The Portland daily press., 1886-05-26
the MAcKEREL FISHERY.
Congressman Reeds Argument for
Close Time.
Congressional Record J

the order of the House of YESTERDAY call up
the bill (H. r. 5238) relating to the importing
and landing Of mackerel caught during the
| spawning season.
Mr.. Buchanan.-I desire to make parlia-
mentary inquiry.
The Speaker.-The gentleman will state it,
Mr.. Buchanan. Does the special order of
| Yesterday supersede the morning hour?
The Speaker.-The order Of yesterday was
to postpone the further consideration Of this
bill till this morning Immediately after the
reading Of the Journal,
Mr. Reed of Maine.-As this measure
which is now before the House is one some
what novel in character, | feel it necessary
that there should be full, free and frank
explanation of the whole thing to the mem
bers of the House. In the first place, it con-
| Germs very deserving class of people. 1t
concerns between five and six thousand fish
ermen on the coasts of Maine and Massachu-
setts, and New England generally. In lar
ger sense it concerns the whole of the people
of the United States, because it is a food
question as well as an industrial question.
The class Immediately concerned are at this
| time especially deserving of the attention of
the House, not only because of what they
| have suffered under the unfortunate articles
in the treaty of Washington, but also be-
| cause to-day difficulty exceedingly great
| and affecting them is springing up, causing
| them great damage and threatening more.
| The people who are engaged in the fisheries
| upon the Noreastern coast owing to the trea-
| ty of 1870 have been suffering severely in
| their person and estate in past times, and at
| this present time, unless there be the most
| careful and judiciOuS management on the
part of all concerned, there is liable to be
| great suffering on their part, and the begin
| ming of trouble which will extend its effects
| all over the country. At this time and in
| behalf of this portion of our people | present
| the provisions of this bill And if l shall
| succeed as hope in gaining the attention of
| the House and in satisfying the minds of the
members that the request which make is
reasonable one, the cause and objects OF it
| will plead for me better than can myself
The mackerel fishery is one that has been
| very important to the people Of this country
| in times past, and which can be made of equal
| Importance in the times to come, If we Judi
| ciously attend to it. But there have been of
late years great falling off in the character
of the catch and great change in the nature
of :he fisheries, as l will demonstrate to you
by figures. In former years the mackerel
used to be caught by hook and line, and the
result was that very fine fish were caught;
but within the last ten years the nature of
the fishery has changed very much. Instead
of a hook and line fishery the purse seine fish
cry has been developed, and instead OF going
into school of mackerel and hauling out
what could be brought out by hook and line
the fishermen OF to-day In larger craft, go out
and surround the school of mackerel by nets,
which are placed vertically in the water and
hoated by cork at the top edge. When the
school is entirely surrounded, the bottom
edges of the net are drawn together into
purse-like shape, and the result is that the
whole body of fish, good, bad and Indifferent,
are scooped up together as if they so much
dirt.
Now, at particular time anyone can see
that such fishery may be specially disad-
vantageous to the increase of fish. There is
a time when the fish thus caught are filed
with spawn and with the future possibilities
of the production Of mackerel. All these
fish are taken together; and while they are
in the spawning condition-that is, while
the spawn is forming within them-they are
poor and almost unfit for food; they are very
bad for food under all circumstances.
The proposition which have to present
to the House to-day is the same which has
been put in operation in almost all the States
with regard to the internal fisheries. That
is, | propose that we shall have close time
which shall cover this period of spawning.
desire frankly to state any objections that
there are, and believe know them all. 1t
will strike you at first sight as if there could
be nothing said against a proposition as rea-
sonable as this is to stop the destruction of
fish in their spawning period when the re-
production of the fish is in very great peril.
