublrac.
ted he wages Of sixty men. which average
| fifteen dollars per mouth, board included. -
| The season commences at or about the second
week IN April. and lasts until the lO,h or
l2th of June. Ii Is not a large estimate to
state that at Hast three lhnusand dollars
should be the net profits of this fishery.
| Three small >oopS are employed 10 hiring
these to market, and they are either disposed
Of by the hundred. upon the >loop'> deck. or
rtlalled 10y Ii>hwiveS in market. FIVE haulS
! of slIad are made in every twentv.four hours:
the finest haulS. &C course being made at
| Hood !icrs. 1t is not uncommon. on these
latter occasions. to take five hundred prime
shad at a single drausht.
! We visited Gloucester on Tuesday, to
obtain some information upon this matter
and CHANGED to witness the operation Of pay
| ing out aud hauling IN the net and lifting the
hhad The fiat bottonIed boat. with it's
mound of net al the stern, was dimly seen III
| the ofling. as we approached. and the eye
could follow. between 1t and the shore. the
! line of bnoys. And thirty fiSlurman, large
! per cent, Of whom wrr. color.d men, clu> tcr,d
upon the beach, about the ca,stan. and the
! prup,iet"r was closely watching the tide mark
A boy with bucket of whisky soon went
around among the laborers, dealing ont gil
to each, and fire of willow knots was
smoking on the sand. with mbudy to note it.
although the air was ronl, and high wind
blowing. The tIowstrS and boots of some
Of the mrn were dripping with the river water
which they did not seem to remark. AMI a
company Of negroes were singing Justify to
+ themselves
At length the tide reached its flood and
the men IN the Hat boat began to pull lcisurely
up the stream. When the entire stretch OF
net was out we could APPRECIATE it's great