766 HISTORY AND METHODS OF THE FISHERIES. 



extensive and important. The seines used here are large and are hauled ashore by means of 

 horse-power, so that a large amount of capital is necessary to carry on the fishery. Seining, how- 

 ever, is also prosecuted to a greater or less extent at Marquette, Mich. ; Whitefish Point, Lake 

 Superior; Escanaba and Oconto, Green Bay; Milwaukee, Racine, and at several points at the 

 east end of Lake Ontario. 



As has been intimated, the seines used in the Detroit River are large, averaging not less than 

 CO fathoms in length and 30 feet in depth, with a mesh varying from If to 2 inches. In most of 

 the other localities mentioned the seines are small affairs, worth usually not more than $20, and 

 but few fish are taken in them. The ones in use at Escanaba, however, are about 70 rods in length, 

 and are valued at $200 each. At Racine the seines are 100 fathoms long, the mesh being about 3 

 inches. About Port Ontario, at the east end of Lake Ontario, there are several seines in use, 

 which are 200 rods long, and from 5 to 7 feet deep, the mesh varying from 3 to 3J inches in dif- 

 ferent parts of the same net. All the seines are set from land, and, so far as could be ascertained, 

 except at Detroit River, are drawn in by hand. The larger ones which are managed in this manner 

 require at least eight men. 



The principal season in which seine-fishing is carried on is the early summer, usually from 

 June to the middle of July. In some localities, however, the seines are used both at this time and 

 also in the fall. 



As might be expected, a great variety of fish is taken in these seines, different fish being 

 more or less abundant in different localities. The principal marketable species which are taken 

 at Escanaba are pike, sturgeon, herring, and bass. In the Detroit River the catch consists 

 mainly of whitefish and pike, known in this locality as "yellow pickerel." Large runs of herring 

 appear frequently in the spring before the arrival of the whitefish, and some of the managers use 

 seines with small meshes for taking quantities of this fish. At Port Ontario the catch is almost 

 entirely of whitefish ; a few sturgeon, suckers, and mullet, together with other varieties of minor 

 value, are also taken. 



There are no peculiarities in the manner of working the seines which it is necessary to men- 

 tion, except, perhaps, some which obtain in the Detroit River. The seine-fishery is by far the most 

 important branch prosecuted in the river, and the seines, with the exception of a few fykes and 

 "baby-pounds," are the only form of apparatus employed. At each of the fishing stations is es- 

 tablished a building for the accommodation of the men engaged in fishing and also for the storage 

 of the fish, and near-by is a pen in which the fish may be kept until such time as they may be sent 

 to market. These pens are constructed of planks and vary in size from a few feet to several acres. 

 The boats employed in connection with this fishery are simple row-boats, 25 or 30 feet long, carrying 

 eight men. In hauling in the seine two windlasses, moved by horses, are employed, to each of 

 which is attached one end of the leading-line of the seine. The net and the windlass are so dis- 

 posed that when the former is hauled in it reaches a spot near the opening of the pen, and the fish 

 are very-easily transferred from it to the pound in which they are to be kept. Usually about six- 

 teen hauls are made in each twenty-four hours, two gangs of men being employed. 



No peculiarities exist in the method of preparing seine-fish for market, except, perhaps, that a 

 large proportion of them are sold fresh. They do not, as a rule, bring a higher price than fish 

 taken by other means. 



