The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1888-10-11
The Halibut Fishery.

Last year apt. Solomon Jacobs, of GlOuces-
ter, Mass, sent two vessels to California to eli
gage in the fisheries Of the Northwest coast.
and this summer Capt. Jacobs has shipped ,cy-
elal carloads of fresh laIibltt across the CONT
ncnt. The fact causes the Cape Ann Allver-
ti>cr to indulge in the following "Reminiscences,
of the haibut fishery.
The receipt Of three carloads Of halibut at
this port from seattle this season recalls the
time when Our codtislernen we're Obliged TO
haul up and change their bcrth> on Middle
Bank and Georges to escape the abundance of
these fish, which troubled them As the Goldfish
in Massachusetts Bay "pe>tered the ships of
Bartholomew Gosnold in 1862
There are many men living in Gl4ur,> ter to-
day who remember when haliblit were "A scri-
Gus annoyance to the successful: pursuit of the
codlls herles. being Of 10 remarkable value but
Tor the most part thrown away when caught
They nave seen the rise aud growth of hall
but fishing as a business pursuit, the gradual
disappearance of the fish from the home
grounds, the diminution of the supply on the
Hear Banks. and the pursuit of them in their
more distant haunts, until it was found profit
able to make voyages to the icy regions of the
far North to secure supply for smoking pur-
poses.
1hey have seen the impetus given to the
trade by the modern facilities of transportation
when packed in ice, and the new industry
growing from their cure by smoking And
now they see them brought across the CONT
nent for both purposes. from grounds which
give promise of an unlimited supply
1t was not until about 1886 that the haibut
fishery began to be vigorously prosecuted from
Gloucester as distant branch of the fishing
business, but from that time it had constant
growth for many years. In 1917 the Giouces-
ter fleet took upwards of three million pounds.
fnr tl,o,, "A i N.
With the opening of railroad communication
with Boston it seemed eXpedient and practical
Bile to make this the headquarters of the hall
but trade-a project that in these later wears
has been successfully accomplished with
that view a halibut company was organized in
1913, but the supply was SO much in excess of
the demand that the company was obliged to
give up the business.
1t Is only IN recent years that any fears have
been felt of the failure of the halibut supply on
the Grand and neighboring Banks.
Sch. Chester X. Lawrence took 10000 lbs
on Bank trip in 1872. In 1876 sch. Centen-
NAL brought in 1919, lbs. from a three weeks
Bank trip, and the next year sch. G. p. Whit
man brought in fare Of 10000 lbs, the larg-
est fare ever landed. Sch. Davy Crockett took
10000 lbs on her first trip, in 1876 and anotll-
er fare of 1850 lbs. the same year. Sch. Epes
Tarr took 81 ,5O2 IBIS. white and 2l,4i2 lbs. gray
on three weeks trip the same year, stocking
lbs. on one trip. Sch. Centennial took up
wards of million pounds on her first ten
Bank trips in 1877. And in one week in 1881
the receipts at this port aggregated $50 800 lbs.
The small fares which have been the rule the
present year, and the fact that there was con-
siderable falling off in last years catch from
the year before, leads many to take dark view
of the future prospects on the grounds which
have been tished to advantage in the years gone
by. But the catch of 1886 was some three mil
lion pounds larger than for the past ten or
dozen years, and last years supply fully up to
the average. The present scarcity may be fol-
lowed by full supply when the conditions.
which are but imperfectly understood, shall
change.
And it is gratifying to know, that should the
old grounds refuse to discount, we have an ap-
pareDtly inexhaustible supply in the North
west upon which to draw, and which improv-
ed railroad facilities will undoubtedly land at
our doors at reasonable figures.