The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1909-10-07
The Elusive Mackerel.
"reminiscences of an Old Time Fisherman.
Portland Sunday Times1

in an hour was told about in the papers a
few days ago, when small fishing boat
hailing from Monhegan island came into
Portland with 100 barrels of mackerel.
The three men in this schooner said that
they had left their island home in the
morning and within an hour had seined a
school of mackerel, half Of which got
away from them because Of the breaking
of their net, and for this work they were
paid $500. But the story in the papers
did not tell how many weary hours these
fishermen had cruised in search of the
fish which were once so plentiful.
Old timers remember when Portland
harbor was at times literally filled with
mackerel seiners, when one could walk
on the decks of trim and natty vessels
from one side of dock to the other and
when thousands upon thousands of bar
rels OF mackerel were brought into this
port each season to be packed. That
was some years ago, however, for today
mackerel are very scarce and compare
lively few of them are caught, which
accounts for the large amount paid to
the Monhegan fishermen.
Perhaps the men engaged in the mack
erel trade today, handful compared
with those who once followed this bust
ness, make as much or more money by
their work than did the mackerel seiners
of the early SOS, but it is not often that
any of them get as good haul as did the
Monhegan men.
George Trefethen was for many years
engaged in the fish business in this city
until he retired a few years ago, and he
probably is as familiar with it as any
man in Portland. For many years Mr..
Trefethen and his father and brothers
were engaged in the wholesale fish busi-
ness, and at one time they owned and
operated many fishing vessels.
BANNER YEAR OF '85.
1.-The mackerel catching business reach
ed its height in the season of 1885. SAID
Mr.. Trefethen to Times reporter the
other dav. ''That was the banner year
for this business in Portland, and in fact
everywhere along this coast. In that
year, if my memory serves me right,
there was packed here over 100, 900 bar
rels of mackerel, averaging 200 pounds
to the barrel. So many were caught by
the seiners that there was great fall
ing off in the price. There were I'M
doubtedly several hundred thousand bar
rels of thinkers or small mackerel SEM
ed in that season. After the mackerel
were landed on the decks of the vessels
and picked over, the larger fish We're
saved and the rest thrown overheard and
absolutely wasted. It did not pay to
handle the 'tinkers' then. They sold at
wholesale for $3.50 barrel when pack
ed and the fishermen received rot half
of this price. The larger ones brought
better prices, but nothing in comparison
with what they bring today, or would
bring if any were caught. The packing
of mackerel is thing Of the past today
and | doubt if 100 barrels have been
packed here in the last year; yes, In the
last two years.
1.-THE packers gagged the mackerel as
mess fish, which were very large and
fat and were packed without their heads
and thoroughly cleaned before they were
sailed. the No. 1's', No. 2's', No. 3's'
and the 'tinkers.' There was little eff
fort made then to market the fish fresh.
No one ever thought of trying to ice
them in barrels and shipping them to
other parts of the country and the only
demand for fresh mackerel was in the
local market There was a limit to this,
of course, and little attention was paid
to it. About all the fish caught were
packed in barrels and then shipped all
over the world 1t formed a large In
dustry in this city, and although Port
land did not equal Gloucester as fish
market it was one of the largest on the
coast.
after 1885 the mackerel fishing bust
ness rapidly dwindled and fell away to
little or nothing. | would not care to
attempt to estimate how many vessels
or how many men were engaged in the
business then but there were many hun
dreds of vessels, many of them owned
in Portland or along the Maine coast, and
several thousand fishermen earned their
living in this industry alone. Those now
engaged in it are a handful in compari-
son.
MACKEREL AND THEIR WAYS.
1.-The mackerel are a funny fish and |
do not know as any one fully understands
them or THEN habits but | have always
had the idea that the cause for their
scarcity was due to the wholesale seining
Of them in the years right around 1885.
Up to sometime about 1870 or 1875 all of
the mackerel caught were captured with
hook and line. The fishing vessel was
run up to one of the many schools and a
lot of wash bait thrown overheard to
hold the school alongside while the fisher
men manipulated the hand lines and
pulled them to the deck of the vessel as
fast as they could throw their lines over
the side. For the novice it was exciting
sport, but for the men engaged IN the
business in was regarded as pretty hard
work Sometimes the fishermen manip-
ulated two lines each and they would
throw them out and haul them in as fast
as they could and keep this up for a long
period of time at stretch, while the
decks of the schooners were fairly alive
with tapping, squirming fish, beautiful
fish they are, too, when they are first
pulled from the water and before they
lose their bright hues.
''At that period the schools were kept
about the fishing vessel as long as the
wash bait held out, or until they were
frightened away by mackerel shark
or some other enemy of mackerel, and
then, if the haul had been good one,
every man turned to, splitting and dress
ing down the fish while the schooner ran
to the nearest market and turned their
catch over to the packers; or, if they were
far off shore, the men sailed them down
on the spot and afterwards turned their
catch over to the packers to be properly
dressed, sailed and inspected.
"Had the fishermen been content with
doing business this way, we should have
plenty of mackerel today. AS it was,
they began seining them, and that was
the beginning of the end as far as mack
erel We're concerned. Every fish has it's