The Penn's Grove record., 1903-05-08
FISHING A FAILURE.
Virginia Fisheries Have Made Light
Catches.

Catches.
This year has been notable as a failure
in the fishing interest all along the Attain
tic coast. D. P. Leonard, agent for q
New York fish dealer, who is now on
Virginia Beach, mailed the Record q
copy Of the Norfolk, Va, Landmark
which contained the following article
concerning the of the small catches
of fish:
Reports from the various fisheries OF
this section are to the effect that the sea-
son which now should be in full swing is
very much delayed and the catches are
hardly worth the expense and trouble OF
shipping.
This fact is puzzling to the fishermen
and has caused them to advance several
theories as to the probable cause OF the
scarcity Of fish. At this time of the year
bluefsh and Spanish mackerel compose
the principal catches. When these are
running" the hearts of the fishermen
are glad. There is a ready and profitable
market for them, and during the time
they are in season the fishing sections are
prosperous.
One Of the reasons advanced by the
fishermen as to the scarcity of the finny
tribe are the numerous icebergs which
have become detached from the fields OF
the frozen north, and for this season OF
the year are floating unusually far south
in the Atlantic ocean. This causes a re-
markably low temperature, causing the
fish to migrate slowly from their spawn
ing grounds.
Between Cape Henry and Cape Fear
are numerous pound nets, representing
thousands of dollars in value, and hun
dreds of men who earn their daily bread
by catching the inny tribe. The scarcity
of fish means that there is poverty to "a
more or less extent in this region. This,
however, will soon be over, as the APP
proach of Summer will bring myriads OF
schools of fish to the shores, and these
will be caught in the meshes, packed in
ice and shipped in post haste to the
markets OF this country.
FISHING sMACKs DO THEIR SHARE.
While pound nets are the principal
method of catching fish by the wholesale,
yet the numerous deep-sea fishing smacks
do their share of the business. During
the past two seasons Norfolk has become
the headquarters of these vessels. Form
erly it was considered more economical
for these smacks, when after accumulat-
ing a load OF fish to set sail for New York,
and after depositing their cargo to again
sail for the fishing grounds.
This, of course, took considerable time,
but it saved the cost Of freighting. Elk
perience, however, has proved to the
owners of these vessels that it is cheaper
in the end to bring their fish to the near
est port and then ship them via rail and
steamer to the Northern markets.
This saves considerable time and the
smacks are able to make more trips and
catch more fish. 1t has been found more
expedient to adopt this method, as the
income at the end of the season has been
found to be considerably greater, after
the cost Of the freight has been deducted.
Bluefsh are caught by these vessels by
the clubbing method"
ARE CAUGHT WITH CHUBs.
Clubbing consists of chopping up I'M
marketable fish, and when in the vicin--
ity. of a school of the inny tribe this is
scattered over the surface of the water.
Bluefish are considered the greediest of
the fish family, and when they see 'feed''
they gather in numerous quantities,
when they are gathered in by the fisher
men with nets which have been placed a
few feet below the surface of the water.
Both pound and deep-sea fishing are
expensive, but Of the two pound fishing
is the most dangerous. During the past
several seasons the casualties among fish
ermen off the coast of Airginia have been
great, and with each season comes re-
ports of fish boats being swamped by
heavy seas and the occupants drowned.
Storms and sharks are the two greatest
drawbacks to pound fishing. The form
er causes heavy seas, which wash down
the poles, while the latter play havoc
when they are caught in the nets. It is
frequently the case after a storm that it
becomes necessary to almost entirely re-
place a set Of pound poles. This is an
expensive and slow operation and often
puts the pound out of business for the
entire season.
The fisheries off Virginia Beach report
that the season is beginning to open and
the owners are preparing for the event.
Butter fish are now running, and these
will be caught until the larger variety ap-
pear.