Marshall County Republican. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1856-1878, 1872-02-01
The Herring Fishery of Newfoundland.

The chief seats of our herring fishery
are Labrador, Bay of Islands, Bonnie
Bay, St. Georges Bay and Fortune Bay.
The herrings taken on Labrador and
in the Bay of Islands are among the
best in the world, but they are cured in
most slovenly fashion, and hence do not
take that place in the market which,
under skilful cure, they would do. In
the Bay of Islands, which seems des-
tined one day to be the Amsterdam of
Newfoundland, the herring fishery
opens in September, and continues
throughout the whole winter. When
the bay is frozen over holes are cut in
the ice, and the fish taken out in nets.
So abundant are the herring that it is
no uncommon thing for fisherman to
earn IS and Sl2 day. | knew an in
stance lately in which fisherman Melted
herring to the amount of $40 in two
days. American, Canadian and Nova
Scotian vessels visit the Bay of Islands
and take away all the fish caught. The
population is very scanty, amounting to
only three hundred or four hundred
persons. Our own merchants do moth
ing in this fishery, which might be in
definitely increased. Were skillful curers
sent to teach the inhabitants the proper
method of cure, and were capital en-
barked in this fishery, f1ourishing town
would speedily spring up on the shores
of this fine bay. Theland and timber are
excellent; marble and gypsum abound.
1t would be difficult to find any place
with finer natural resources.
The herring fishery of Fortune Bay is
only second to that Of the Bay of
Islands. Large quantities are exported
from this locality in winter, in a frozen
state, and sold fresh in the markets OF
New York and Boston. The far-famed
Labrador herrings are exported direct
after being picked, to various markets,
Baltimore and Montreal being the best
Our average export of herrings may be
taken at one hundred and fifty thous
and barrels-value three dollars pei
| barrel
1t is noteworthy that the herring is
taken nearly all the year round along
the costs Of Newfoundland and Labra
dor. 1t appears, however, at different
points at different seasons. Thus, or
| the Labrador coost it shows itself abour
the middle or the end of September
and about the same time in the Bay o
Islands. In st. Georges Bay and For
| tune Bay the autumn herring-fshery
commences much earlier. These fact
indicate that our herring is not migra
tory, but local to the coasts on which
it is taken. In fact, it never ventures
far from the shores where it is captured
It's movements being from deep t.
shallower and warmer water for thu
purpose of depositing its spawn. Al
round our shores there are differen
races OF herring in different places, hav
ing marked d fferences in size, shap,
and quality.
From merely glancing at the fish, al
expert fisher will tell in a moment the
different localities. The st. George
Bay herring differs widely from thos,
taken III the Bay of Islands and Bonnt
Bay; and Labrador herring is neve
mistaken for Fortune Bay herring
Thus, then, at various points there mus
be different shoals or colonies of fish
whose habitat is limited, and who ar,
found invariably in the same locality
They come regularly to the same spawn
ing ground, and retire to the same feed
ing ground, probably at no great dis
lance, when they have repeated tn
story of their birth. The same hold
good in Scotland, where the well-knowl
Lochfyne herring is essentially differ
ent in its flavor from that of The Fritz
OF Forth; and those taken in Firth q
Forth differ again, in many particulars
from those caught off Yarmouth. Al
experienced fisher knows the differen
localities of the same kinds of fish a
easily as a farmer would separate
Cheviot sheep from a Southdown. Tn
old theory which represented herring
as migrating annually from the Arcti
seas, in one vast army which sent OF
detachments to the shores of Europ
/, and America, is now abandoned by a
well-iniormed naturalists. 1t is no
, known that the herring is not found {
: all in Arctic seas. Even on the Greer
.. land coast only small variety is seel
: The family of the herring is rath.
!, extensive; the most common membe
,, being the common herring, the spra
:, the shad, the pilchard the whiteba
and anchovy. The lilchard is the sa
dine of commerce, but its place is ofte
= usurped by the sprat, which is now gel
! orally admitted to be the young of tt
. herring. On the coast of Brittany,
: France, thirteen thousand boats al
engaged in the sardine trade, capturir
= sprats and young piichards for curir
. as sardines. According to Mitchell,
: sum Of 100000 is annually expended g
! cod and mackerel roe for bait in tn
fishery. Not less than thousand ba
: rels of cod-roe are exported annual
y from Newfoundland to France to
y used as ground bait in the sardil
:, fishery.
o An Unfortunate Man.
> A sad tale comes from Selma, Al
Z bama- 1t appears that twelve your