New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1897-05-23
THE MYSTERIOUS MAChEREL'
u1s WAYS ARE UNDERSTOOD BY NO
ONE-NO ONE PROTECTS HIM. fEi
HE MULTIPLIEs EXCEEDINGLY.
From The BOSTON Transcript.

From The Boston Transcript. ..r.s -
| Gastronomes who regard mackere pron eiron ~
its own drippngs slightly corned ID 800
brine her as the eaass anticipation indulgence
In their favorite dish during me coiii n vanderers
slowly making its way up up the S eSqs acets
banks since early in March, when the fish BEGAN ega
her anp rSsdr spTnf a nf Of @
the markets are already groanng W VIII ihe al bottom
mark Fifteen schooners from this IA ee I pbt
TbhTda AND bare Of
Ash averaging two pounds apiece were rn and 500
barrels of medum-szed fish to be disposed OF yes
terday. 49,, ,,, ,h,s Goa.
son but This arrival has brought them down from
twenty eight tc nine cents apiece 1or lnIBe an an
Ar ,ti 9ouceste e Marbehead and about Wharf,
where nearly all the boats ensaged In macRer er
are the sole topic of conversation The amount 1s
each catch ana the by I The . returning fish
ermen. and already vessels h@ e begun TO put h GI
will appear off Yarmouth aDout the lotH oil ''''S
month. ,, ~ ,h.
coast declare be the largest that has been seen
in these waters f for ye Or SIX yWbsrf to meet
it: the greater part of the vessels when nave 90, III
he salt sh market having turned from these fields
seek the greater rewards which the present aDum
Gates, Of course, that the coming summer will be
one OF unusual activity in Boston's FISH trade LOT
on the New England coast. the, fishing vessels.
which following them up viii no onger SEEK eS
done since the season opened in March, but VIII
the centre Of distribution for The msfk9re trace
until the fish have left the cur OF 81 LaWTe. ~
Labrador coast.
VARYING FORTUNE.
But the fortunes Of the mackerei fisherman, like
those OF all fishermen, are precarlous 10 an ex
how great are their numbers is only presumptye
evidence to whore and how many they VIII be
the schools up and down the coast until his hair IS
as white as the spray knows this caprcious nsn
could be impaired. and the attempts which haze I'VE
habits have accomplished little more than TO make
obvious his essential unknowableness anu the mys-
terry which envelops his goinGs and comlngs
This much in regard the habits OF the mack
erel seems to be easily demonstrate, that they
spring and southward in the autumn In March
the fishermen found the school now ,d 5 Ing
middle of April the vast multitude had reached the
making its Way past Barneeat and sandy HOOK
About May 15 according to the movements of past
It comes from no one knows with any certainty.
From the size and general character of the fish in
long TO the great littoral schools which have been
approaching from the South leaving. therefore.
in the deep sea. Coincldent with the appearance
Of hs the as r m viii ans
with a suddenness quite as mysterious as the ap
men. however. will then be able TO find rich har.
vests elsewhere. for soon thousands OF acres OF
swept by summer breezes. will be rippled by the
darling fins of cleaning millions. or tossed into
ter before The onslaught OF hungry porpoise
"mackerel shark or a school Of savage dogfish.
IMMENSE SCHOOLS OF FISH
Exasgeration. Is hardly possible IN speaking of
the numbers Of one Of these great schools AS de-
scrbed by cd fishermen, they seem Incredible one
Sd captain f ny @ bs 0ne ffe8 5 by
and at least twenty miles long for several vessels
Another school was once seen of Block Island
which was estimated to contain one million barrels
Considering the fact that they never pro-
tected by man. even during tho spawning season.
air and the water it IS indeed remarkabe that they
have not long ago disappeared from the seas The
gannet is one OF the most destructive enemies the
M R Rdf are hg n have so
that. like the African vulture: they are unable to
gorged from two to four good-sized mackerel Por-
poises, whales and sharks frequently make preda
seen hovering about feeding upon them. Great diff
ncuy Is sometimes experienced in saving fish that
have been caught in purse net, owing the i'm
mense number Of dogfsh that gather around, and
Which they see through the mcshcs bite of the
Sr making sGgf holes in the ssne through
too. ere such active enemies OF these prosecuted
Wates crowded mscGer q 10 be- O
lowed by the disappearance OF the nlackereI
| AT the TIN. Of It's greatest deve.opment from
| 1920 to 1870 nackcrel fishing carried on almost
exclusively With little hooks. with heavily weighted
many years there were from 81; hundred to nine
| hundred vessels, chiefly from Cape Cod and north
ward. engaged In this fishery and In the yesr 1921
| the total amount Of fnackere Galted I'm Maine
New Hampshire and Massachusetts was 400 600 ber-
I rels. The tig has been supplaned by the purse
seine. with the introduction Of which the mackerel
fishery has been entirely revolutiorzed. This In
dustry Is peculiarly American and IL full OF ro-
nance; perhaps not Just the color OF romance how
Courageous" upon which the frequenters Of T
Wharf are inclined to smile little dcprecatingly
| No finer vessels float than the American mackerei
schooners. which are essentially yachts OF great
| speed. beauty and seaworthinesa