The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1898-09-23
MYSTERIES OF THE MAcKEREL
Appear at But Few Points and No
body Knows Whence They Come.

Appear at But Few Points and No.
body Knows Whence They Come.
From the Fishing Gazette.
The keenest interest now centers in
the mackerel fishery. The first fare of
the season was landed at the Fulton
fish market slip on Tuesday of last
week, ten days in advance of the first
cargo last year, and only five days be-
hind the earliest catch on record. Nor
for years has the outcome of the sea-
sons operations been so widely dis
cussed as now. There are reasons for
1t. of course. They are to be found in
the fact that of late years the supply
of salt mackerel has been Inadequate
for the needs of consumption. Prices,
owing to the scarcity of the fish. have
gradually risen to a point above the
means of the poorer classes--the lar
gest consumers of salt mackerel-and
the fish have become luxury, almost,
OH the tables of the wcll-to-do.
Year after year since the season of
1889, the year when the fishery first be-
gan to show signs of a decline. fisher
men and fish dealers have watched the
advent of each season hopefully. The
movements of the fish as they ap-
preached the coast have been carefully
observed, and signs that in the seasons
of greatest success foreshadowed or
attended the coming of the schools
have been more or less in evidence.
Old fishermen who have followed the
schools up and down the coast until
their hair has grown white as the
foam capped waves have gravely read
the riddle of these signs and have fit
ted out their craft and pursued the
capricious fish throughout each season
with only a vague sort of intuition
which they cannot impart. Its move
ments are to them mystery. They
know something of its habits, when
it may be expected to appear off the
coast, and that is about all.
In this respect the fishery depart.
ment is no better off. 1t is known thai
the fish have migration along the
coast northward in the spring ane
souhtward in the autumn. 1t is be
lieved that their appearance each yeai
is due to the marvellous instinct of re
production which they possess in com
mon with other fishes; but what has
caused the alarming diminution in The
size of the schools that annually visi
our shores is a question on which
science and fishermen are mute. 1t II
not little disappointing to know that
with the -vaunted power of ou
nineteenth century scientific knowledg,
that apparent mystery of the macker
al has not been solved.
This much we do know. In the earl,
part of March the fish is greater o.
less numbers strike the southern coas
in the vicinity of Cape Henry; by tn
middle of April the schools reach tn,
capes of Delaware and slowly advanc,
past Barnegat and Sandy Hook. Abou
the middle of May, according to tn
movement of fish in past years, ;
school will arrive at Yarmouth N. S.
but whence it comes is buried in
mystery. From the size and genera
character of the fish composing TIL
school, it is apparent trlat they do no
belong to the great littoral school
which advance from the south. There
fore it is presumed that they com
from somewhere to the eastward in tn
deep sea.
Simultaneously with the appearance
of this latter school the host of south
ern visitors, having by that time gon
as far as Nantucket VIII vanish witt
a suddenous quite as mysterious a
the appearance of the school off Var
mouth, only to reappear again in tn
bay-indented shores of Massachusetts
! Thenceforth until well into the montl
| of August the waters will be more o
less frequented by the fish.
The rowing habits of this fish ar
we'll known. They appear in and dis
appear from certain localities an
leave no sign, so that 1t is impossibl
| to say with any degree of certaint
| that the rowing schools which frs
visit the bays of New England ar
| identical with those that remai
| throughout the season. OF this muc
we are positive: The movements o
| the fish are practically the same nov
as they were during the period whe
the mackeral fishery first assumed an
| degree of Importance, about the yea
1920
While certain details and importan
data concerning the early years @
the fishery is lacking. enough is know
of the business to establish the fac
that between the years 1S25-perhap
| earlier-and 1870 the method of car
ture was largely with "jigs," littl
h ooks, with heavily loaded shanks. I
is known, too, that Tor many year
| that fishery was carried on almost eY
| clusively by New England fishermen
From the hamlets and fishing village
| around and about Cape Cod from sc
| too 900 craft of various sizes engage
in the capture of fish. In those day,
and we'll down to within a few year
the boats rarely went further sout
than Absecom light. Rich harvest
of the fish were found abreast of Sar
dy Hook and about the shores of Bloc
islands. The darting fins of gleamin
millions of fish rippled the waters fc