256 GEOGRAPHICAL EEVIEW OF THE FISHERIES. 



ber of dories employed does not exceed one hundred and fifty. The majority of the fishermen use 

 hand-lines exclusively, but about forty trawls, each with 200 to 400 hooks, are brought into use, 

 chiefly in winter. About 400 quintals of cod are annually dry-salted, 18,000 or 20,000 pounds sold 

 fresh, and the remainder pickled. 



The fishery for bluefish and scup usually begins in June and continues until the latter part of 

 September. Some sixty men arc engaged in this fishery, of whom perhaps one-third use gill-nets 

 for bluefish. About 150 gill-nets are employed. Those fishermen who set nets go alone, but those 

 using hand-lines usually go in pairs. The principal fishing grounds are off the south shore of the 

 island. In 1879 about 400,000 pounds of bluefish and 1,200 pounds of scup were caught. The 

 "-arger proportion of the fish are shipped by two firms to whom the fishermen sell them. About 

 .me-half of the whole amount is shipped to Boston, and the remainder goes to New York, Phila- 

 delphia, Hartford, Providence, and New Bedford. Between 4,000 and 5,000 pounds of eels are 

 annually taken at Nan tucket. 



There are four men at Nautucket and six at Tuckeruuck who make a business of fishing for 

 lobsters, and in addition ten or eleven others are engaged in it at different times. Each man sets 

 from 30 to GO or 70 pots. In 1879 the total catch was 11,250 lobsters. The lobsters are kept in 

 live-boxes, and sold to a smack which comes from New York once in about ten days. In 1879 

 about 250 bushels of sea-clams, 475 bushels of shore-clams, and 150 bushels of quahaugs were 

 gathered. In 1878 a wier worth $100 was set in the harbor, but no fish were taken. In 1879 its 

 shape was altered so that the bowl could be pursed, and it was set farther toward the east. The 

 result was as before, however; no fish were taken, although the weir was placed in a spot where 

 many fish have been caught at other times. 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF NANTTJCKET FISHERIES. The fisheries of Nautucket have altered 

 very much in character since the beginning of the last decade. In 1870 fifteen fishing vessels 

 were owned here, and were engaged in the cod and mackerel fisheries. The business had not been 

 prosperous, however, and in 1869 the question of selling the vessels was raised. At the beginning 

 of 1870, however, there were apparent signs of improvement, and the number of vessels employed 

 lemaiucd the same. But it seems to have been only a temporary gain, for in 1871 only five vessels 

 wcie registered. The next year only three were employed, in 1873 two, and in 1874 none. The 

 next year, however, one vessel was employed in the fisheries, but in 187C it disappeared from the 

 register, and the same was repeated in 1877 and 1878. 



In the fall of 18G9 not only did the offshore fishery prove unprofitable, but the inshore cod 

 fishery failed to an alarming extent. Fortunately, however, for the welfare of the people, extensive 

 beds of sea-clams were discovered on the bars and shoals outside the harbor. During the winter 

 of 1S69-'70, the fishermen found lucrative employment in gathering these clams and shipping them 

 to Gloucester and other ports for bait. In two days in January, 1870, the steamer took from the 

 island 96 barrels of clam bait, worth $1,000. This business is still carried on, but the clams have 

 grown more and more scarce every year. 



In 1871 there were only 70 or 75 bluefish gill-nets in use, but fish were scarce, and many fish- 

 ermen attributed the cause of that scarcity to the destructive tendency of the nets. It is a fact, 

 however, that although prior to 1870 bluefish were taken in large numbers on the north side of the 

 island, soon after that date they became more and more scarce there, and since then nearly all 

 that have been sent to market have been caught off the south shore. Every year, until recently, 

 a number of barrels of bluefish were pickled. 



Scup, which 15 or 20 years ago were abundant in the harbor, and were caught in abundance 

 by the old men and boys off the wharves, are now very scarce, and few find their way to market. 



