The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1898-09-23
sARoINe FISHING AND CANNING
Curious Features-No One Ever saw "A
Live sardine Out of Water.

are now crying out. "Sardines dc
Nantes!" and the grocers display the lit
tie vanished boxes labelled "Sardines
"A Ihuile. fabrication 1895" But where
DO the sardines come from? Certainly
not from Nantes. They come from Qui-
boron. DOuarneneZ. C~oncarnedu, CrOisic
and especially from Belle Isle.
The sardine fishing season commences
at the beginning Of June As soon as
the fishermen OF the coast of Brittany
notice shoals of porpoises or hocks of
seagulls of shore in great numbers they
Immediately make sail. for the sardine
is there. The birds and porpoises To-
cate him. The building and repairing
OF the sardine fishing boats during what
} is called the dead season give employ
ment to "A great many woTkmen. As a
rule, they are ~lO-tonners, with a crew Of
from six to ten men. The captain and
the mate are the only professional fish
crmen on board; the others are men Of
all trade The outfit consists exclusive
~ Of nets with very small meshes. n
their length is from 100 TO 500 metres.
The upper parts OF the nets are kept
upOn the surface of the water by cOrks
and the entire machine is held rigid by
pieces Of lead at the bottom. The nets
are all tainc a sort Of sea green color,
To render them less visible.
When the first school OF sardines is
" lt bodAH al III W III llTlliil6
grounds. The exact presence of the fish
is determined by an oily substance on
the surface of the water and also by n
considerable quantity Of little scales.
which give the water a metallic appear
ance. In calm weather. as soon as the
captain has his boat Immediately over
the shoal he lowers his nets. and two
men of the crew. with great oars. work
steadily to keep the boat stationary,
while the others lower the nets. Stand
ing at the stern of the boat the captain
throws the chum overheard. This chum
is "A bait madc OF mo 80 .
fish. and IL keeps the fish i'm the desired
place. A spot that is well baited in
this way is called Harden in French, and
the casting OF the chum is called bailler.
In a few moments, If the fish are
plentiful. new quantities Of scales loaf
upon the surface and the net itself is
agitated by the struggles of the i'm
mense lumber Of fish. Then il is lifted,
and while the sails are again hoisted
and the boat pointed for shore the men
of the crew shake the nets and toss the
fish upon the deck
A curious thing about this kind of
fishing is that one rarely sees a living
sardine out Of the water. The FISH make
a little squeak when taken from the
water n die instantly. OF the $50 or 800
fishinC boats fitted out at Belle Isle
about 200 belong to Palais and the 9TH
ers to SauZon. IL is i'm these two ports
that the fishermen sell their fish. An
ordinary catch Of sardines gives to each
boat from 5000 to 1000 fish, and the
price is regulated by the quantity
brought in by the first corners. Upon
the docks the representatives of the
great preserving establishments hail
the fishermen, who tell them that they
alone caught enough worth mentioning
n that the other boats caught moth
ing. Then they enter into a discussion
regarding the price.
How many thousand have you, Jan
nic?"
About 5000
Then ! will give YOU : francs a
thousand"
"oh, no. that is not enough. I cannot
sell at that price"
But as the rest Of the hotilla appear.
all the first corners consent TO sell their
fish at seven francs per 1000, and in an
hour afterward the later arrivals can
only 80 Ccntimes per 1000, and
sometimes they can get no sale what
ever for their catches and are obliged
to throw the saTdines overheard. be-
cause he little fish emain fresh for
only two or three hours at most.
on the other hand, If the run Is not
exceptionally numerous, all the fish are
bought At from 80 to 40 francs per 1000. |
and sometimes ever at - francs per
/, 600.
Sardine fishing is more or less dan
often boats that put to sea in
rough weather never come back. When
the sardines are sold on the docks they
taken I'm baskets to the me
Each basket contains 200 fish. In add
ton to the price paid to him on the
dock the captain usually gets about
half "A gallon of wine for himself and
his crew.
During the sardine season about 300
women and so men a~nNiously await the
arrival of the first fish boats. IL there
no fish. there Is no work FOR them.
When the news arrives that the boats
their welcome Cargoes. the wo-
men, i'm their picturesque costumes.
rush to the cannery like a flock of
sheep, and each takes her
place I'm the great room where the fish
undergo their first preparation. Here
the sardlncS are spread uppn the table
and sprinkled with salt. Their they
cleaned. and when hat operation
l. finished they are sorted by little BOYS
according to their size and carried into
another part Of the establishment,
where they are put in pickle.
The length Of time required by his
operation varies according to the size
the fish. After his the fish are
washed and placed. one by one. with
great care. upon wire nets. called girls.
and put on: to dry i'm the open air. If
the weather is wet or even fog this
operation becomes impossible. and the
fish spoil and become worthless. except
for fertilizer.
This serious Inconvenience has been
avoided lately by the construction of
a mechanical drier. a sort Of immense
Nentilator run by powerful machinery.
FOR a Few moments are sardines are eN-
posed To n strong current of air, and
Immediately afterwaTd, while stil upon
the girls, they are plunged itno tanks
of boiling olive oil. This bath lasts
from three Ia five minutes. according 10
the size Of the fish. In order that the
oliNe oil may retain its natural taste.
the tanks d" not come i'm direct contact
with the fire. but are heated by steam
tubes. After this cooking. the sardines