The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1895-07-17

haul was 14O; this was In Chesapeake
Bay.
The Arizona did not fish south Of Del
aware and took the largest number of
menhaden on the outer coasts OF New
York and New Jersey, and in New
York and Delaware Bays. The j. w,
Hawkins, on the other hand, fished
from North Carolina to Maine, but Sc
| cured by far the most fish in Chesa-
peake Bay and on the western Maine
coast,
The steamer Arizona took 1906, 800
menhaden In the following locations:
Long Island Sound, 466, 800; New York
Bay, 100000 Nopeague Bay, $4,000;
Gardeners Bay, $4,000; Delaware Bay,
| 6,956 800; off Massachusetts coast, $4,000,
off Rhode Island coast, 9,09S, 500, off
| New Jersey coast 6,159,500, off Delaware
coast 99S,00O
The s,25S,950 menhaden taken by j.
w. Hawkins were distributed as fol-
| lows: Maine coast, s65sS50; Massachu-
sets coast, $4,000; Long Island Sound,
95,503; New Jersey coast, 30,097: Allan
tic coast, Maryland, 577,5O0; Atlantic
coast Virginia, 40S,SOO; Chesapeake
Bay and tributaries, 6,26S,005; North
Carolina coast 81, 500.
! More fish were taken between one and
two miles from shore than within any
other distances: more than half were
caught within two miles Of shore, and
more than two-thirds under three miles
| from shore. Less than two-ninths Of
| the total yield was obtained five miles
| or more from land, and q large part of
| the fish thus shown was secured in
| Chesapeake and Delaware Bays. The
furthest distance from shore at which
the Arizona fished was nine and one
half miles; this was in Delaware Bay.
The j. w. Hawkins took fish nine and
| one-eighth miles off Windmill Point
| Virginia, in Chesapeake Bay. None Of
the fishing OF these vessels In the open
ocean was so far from land and most OF
1t was under two miles from shore.
The largest average hauls were made
under one mile from shore and the next
| largest between one and two miles. Be-
| tween three and five miles from shore
the average number was more than
elsewhere. Considerably more than
half the menhaden taken by the Arizo-
ma were obtained In August and Sep
TENDER. The largest catch Of the Haw-
| klnS was IN september.
The observation Of the commissions
agents proved that, as a general thing,
| not enough desirable food fish are
taken by the menhaden steamers to
keep the vessels crews regularly sup
piled with fresh fish, AS rule all the
food fish caught are eaten by the crews
or by the factory hands, but it occa-
sionally happens that schools of blue
fish, butterfish, shad, river herring, etc,
are taken, and more fish are thus pro-
vided than can be consumed
The observations of the agents on the
Arizona indicated that Of all the enc
mics of the menhaden the bluefish APP
pear to be the most destructive. This
predaceous fish destroys immense num-
bers of menhaden In pure wantonness.
killing several times as many as are &C
tually eaten. Each of the fifty stom-
aehs of blueflsh examined by Mr. Mars
chalk contained fragments of menha-
den, but none had q whole fish.
Sharks also destroy immense quanti-
ties of menhaden, but do less damage
to the fishery than do the bluefish, In
that they consume the menhaden quiet
ly and do not, as a rule, scatter the
4
disturbance In g. body Of menhaden
than a dozen sharks.
On the size and fairness Of the fish de-
i pend, to- considerable degree, the
financial success OF the industry. Some
Years, during the greater part Of the
Season, especially in the more southern
waters. the fish are very lean and yield
practically no oil. In the Chesapeake a
million fish have frequently been
known to produce less than a barrel OF
oil; in July, 1898, the steamer I. N. Yea
sey caught 1000 barrels Of menhaden
| equivalent to about 100000 fish, which
yielded only six gallons of OIL
The fish taken on the New England
coast always average larger and fatter
than those obtained elsewhere. The
menhaden caught by the steamer J. w
r r LIT kt,.- AA.G. n Il.