But there are arguments urged against it,
and l am bound to say to you at the |
outset that our scientific men, Professor |
Baird and Professor Goode, express an opin- |
ion which can best show by giving the
opinion of Professor Goode, which is
have never been convinced that the abun-
dance of mackerel along our eastern coast has
been in past years diminished through the agency
of man. 1 am not therefore prepared to say that
believe that the prosecution Of the spring mack
ere snng win lea ead to Its own ~
in 1888 by the Commissioner of Fisheries, re-
viewed the evidence at that time in existence and
have not as yet seen any reason for changing |
the views therein expresses
/ should say to you there are other reasons
besides these which | will develop, but | |
want to say distinctly that while Professor
GoOde says he does not know whether such a |
measure is necessary for that purpose or not,
am bound to say to you that every fisher |
man engaged in the business does know, and |
all of them are here before you with hardly q |
their personal experience that it will be the |
destruction of the fisheries not to have aclose
time, and | am prepared to show you that |
the lack of a close time already has been |
very severe injury to the fishing industries |
of the United States.
All the fishermen present themselves here |
with their petitions for this bill. On the |
other hand there is single petition against |
it, and l will show you from what source |
that comes. 1t is the petition Of the Fish |
mongers Association of the city Of New
York. They are opposed to this legislation. |
/ think may say without being accused of |
imputing unworthy motives to anybody. that |
they are opposed to it upon the. salutary |
ground that commissions are good for people |
who sell. OF course they present one other |
ground. because people never reveal their
selfshness utterly. The Fishmongers' As
socation say that they are struggling in the
interest of cheap food for the people. Let |
us see precisely what this cheap food cry |
means. Mr.. Blackford, who is a New York |
fish commissioner, but who is also, think, |
or has been, connected with the Fishmon, |
Mr. Breckenridge, of Arkansas.-He is a |
dealer
Mr. Reed, of Maine.-He is a dealer him
self. Mr. Blackford gives single instance |
of this cheapness of food which illustrates it |
ALL He says:
About the 1st Of April the mackerel feet struck |
an immense scdool of fresh mackerel, and they all
loaded up and came into New York, and there |
was at one time upward of fifteen million macker- |
ell lying around the wharves in the vicinity OF Full
ton Market. Those mackerel were unloaded there |
Just as fast as possible. Men, women and chill |
and the wagons of licensed vendors, and there |
was no question about the price. They gave |
basketfulIfor or 10 cents and would load wag- |
on for 20 cents. For the space of two or three |
immense catch of mackereI. They were distribut-
ed all through the city. Of course, 1t was the
means Of alarge class OF people making mai money
What was the nature of this cheap foodP
Cheap things we want. 1t is a little hard
sometimes on the men who furnish them that
they should be so very cheap, but still we
want cheap food provided it is also good
food-not cheap and nasty, but cheap and
good. What does Mr.. Blackford himself say
about the character Of this food? He says
large portion of these were salted, but at that
season of the year the mackerel are inferior in fat
ness; the quality Is not of kind that makes them
most desirable for sailing
Let me add one other fact in that connec-
tion, which is that in order to supply that
week or two of cheap food to the people in
and around the city of New York, 100000 |
barrels of mackerel filled with spawn were
thrown into the ocean and could not be used |
"a destruction greater than the actual use |
that was made for Mr.. Collins tells us that |
only II, coo barrels were used and q. 900 salt
ed. Is that the kind Of cheap-food produc- |
tion that you wish to preserve at the expense |
of what am about to state? There has been |
remarkable change Of late in the nature of |
the results of mackerel fishing Several |
years ago, when 300 barrels of mackerel were |
caught, 200 of them were No. l, fat valuable |
fish: 66a per cent. of the whole we're fit sub |
iects for consumption by human beings
What are the actual results now, as taken
from the books of Lewis, Chase and Whitten,
of Portland for the year 1884? OF 14,877 bar
rels taken 317 barrels were No. /; that is,
less than % per cent instead of 66s per
cent OF No. 2's there 3,121 barrels-less
than 81 per cent; and the balance, 11,43O
barrels, were of poorquality-No. 3's, or per-
haps worse. The result of all this is that un-
der this system of fishing the proportion of
No. mackerel has been reduced from 66s
-, cont of tba xvhnia IN lnce than nor