The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1877-09-13
The POrgy Fisheries.
The POrsy Business of the Maine Consi.

The manufacture of menhaden or porgy oil
has grown to be business of great magnitude
in Maine, besides revolutionzing almost the
entire fishing business of the coast
The porgy oil business is the controlling busi-
ness of Boothbay. There are now sixty four
factories in operation on our coast, employing
46 steamboats,, 800 sailing vessels, 275S men and
$2,75O,O0O in capital. In 1876, 52l ,45OO 900 por-
gies were caught, and 1892 900 gallons of oil
and 51.245 tons of guano made There are five
porgy oil factories in Boothbay, owned as fol-
lows: One each by Gallup, Morgan s. Co.,
Gallup q Holmes. Suffolk Oil Works, l.. Mad
dox, and fifth by Small and others of Lewis
ton. MessrS. Gallup & Holmes employ so men
and steamers. The men work on shares. and
when fish are plenty earn as high as 500
month. This year fish are scarce, and hence
wages are low. There were 561 900 gallons of
porgy oil made in Boothbay last year, as fol-
lows: $4,000 gallons by Gallup g. Holmes
II, goo by Gallup, Morgan & Co. 81 900 by Mr..
Maddox, 10000 by Suffolk OIL Works, and 49,
600 by Mr.. Kenniston. The offal of the fish is
made into guano, in 1876 netting S53, 900 to the
Boothbay oil makers. The fish scrap is worked
over into superDhosphates at Weymouth and
Woods Hole, Mass. Bristol has four porgy oil
factories, producing to about the same extent
as Boothbay.
Porgy oil is largely exported, returning to us
as linseed oil. We sell it at IS to 40 cents a
gallon, send it to Europe and then bring il back
again, paying twenty cents gallon extra for
oil that has gone to Europe and got back again.
In the war days porgy Oil sold as high as S130
per gallon. 1t is used largely by curriers'. The
tsh continue scarce.
Formerly ,porgies were caught only in nets or
weirs. Each man with a few nets was fish,
erman on his own account. His wife or daugh-
ters knit the nets during the long winter even
lngs and the only outlay was for twine. Por-
gies were usually caught for bait bat when
could, with the help of of his family, take care
Of each man had his own kettle and press and
made few barrels of oil. The fish were rsu-
ally abundant and near shore, so that q man
wanting bait would row out short distance in
the evening and set net or two. In the morn
ing haul his nets, take what he needed for the
days fishing, leave the balance for his wife
and children to silver and salt. or give them 10
neighbor, and be off for the fishing grounds
by daylight; The fish were easy to obtain and
The manufacture of oil by large companies
necessitated the employment of boats and
seines, vessels suitable for eight or ten men to
live aboard, and boats to carry the fish to the
factory when caught Thus associated effort
and large outlay of money was called for. 1t
was found so easy to get what then seemed large
quantities of fish, that small factories sprung
up all along the coast, and for a time seemed to
be making money, but continual seinisg caused
the tlsh to be more shy and keep further from
shore. The employment of larger and more
costly seines and larger vessels were called for
and the small crews would get few fish. Thus
in time the small factories were driven out of
the business as the individual fishermen had
been before them.
Then again when steam vessels came into
use sailing gangs were driven out of the busi-
ness, as they were not able to compete with the
steamers. The steamer is on the way to the
miles away, by two or three o clock in the morn
ing, and often has good haul aboard before
the sailing vessel is out of sight of the factory,
Tor with calm mornings the best part of the
day is gone before they find fish.
Then again, the machinery for cooking fish
and extracting the oil has been so improved
that an extra outlay, and sometimes an entire
rebuilding of the factory was found necessary
every few years, to get in the more modern inn
provements and be able to compete with others.
Thus one company after another has failed or
retired, until now the business is centered in
the hands of a few firms with capital suficient
to provide all the modern appliances for doing
the work in every department.
1t is many years since fish have been so
scarce on our coast. One Boothbay mackerel
catcher returned last week with only so barrels
OF hsh, after an absence which would ordnari-
ly have resulted in catch of ten or twenty
lines as many fish. The porgies are scarce and
team. Many of the small fishermen agree that
Vuo POiSio ooluluk ID W Lu6 OLQeE uSn-
cries.
The Introduction of steam vessels in this
business has proved so successful and efficient.
both in saving time and life, that it is likely
eventually to be adopted by our enterprisinS
fishermen at Boothbay in the banks fisheries.
Two or three steamers could do an excellent
business IN the summer time, batting the
Georgesmen, having a convenient rendezvous
wners they could be ready to supply the de-
mand as occasion offered. They could be en-
ployed also in the fresh fish business, especial
~ In catching mackerel on the GeoI ges, and
supplying the Portland and Boston markets.
AS steam vessels are quite likely to supplant
tne most OF the carrying trade upon the oceans
OF the world, so in few years it will be no
strange thing to see large fleet of staunch
steam vessels leaving Gloucester and all other
fishing ports on our coast for the deep sea, as
we'll as the coast fisheries. The seal fisheries
of Newfoundland, which few years past were
entirely prosecuted from sailing ships. are now
carried on BY steamers. A great saving of life
aud time is thus made, and as our Capitalists
are never behind in adopting measures which
have proved successful no doubt the coming
season willlshow the adoption in a great de-
gree OF steam In bankers. The gain in time
would amply compensate the extra expense.
Inere seems to be no doub. that the next inno-
vatlon IN the fishing business will be the change
from sailing to steam vessels.-LeUiSt0R Jour
nal.