486 HISTORY AND METHODS OF THE FISHERIES. 



&. BLOATER HERRING. 



10. ORIGIN, METHODS OF PREPARATION, AND STATISTICS OF THE BLOATER- 

 HERRING INDUSTRY. 



ORIGIN AND GROWTH. Smoked bloaters were prepared as early as the sixteenth century, for 

 Shakespeare mentions the bloater in his writings. Just where the method originated is not known, 

 but Scotland has certainly developed the business to a greater extent than any other country, and 

 the town of Yarmouth has been the leader in this industry for more than a century. Bertram, in 

 speaking of the herring fisheries of Scotland, says : 



''There hqs always been a busy herring fishery at the port of Yarmouth. A century ago 

 upwards of two hundred vessels were fitted out for the herring fishery, and these afforded employ- 

 ment to a large number of people, as many as six thousand being employed in one way or another 

 in connection with the fishery."* He also claims that the origin of the name is derived from the 

 peculiar roundish or bloated appearance acquired during the process of curing. 



Notwithstanding the fact that the bloater has been generally known as an important article 

 of commerce throughout Europe for many centuries, it was not known to the American dealers 

 till within the last half century, and, according to the statements of prominent dealers, it is only 

 thirty-five years since the first bloaters were put up in the United States. Mr. Wilcox informs us 

 that Boston was the first city to engage in the preparation of bloaters in this country, and that they 

 were first smoked about 1859. At this time considerable quantities of large fat herring were 

 brought to the Boston market from the Bay of Islands, Newfoundland. Many of these were utilized 

 for smoking, and the bloaters prepared from them were said to be of excellent quality. When it 

 was found that there was a demand for the bloater in the markets, one of the enterprising Boston 

 dealers attempted to secure a patent on the process of curing; but in this he was unsuccessful, as 

 his opponents, by quoting from Shakespeare, showed conclusively that the idea was not a new one, 

 and that bloaters were known hundreds of years earlier. The Boston business developed gradu- 

 ally, until, in 1868, as high as 10,000 barrels of herring were annually smoked and put upon the 

 market as Yarmouth bloaters. 



Shortly after the introduction of the bloater into the Boston market, parties in the vicinity of 

 Eastport began preparing the fish in the same manner. The introduction of the method into this 

 region is, according to Mr. J. F. Buck, of Eastport, the result of measures taken by the Dominion 

 government to encourage its subjects in the careful preparation of fishery products. It seems that 

 a thorough examination of the fisheries in 1849 revealed the i'act that the larger part of the sea- 

 products were improperly cured, and that, consequently, much of their value was lost to the fish- 

 ermen on account of the low price realized for them in the different markets. Accordingly, a 

 series of local fish-fairs were inaugurated and kept up for some time. These were usually held in 

 the fall, and the people of the vicinity were induced to place their best-cured products in competi- 

 tion for money prizes that were given as premiums. Considerable interest was aroused, and the 

 contest in many sections became quite exciting, the fishermen giving careful attention to the 

 preparation of their fish. It was certainly an ingenious method of educating the people in a line 

 in which they were sadly deficient. This rivalry led to the preparation of fish in different ways, 

 and bloater herring were at this time first prepared by Scotch fishermen, who had been familiar 

 with the method in the mother country. When first introduced into the region these fish met with 

 little favor, and the business was consequently small, nothing of importance being done for same 



* II.-ii vvt ,,(' the Sea, p. 194. 



