The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1883-12-06
Our Fishing Industrie..

The Transcript says: Portland is fast taking
high rank among the fishing ports, its posi-
tion with reference to the fishing grounds,
commodious harbor and facilities for distribu-
tion, giving it great advantages Improved
methods of preserving fresh fish and of can
ming and smoking have opened distant
markets, and wharves which few years ago
were comparatively idle are now found in
adequate TO meet the demands of the in
creasing business. The season of fishing and
canning, which has just ended, has not been
favorable one, the catch in some instances not
being more than half that of last year, but
nevertheless, the statistics given below of the
years business show it forms large item in
the industries of our city.
Iu the mackerel and herring fishery the ten
leading firms are Carney & Prince, George
Burnham, Cushing s. Joyce, Lewis, Chase &
Wbitten, Simpson & st. Clair, D. L. Fernald,
Charles A. Dyer, A. M. Smith, G. d. Thomes,
Dana & Co. The catch for the season is as
follows: Mackerel AZ, 900 barrels; herring A.
600 barIels. Tonnage employed was 5000.
Men employed, 1920. Salt used, 92,7S5
bushels. These figures show about so per
turned $4,000 barrels last year, gives but II, !,
900 barre.s this. and there are some small
fleets that have done ever worse. The shad
business is returned by only two firms and
shows but 700 barrels packed. The four
mackerel canning factories, operated by G. E.
Deering & Co., Chas. A. Dyer & Co., r. Lib
by & Co.. and Burnham & Morrill,, packed an
aggregate of 1850, 900 cans this season.
Our factories have an advantage at present
in the fact that Boston does not allow any
undressed fish to be offered in her market. So
when mackerel are plenty on our coast, and
time is too valuable to be spent in dressing
fish, the fishermen slip into Portland and sell
to our factories, which dress their own fish,
employing boys, and other cheap labor in the
work.
The amount handled of dry salt fish by the
five firms of Lewis, Chase & Whitten, A. G.
Sterling, g. & II. Trefetben, G. o. Trefethen
and e. G. Willard is 81 600 quintals, requiring
$4,000 bushels of salt. Probably the tonnage
was about 5000 and $50 men employed.
This business makes better showing than
the mackerel catch, but is not up to last year
work. The market is dull and prices low. A
large part of these fish is cured on House
Island, and quite a percentage of the remain
der is cured on the tops of the large, fat
rooted buildings at the end of Commercial
wharf.
The following firms are engaged in the
| fresh fish business: Pierce Bros, X. d. At
wood, ]. Freeman & Co., John Loveitt & Co.,
| Wyer Bros, Arthur Harding, Henry Sargent,
| J. W. Trefethen, W. T. Stanley.
The amount handled is 1890 tons, or $780,
600 pounds. This branch of the fish business
| is increasing very fast. Five years ago 90
barrels per day would overstoek the market.
| Now it takes 600 bbls. to supply the market,
and the canning factories Mr.. John Loveitt,
the first to start in the business, began forty
| five years ago by buying 200 pounds and selling
year the firm of John Loveitt & Co., has
handled nearly 1900 TONS Mr.. Leveitt was
also the first to ship in ice to the Upper
Provinces. At first it was hard to sell, for the
| people thought the fish could not be good after
being transported so great distance, but now
| market. John LoYeitt & Co, also do large