THE SPANISH MACKEREL FISHERY. 547 



leader to allow the fi.sh to enter. The T-set, shown in Fig. 7, somewhat resembles the one 

 already described, the chief difference being that the ends of the outer net, instead of being bent 

 at right angles, arc turned inward to form a triangle at the outer extremity of the leader. In 

 the third set, Fig. 8, the two nets are so arranged as to form a harpoon, from which the set takes 

 its name. 



The "ill nets of this region are worth from $90 to $100 apiece. They are about 100 fathoms 

 long and 10(1 meshes deep, the si/e of the mesh varying from 3 to 4 inches. The men fish in 

 "gangs," one net being owned by the crew of each boat. The nets are set on the best fishing 

 grounds at daybieuk, and are left for several hours, while their owners fish with hand-lines in the 

 vicinity. The catch is divided equally, the share for a single net being sometimes as high as $1,000 

 for a season, which lasts from six weeks to two mouths. 



Gill nets were introduced into the Spanish mackerel fisheries of Chesapeake Bay in 1877, and 

 proving fairly successful, they soon came into general favor among the fishermen of the Eastern 

 Shore, though they are even now seldom employed by those living on the opposite side. There 

 are at present about one hundred and seventy-five men engaged in "gilling" for mackerel between 

 Crisfield, Md., and Occohannock Creek, which is 30 or 40 miles from the capes. The nets were at 

 first set only in the night, but during 1880 the fishermeu of Tangier Island obtained the best results 

 by fishing from the middle of the afternoon until midnight. The nets range from 75 to 100 fathoms 

 in length, and have a similar mesh to those already mentioned. The catch varies considerably, as 

 many as 500 mackerel having been taken at one set, though the average is only 20 to 40 to the net. 



The pound net is now the principal apparatus for the capture of mackerel in all localities where 

 the fishery is extensively prosecuted. According to Mr. R. B. Chalker, of Saybrook, Conn., pound- 

 nets were first used in the fisheries of New England at YVestbrook, Couu., in 1849, and from that 

 locality they spread rapidly to other portions of the coast. They were first introduced at Sandy 

 Hook, N. J., by Mr. George Snediker, of Graveseml, Long Island, about 1855. Mr. Snediker has 

 probably done more to develop the pound-net fisheries of the United States than any other man in 

 the country. It was from him that the fishermen of New Jersey, as well as those of Chesapeake 

 and Delaware Hays, obtained their first idea of pound-nets, he being the first to introduce them 

 into the fisheries of each of these regions. He has also engaged in the pound-net fisheries of 

 Albemarle Sound, though he cannot claim the credit of introducing the net into those waters. 



The first pounds fished in New Jersey were very small, and, being placed along the inner shore 

 of Sandy Hook, they were hardly a success, as the fish are much less abundant there than 

 along the outer shore. The same style of pounds were, however, fished with varying success until 

 about 1S73, when larger ones were placed along the ocean shore ; and then, for the first time, their 

 importance in connection with the Spanish mackerel fishery was discovered. The majority of the 

 mackerel secured about Sandy Uook are now taken in this way. One hundred fish in number was 

 considered an average daily catch for the fishing season of 1879, and 100 to 140 for 1880, though 

 much larger catches were occasionally secured. The best day's fishing for a pound-uet in that 

 locality occurred in the summer of 1879, when Mr. Robert Potter took 3,500 pounds, valued at 

 $700, at a single lift. 



An effort was made as early as 1858 by Captain Henry Fitzgerald to introduce the pound- 

 net into the waters of Chesapeake Bay, but his net was not properly constructed, and was so uusuc 

 cessful that it was soon taken up. No other attempt was made to fish with pound-nets in this 

 region until about 1870, when Mr. Suediker and Charles Doughty, of Fairhaven, N. J., came to 

 the region, and located on the banks of the James River a few miles above its mouth. They 

 fished chiefly for shad and alewives, continuing their work for about three years, after which they 



