Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1877-11-10
IHE MACKEREL FISHERY.
How MRekerel are CauEht and Prepared
for the Market-MackereI Catehers and
Their Wages.

How MRekerel are CauEht and Prepared
for the Market-MRekereI Catehers and
Their Wages.
What the cod is abroad, mackerel is
in the country for which it is fished-
an universally popular dish. 1t is al
ways in season; salted or fresh, mackerel
occupies the place on the American
breakfast-table that cod does in the
tropics. ...-.
The mackerel season begins in March
and endures until November, steadily
increasing all the time. The first car
goes landed are invariably of poor quail
ity, although of good size but as the
season advances the fish improve. The
quality suitable for packing comes in
about the middle Of July.
The early mackerel are fished for as far
south as Cape Henry, and from thirty to
fifty miles off shore. From May to July
they are found along the coast from
Cape May to Gay Head. Thence they
progress steadily northward until from
August to November the Canadian fish
cry assumes its hugest proportions.
Mackerel, like cod, are baited with q
mixture Of salted CLAIMS and small fish,
ground fine. This bait is thrown over
board, and sinking to tie depth at which
the fish lie, lures them to swapping in
Discriminatory at bait and bore hooks.
So ravenously do the fish bite, that a
single fisherman often fills barrel in
less than half an hour. Each fisherman
uses two lines at once.
In 1873 the seine was first brought
into use in the mackerel capture, and the
line fishery, as a speciality, is now rapidly
dying out. The seines are vast nets,
ITO fathoms long and "a fathoms deep
in the, middle, gradually diminishing to
half that size at the ends. The upper
edge is foated by buoys. Along the
lower edge purse line is rove through
iron rings, which also serve to sink the
net. The seine is cast from a large
barge, the ground having been previously
baited as for line fishing.
Two boats accompany the seine barge,
and as the net is cast they carry the
purse and cork lines to the right and left
until the extreme limit of the long ropes
is reached. Then a slight sweep is made,
and the lines gradually drawn until the
net is, in fishing parlance, "pursed up"
! WIN klC i4cA lAC1OsS1I Ill ITO ucbucSs
The schooner now runs down to the
scene OF the cast, and the fish are dipped
| aboard.
The process Of seining in good weather
is perfectly easy, but high winds and un-
easy seas render it impracticable, and
then the time is eked ont with line fish
ing. SEEMING is often subject to failure,
too the fish frequently diving under
the net, or taking fright and backing out
| before they are inclosed. From 200 to
800 barrels Of fish are as many as can be
well handled in a single cast, and the
fishermen, therefore, rarely attack the
largest shoals,
Mackerel go in large shoals, but scat
ter sometimes over miles of ocean. In
consequence of this the mackerel schoon-
ers usually sail in fleets, batting large
area, and prosecuting their labors with
military precision. Long practice lends
the various vessels Of fleet unity OF
action as perfect as if their movements
were directed by q commodore. As all
are Of about the same size and rugged
alike, the effect of such commercial
navy can be imagined as picturesque
one. Es.t.. ..-
The preparation OF mackerel for mar
ket, which takes place after every days
! fishing, is in some respects very similar
to that of the cod, They are dressed by
splitting them down the back, taking out
the "9ibs or entrails, and letting the
blood soak ont of them by immersion in
clear salt water for several hours. Then
they are taken out, laid singly in barrels,
and handful of salt is sprinkled over
each. After settling, some OF the pickle
is drained off, and the barrel is filed
and headed up. ."
Two hundred and fifty-one thousand
barrels Of salted mackerel were inspected
in the United States in 1875, and SO, 600
cans of the fish preserved. The Can
adian fisheries, for the same year, yielded
Isl, ,460 barrels.
From fifteen to twenty men constitute
the crew Of mackerel schooner. Like
those on the od-fshermen, they are EN-
ployed on what is known as the "half-
line lay" They receive no stated wages,
but draw half the value of the entire
catch for themselves, out of which they
pay the wages of the cook, half the bait
bill, and the same share of the packing.
In good season they realize profit Of
40 per cent. The average earnings of a
mackerel fisherman are $500 season.
The other half of the catch goes to
the owners of the schooner, who pay
their share of the expenses, and per-
centage to the captain. 's