The Portland daily press., 1898-12-30
WILL HELP PORTLAND DEALERS
Gloucester Fish Syndicate Is Having
Troubles ofIts Own.

: Gloucester, December 29.-There is con i.
siderable excitement over the announce
ment made here today that nearly half
the owners here of the outside vessels in
the fresh halibut trade. have made an
agreement to market the soatches of their
vessels at either Boston or Portland.
This action, it is stated has been taken
because of the dissatisfaction existing
over the manner in which the buying OF
fresh halibut is cond ucted at this port
The fresh halibut fishing fleet from this
port numbers about 81 vessels of which
nearly one-half are outside vessels.
During the last few days there have
been rumors that something serious was
developing as in that time at least three
aoutsiders'' had landed their fares in
Boston, the latest one being the Arbi-
traitor Captain Leumel Spinney, which
reached Boston this morning.
This new movement threatens serious
results to the fishing interests of this
city, especially as there are signs OF sharp
dissension in another important branch
of the winter fresh fishing industry.
INQUIRY in Portland on this matter re-
veals the following facts: Two years ago
syndic to of Gloucester fish dealers,
known as the Gloucester Fresh Fish com
pany, undertook to control the fish in
terest. to the exclusion of Boston and
Portland. Then the Boston fish dealers on
L wharf organized, and for time o fierce
war waged between these two syndicates.
The Portland dealers suffered not little
from this DEAL Before these syndicates
obtained control Of the larger part of the
fishing fleet Portland did It's share of the
business. but the vessels of both the Bos-
ton and Gloucester syndicate were forbid
den dealing with the Portland fish buyers
SO IN consequence the dealers here felt the
competition of the big syndicates not a
little.
It may be remarked also that during
the last two years Portland has done but
little business in handling the proceeds of
winter fishing.
But this year the Gloucester Fish CONS
pany has found 1T extremely difficult to
find crews for the vessels it owns. There
was great deal of trouble about the
prices paid for fish and the men who have
cen customed to sail in Gloucester yes
sells refused to go fishing this winter at
the wages offered by the syndicate. As a
consequence man of the Gloucester vessels
we're lald up. Then too, the shippers OF
the Gloucester fishing fleet although under
contract to sell their catches exclusively
to the Gloucester dealers have been steal
ing into other ports and disposing of their
fares as they wished and often times at
far better prices.
While no deals have so far been made
between tine Portland dealers and the
fsner,pen it is generally understood here
that the Gloucester fresh Fish company
has.been having trouble with some OF its
fishing fleet and that in the future Port
land may handle more of the halibui
catch than heretofore.
Most of the halibut are caught or
Georges, German or Browns banks, and
as it is far easier oftentimes for fishermen
to reach Portland from these fishing
grounds than it is to get into Gloucester
a revival of the halibut business is looked
| for in this port.