The Washington times., 1903-02-08
sARDINE FISHING m BRITTANY.
How the Industry Is Carried Ou-Many
Factories in Nantes

The present great distress among the
sardine ffsheTfoIk Of Brittany draws at
tenuon to the sardiue industry in thr
provinces of Eendee and Brittany. whict
offers many points of interest. Nantes IS
The principal center OF the industry. al
though La Rochelle and other seaports
closely rival the Brittany metropolis to-
day as centers Of sardiue fishing.
The sardine manufacturers of Nantes
own over hundred factories scattered
along the coast between Les Stables
.d'olonne. ST GILES and Belle Isle. Like
COZ, saTdines are season fish. and make
their appearance along the Brittany
coast Il the beginning OF June Their
iavoTite abiding places are at great
depths among marine plants two OF three
miles from the shore The Brittany fish
eFIHen make use Of the same nets TO
capture saTdlnes as for cod. with the eX-
eeptIOn thai the nets have smaller open
lugs- These nets are called 'mauets.
Every year. III june, thousands OF fish
-ng suacks start out from Nantes These
boats are Of light build and only fit for a
calm sea In case Of Il storm they OFT u
have barely time 10 take shelter I'm he
nearest harbOr. The average length of
these craft is from twenty-five to thirty
feet They are fitted with q number OF
large oars, the use OF which IS iudispeu-
sable TO manage the boats on their re-
turn Journey As a general rule the
owners OF the boats act as their captains.
but Of late years many factory owners
have fitted out fishing fleets of their own.
The crew Of each vessel consists OF from
seven to ten men. only three Of whom are
professional saiIors-the captain, mis-
mate and one sailor boy. The others are
peasants, who take advantage of the
farmers dull season to earn few extra
sous.
The start Tor the days fishing takes
place every morning at low tide. AS
soon as a sardine shoal has been sig
nailed, the nets. many Of which are over
600 feet long are thrown overheard
The nets have been previously bIackened
so as not 10 brighten the fish. At the
same time bait is scattered around thu
boat the favorite bait used is called
rogue, and IS made of fish roe. As
soon as the net is filled il is drawn into
the boat. emptied and thrown out again.
As ssrdines spoil easily. the days catch
Is taken 10 port in the evening AT high
tide. After the boats have landed the
'remandeuses. as the saTdine women
are termed. seize the nets stretch them
along the beach and mend them, If nee
essaTy- Meanwhile the boat captains
sell their fish. either to middlemen or q
the factory owners direct When the sale
has been effected the "saTdine women
in the employ Of the factories flock to
the harbor and proceed 10 clean the fish.
This scene is q typical one, and has often
been made a subject for the painters
brush In the conversation between
these sturdy fshwiYes and fishermen the
relative merits OF the days catch are
discussed and commented on.
When the boats have been emptied ana
he fish cleaned the fishermen proceed to
the nearest cabaret. where the days pay
is settled After the cost of bait and
the days food has been deducted the re.
naming sum is so divided that the cap
tain has onehalf the mate a quarter.
and the rest Of the crew the remainder.
When the days fishing has been good
the profits are considerable, but On p
bad day the men are often in distress.
as they have no regular pay.
The factories at Nantes each employ
on an average $50 women. twenty chill
dren, and from fifteen to twenty men,
these last named being mostly Jlnsmiths
The women employees receive small pay
3 OF cents an hour
The preparation OF saFdiHes in oil IS
as follows The fish are first washed n
salt water. then their heads are taken
on and they are cleaned. They are
then sailed and dried in the sun or ia
aerated rooms especially prepared for