The Washington herald., 1909-03-14
LARGEST SHADCATCHES
North Carolina Holds Record as a Fisherman !
Paradise-Great Take" with Seine.


ing mass Of FISH over and across the line
which marks the outer border OF the long
and low shed. Up come the gates and
there are the fish. The prevailing effect
Is OF dazzling white, and even in the
night time there is a CLINT and a CLEAN
about them which seems almost uncanny.
They seem TO focus and increase what
ever light there is
The fish are fairly ieaped upon. The
men from the United States fish hatchery
and their helpers, including some Of the
fishery people, lay eager hands upon the
shad. upon one section Of broad counters
under the shed being scores Of shallow tin
pans Into which the eggs are skillfully
pressed with a deft motion of the hand
the fish thus stripped being returned TO
the pile the male fish being treated In the
same manner and then water poured upon
the mass in the pans, the pans being
shaken now and then and SO handled that
in a little time the eggs. properly ferti-
lized. form, granulate and finally feel like
small shot to the touch. then being ready
20 be transferred to a swift gas boat and
be taken TO the hatchery al Edenton.
The fsherwives are meanwhile busy be-
heading and cleaning the herrings which
are to be treated in that way. the roe
shad being kept separate and instantly
going into the packing boxes and the ice
most OF them going to the great markets
North, New York, Philadelphia. Boston,
SC, for this fishery is known wherever
the shad is known and its fish
bring perhaps the highest price, those
taken in these seines being far preferred
20 those taken in set nets or in pound
nets. where they are dead longer and
where cells play havoc with them by suck
ing.
Ready to ship.
OF the herrings. part are kept entire;
that Is, with the roe and others are be-
headed and entirely stripped. These are
very quickly moved into the interior Of
the great shed, where they go into the
stands" which hold 5000 each, and
where they are salted or corned. and
packed in kits or barrels and shipped
everywhere.
II requires eight days 10 thus prepare
the roe herring and four days for the
bucks or males. Everything possible is
done at the fishery AL the boxes and kits
being made there The icing is thorough
and no time Is lost in rushing the fresh
fish TO Norfolk. whence they are shipped
TO the great Northern markets. some OF
them going 10 the West and few 10
Canada. The fresh herrings are sold in
considerable numbers to persons who
have come from the up country. say
from twenty to fifty miles. In carts. and
these people vend them, often taking all
sorts Of things in barter or trade this.
like the fishery Itself. being a survival Of
old times.
Inside Of the shed young Mr.. Capehart
showed all kinds OF figures with the years
above them and called attention 10 the
fact that the largest haul Of shad ever
made az this Avoca fishery was in 1858.
by George Capehart, when 5000 were
taken. The records thus kept by the
marking brush. showed very remarkable
takes: April % and 80. 1901. Ave hauls
brought in respectively 22l0. S.S755l9.
1925, and 4.445 shad- The largest haul OF
herrings wes $4,000, which filled sixty
stands. 1900 TO the stand.
Another remarkable haul was in May.
1876. when $4,000 pounds OF striped bass.
known in North Carolina as rock fish,
were taken, the succeeding haul bringing
in 1900 pounds. These FISH ran In weight
from so TO los pounds. many being as long
as man. and the roe taken from one
weighed a pounds. Those were the great
days, for now in a whole season only
S.0C0 to 10000 pounds OF striped bass are
taken and these are hurried North. the
demand for them being very keen
Sturgeon Only a Memory.
At one time the catch OF sturgeon was
very important. but this. too, is now little
more than a memory. Il was not until
long years after the civil war that IT was
found by the Avoca people and by other
fishermen in the Albemarle country that
there was a great sale for sturgeon eggs.
notably in Russia and other countries Of
Northern Europe. where they are made
into caviare. The roe now brings 81 the
pound
In the great catches Of herring and
sometimes Of shad smaller nets are used
to back" the great seine, men dropping
these nets so as TO re-enforce the seine
and prevent the escape OF fish. Garfsh.
sometimes of great size. and sturgeon
give most trouble. Eels are taken and
these are shipped North 20 be eaten BY
Germans. In the old days there were
some great catches OF herring. but the
season Of 1901 holds the record f3e shad
at Avoca. the catch then amounting 10
l3o, ,496, these filling 7,776 boxes.
Last year roe shad were selling at 20
cents and buck at 20 cents Sometimes
the market IS glUtted and roe shad once
sold at cents each. That season 10000
of them were hauled 70 the plantation.
to be used as fertilizer and were simply
put in the corn hills. In fact. in the old
times herrings and various kinds of COM
mon fish were frequently used this way
in Eastern North Carolina. and a formula
Of some Of the coast farmers was "a
herring to the hill." those who believed in
high fertilization using two herrings.
From o. 10 100 persons are employed
and their loyalty 70 their employers and
10 their work is in sharp contrast 10
that OF so many up-country negroes, who
are so markedly unreliable and shiftless.
There must be a fascination in this life
which appeals to the negro mind.
Life Is Unique.
The negro quarters along the beach.
aanking right and left the gigantic shed.
are very curious indeed. Life there is at
its toughest. the negroes sleeping indoors
and out. cooking going on incessantly day
and night. and some Of the "shacks"
having most wonderful hreplaces Of chin
neys, the latter being supported upon four
logs, made smooth by use. Venerable
negroes. with snowy hair and bent backs.
once active at the fishery. potter about.
for they consider II as really their own
plant and show very evidently the air Of
prOprietOrship.
Striking as are the scenes In daylight
az the AvOca fishery, they are even more
so when the night comes on and under
the hooded shed the acetylene easlichts
flicker. one Of these being Of great size
and looking like an eye Of fire amid the
gloom. There IS a strange Quietness pre-
vailing, the only note being the soft
tapping Of the water on the gentle slope
Of the shore. The beach is steep in the
rear Of the great FISH hoUse-a blufT, in
fact-and on this tableland there is to be
heard the whinny Of horses. since for
years IL has been a camping place for the
people who come 20 get fresh fish.
IL Is one OF the customs OF the place to