The Mathews journal. (Mathews C.H. [Court House]) 1903-1937, 1907-02-07
NIENHADEN FISHING.
Powerful Ships That Chase the Tribe
A Season OF Prosperity.


Many menhaden fishing steamers
are arriving daily. having completed
a fairly prosperous season in the
important industry. Steamers George
p. Squires, Il. Banson Dennis, POGO
moke and Elizabeth Froelich are now
In port. The latter vessel arrived In
tow % the Pocomoke on account Of
disabled tail end shaft and is now
hauled out at the Chesapeake Marine
Railway for repairs.
In recent years this business has
shown healthy expansion, and the
small schooners of past years have
been largely replaced by powerful
ocean going steamers able to cross
the Atlantic. The season opens about
May l and the large fleet of steamers
now engaged in the business follow
the fish up the coast as far as Vine
yard Haven and then back again in
the fall, going south as far as Bodie
Island. where the fleet ceases catch
ing and returns to it's home ports for
the winter. The feet engaged this
year wound up the season last Tues
day.
There are in the Chesapeake Bay
menhaden industry seventeen fac
tories. employing about 1000 men.
Sixteen of these plants are located on
various small streams in Virginia and
one at Crisfield, Md. About 1000
men find employment in the boats.
The menhaden steamers during
the fishing season are always on duty.
The fish bunch in vast schools and
are seen breaking the water a mile
away by the lookout in the crows
nest-a platform built on the steam
er's foremost.
The menhaden are the most valua-
BILE fish for their purposes, being so
rich in oil. The course of the steam
er at sea as soon as the menhaden
ripples are seen breaking the surface
of the water is directed to intercept
the school. When the fnyriads of
silver scaled fish are reached they
are surrounded by purse nets from
$50 to $50 fathoms in length and 900
to 1000 meshes deep. The nets ara
sunk around the fish. and when they
are thorough inclosed the steamer
comes alongside and by means OF a
steam appliance scoops up in another
net, something like a monster crab
net, all of the wriggling, foundering
fish and empties them into the YES
| seis hold.
The cargo is then taken to the fac
tory on shore and converted into oil
| that finds a ready market alb. DAD and
in this country, and into high grade
fertilizers that find ready sale
he vi
The fish are first placed in monster
watts and parboiled. or half cooked,
| which converts them into n pulpy
mass. This mass is put under ire
| mendous pressure and the oil
f, squeezed out. The pressed fish
refuse. after the oil is extracted. is
| placed in a long, revolving cylinder
and subjected to intense heat for the
| purpose of drying. The dried fish
form what is known as scrap and is
| sold to the guano companies in this
city and elsewhere for about $22 a
ton, and is by them manufactured
| into commercial fertilizers.
The expense of maintaining the
menhaden fleet is very great because
| Of the wages, coal consumption. net
supplies and the keeping up OF the
vessels.
Very few food fishes are caught: in
| fact, not enough. as a rule, to supply
the table, and when any are caught
they are not wasted. said a man
interested in the inquiry. Should
more food fish be caught than what
the crew can eat they are marketed
as food fish either at Norfolk or Cape
Charles. Va. However. this is a rare
case. The usual conditions are that
the factories have to buy fish from
local fishermen who make it their
business to catch food fish in traps to
supply the tables at the factories
and aboard the steamers.
The impression that food fish are
manufactured into fertilizer is err
roneous The reason this is not done
can easily be explained. Food fish
range in price from three to ten cents
a pound. and supposing that 1900
pounds of fish should be caught, aver
aging them at five cents pound, the
factory would realize 500 for the
same. Should the factory convert
them into fertilizer it could not real
ize more than 81 or IS for the same
amount OF fish, and would have to
pay out of that amount the expense
of manufacturing Amer
lean.