The Portland daily press., 1886-10-23
THE FISHERIES.
How Maine Crews Have Fared the
Past Season.

This is about the time of year when fisher
men begin to get ready for winter fishing
ana reckon up how they have come out
during the season Of cod, mackerel and hall
but fishing. From the statements made by a
number OF fish dealers and owners of fishing
vessels TO reporter, yesterday, the past
season is learned to have been marked for its
abundance of cod and,scarcity of mackerel
The cod fishermen have returned from the
Banks deep laden, and gone back again to
ind the fish still abundant. Ordinarily two
trips a season to the Banks for cod is con-
sidered as many as may be expected This
year, however, the fishermen have in num-
Der of cases made three and even four trips.
returning with full fares. One schooner
owned by Mr.. Trefethen, the fish dealer ON
House Island, after returning from three
trips with 900 quintals of fish each time.
went fourth time and got GOO quintals. The
amount might have been brought up to that
OF the previous fares had the schooner been
lifted for full catch. The abundance of
cod has had a tendency to keep prices down
and profits have been small, both to owners
and crews, in consequence.
member of prominent fishing firm in
this city stated yesterday that the season
Just closing has been the hardest for mack
erel fishermen since 1910. Maine has about
600 fishing vessels, and of this number 100 or
over are mackerel fishermen. The crews of
tnese schooners average about Is men, in
Guiding the captain and the cook, the latter
besides receiving certain share in the catch
being generally paid $25 or $50 a month by
the crew The number of men in the State
who engage on the vessels in the mackerel
fishery is then about 1900, and this year few
of that number will have much money as
their share of the seasons fishing when their
vessels are hauled up or put at some other
work. sls
In Portland and the immediate vicinity
there are about $50 men who go on the mack
erel schooners. the greater part of the crews
OF the 90 vessels in the business owned here
coming from Boothbay, Deer Isle and other
points in the eastern part of the State.
Many crews during the season have not paid
EXPENSES and one Portland schooner re-
turned with only one barrel of thinkers, as the
smaller mackerel are termed, as the result
of one of her trips.
The Margaret 5. Smith, owned by A. NJ,
Smith, is the schooner which is the high
liner for the year among the mackerel catch
ers. The high-liner is the vessel which
catches the most fish during the season and
the Margaret Smith has carried of the honors
for Maine this year, with catch of 700 bar
rels of salt mackere and 200 barrels of fresh.
The schooner is of ITO tons, and carries
M tl,o
tain Lincoln w. Jewett
Up to October 21st, the total amount of
mackerel landed in American ports by the
fishermen was SO, 900 barrels against $40 600 for
the same time last year, and 4O4, 900 for 1884.
The Portland catch will be about 10000 or
$4,000 barrels, to from $4,000 to $4,000 last
year and $4,000 the year previous. Prices
for mackerel were low at the first of the sea-
son, owing to the large amount held over
from last year. As this was used up, how.
ever, prices rose and the small amounts
caught during the latter part of the season
have commanded good prices. Next year
the season will open with an empty market
and the owners and crews expect better
and prosperous season.
The scarcity of mackerel is accounted for
by several theories. Many of the fish pack
ers attribute the lack of fish, to the practice
of early south fishing. Mackerel fishing off
the Maine coast begins about the middle of
June, but by the first of March the fish are
encountered off the coast of the Southern
and Middle States, and are sought after
there by mackerel fishers. This is the
spawning time of the fish and it is claimed
that the cabno1c EohI -
pY the fishermen. A bill making close
time for mackerel during the spawning sea-
son was prepared last year and it is expect
ed that it will pass Congress this winter. so
that next Spring there will be no early south
fishing with its tendency to hurt the pros
poets of the fishermen later in the season.
Another reason given for the absence of
the mackerel, is that the small berry or seed
on which they feed has not been found dur
ing the year and neither has the small fish
called flank" been seen in great number.
The mackerel when they have this small fish
to feed upon are generally fat and abundant
and also abound when they can find the
seed, which is small, red substance, float
ing in the water in the regions where the
mackerel school.
Portland vessels engaged in the halibut
fishery have met with the best success Of any
of the fishermen, having had a good catch
and securing good prices. The fresh fisher
meh have also met with good luck.
In speaking of the statements which have
recently been made that the New England
fishing vessels are largely manned by Nova
Scotians, Portland vessel owner said that
as far as Maine is concerned, only very
small portion of her 5000 fishermen, are citi-
zens of Nova Scotia. Many of them, it is
true, are natives of the provinces but they
have moved into this country and taken up
their residences here.