The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1879-02-26
The Canaries Fisheries.
of Apparently Rx-
h""'"e's s,iies OF Cod aud O,Ler
Fish.

Ihe Journal Of the Society of Arts Of Japus.
ry II announces the interesting and important
discovery of apparently exhaustless supplies Of
hsh in the waters off the Canary Islands.
These fish are said to be about ope-fourth cod
nsh OF great size and the remainder various and
unknown TO our fishermen. As the best Sea-
son is from October to the end of March this
new md offers a tempting field for resort of
hsrdy fishermen from the severity of the sea-
son Oft our own frosty coasts; and with their
great experience and skill, with arts and tackle
uOxnown to the rude resources Of those lati-
.udes, the catch must, in all probability, be ex-
I ceptional, seeing that even with the imperfect
means at the command Of the natives of the
Canaries one fisherman, by the statement Of
Mr. Bertolet, now takes as many fish in one
day as twenty-six men in Newfoundland
This will be good news to American fishermen,
who are reported to have made poor catch
the present season, and who are liable to be
plundered BY the savage natives of Newfounds
land when they make good one.
This subject will probably command the ear.
ly attention of the members of the Fish Com.
mission, whose labors have already contributed
SO much to the promotion of this important ma
tonal industry. The discovery is probably Of
an entirely new field for commercial enterprise
in which large fleet of sailing vessels and
steamers may find profitable employment.
opening up new sources Of trade and enlarging
the efficiency of our commercial marine.
France has from an early date found tha
Newfoundland banks mine of wealth to her
Normandy fishermen, and now that this old
field seems on the decline there Is opened 4
new and most inviting winter resort for our en-
terprise.
Consul Dundas states that ths fisheries in
these waters have been drawing much atten-
tion of late, and in proper hands they would de-
velop into source OF considerable wealth--per-
haps the greatest, certainly not the least
wealth-productng source of these islands, by no
means wanting in this respect. It Is asserted
that the fish are in general inferior Ia quality
to those OF Scotland or British North America,
but the imperfect and careless manner of cur
ing them may account for this assertion M
3erthelot, late French consul, in his work
draws comparison with the fisheries of New.
f0undland. After elaborate numerical cslcula-
tions derived from practical results he comes to
the conclusion that the quantity of fish caught
bv one man in the Canaries is equal to that
caught by twenty-six men in Newfoundland
All evidence tends to show that the quantity
caught is very great, and that the supply is in.
exhaustible. Aud yet neither the native fsh.
ermen nor the commercial community of thu
islands have endesvored to turn this immense
field of wealth to any advantage, eing salts.
fed thus far with confning their operations al
most exclusively to the supply Of the local con-
sumption. The largest fish banks are said 10
be from the Island of Fuerteventura to Cape
Blanco. The vessels tsh down to the latter
point, and the larger ones sometimes 20 very
near to Cape de Verd.
In 1864 Spanish company was formed, hav-
ing obtained concession from the Govern
ment to fish in these waters on a large scale.
An Engllshman was engaged to superintsnd
the business, who brought with him several
intelligent operatives from England aud SCOT
land. Some barrels of dried and picked fish
were sent to Spain aud are reported to have
been much liked. But the death Of the origi-
nator, occurring shortly af erwards. and the
want OF funds caused the breakup of the es-
probability that fish will in future be ex.
ported from the Canary Islands, and that in
considerable quantities. A French company
in Marseilles has lately made q contract with
the owner Of the fishing vessels, by which the
company is to receive as much fish as they can
supply or the company can take.
The fishing boats are employed nearly all the
year, but the best season Is during the winter
months, say from Seotember or October to the
end Of March; the fish then are in great num-
bers and in best condition. There Is one sum-
mer month-Jnne-in which fish are very
plentiful, or more correctly speaking, the lat
ter half Of that month. The class Of vessels
employed in this occupation, formerly top-ssil,
in size from twenty-five to fifty tons;
they carry crews Of from eighteen and twenty
to thirty and forty men and boys aud are pro-
vided with two, three or four boats. No nets
are used, the fish being caught with hooks.
Besides the different kinds Of hooks aud lines
they also carry rods or poles of from five to six
feet in length, to the end of which Is at
tached some six feet of line trimmed with
several strong rough.made hooks at a certain
distance from each other. These are trslled
along the surface of the water; q means of cap
ture which frequently fills the vessels rapidly.
They steer by the sun or stars, the compass be-
iug either unknown or its use despised. Tue
crews, many of whom are boys, are not paid
any wages, but share in the profits, and 10 is
a rule on board that until all the ish caught
during the day have been salted no dinner or
vessels composing the fishing fleet 10 these
islands is reckoned at twenty, of which four
teen belong to Grand Canary, the rest to Pal.
ma, Fueteventura aud LAM ,rote.
As the fishing varies greatly according to
circumstances, it Is somewhat difficult to give
reliable average. 1t frequently happens that
vessel is out weeks before filing up a cargo
sufficient to return with, and at other times
they fill up in an incredibly short space of
time; and when judging the quantity taken
and the time it is taken in, the rude means
employed must not be lost sight Of; whereas IL
nets were used the proportion would be much
larger in shorter space of time, though the
wholesale destruction would probably be great.
er. According to the owner Of one of these
fishing schooners, one of those now under
contract with the French company mentioned,
four boats, under favorable circumstspces,
could deliver in less than two days more fresh
fish than the steamer could carry Ordinarily
speaking boat of forty tons might be loaded
10 three days. Oher estimates give the catch
per vessel Der diem at from fifteen to thirty
quintsls of 800 pounds each. But there are
days in which fifty quintals have been taken,
and others again when not even ten quintalS
have been caught. Cases are numerous of
vessels of thirty tons SO filling mp in two days,
when they happen to come q bank where
the fish has been drawn or scared from other
banks in large shoals
1t is equally difficult, says Consul Dnndas. to
give a correct estimate of the weight of the fish,
which also varies considerably; but for pfscti-
cal purposes it may suffice to say that most of
them run fifteen to sixty five pounds each, the
greater proportion being from twenty to thirty
pounds. Very small fish are rejected, and very
large are objected to. The fishing ground may
be considered as lying between tae southern
part of the island Of Grand Canary and the
same latitude on the African coast, or from
about is degrees to 81 or SO degrees north lati-
tude along the northwest coast Of Africa. The
annual quantity caught is estimated at from
5000 to 5000 tons; the sailing Is done on