CHAPTER VIII 



THE RENAISSANCE OF THE FISHERIES 



The history of the fisheries subsequent to the Revolu- 

 tionary War falls naturally into three divisions: the first 

 embraces the period of our Federal Government down to 

 the treaty of 1818; the second extends from 1818 to the 

 close of the Civil War; and the last reaches from that 

 conflict to the present time. The first period is char- 

 acterized by a war with Great Britain which destroyed 

 the fisheries during the continuance of active hostilities, by 

 a steady increase in the extent and importance of the 

 industry during the years of peace, but by no radical 

 changes either in methods of catching fish or in establish- 

 ing new industries. The second period marks the expan- 

 sion of the deep-sea fisheries, the rise and development of 

 the mackerel fishery, and important beginnings in the 

 oyster, herring and menhaden industries. The last period 

 witnesses the introduction into general use of revolu- 

 tionary methods for taking ground-fish, mackerel and 

 menhaden, the origin and growth of the canning industry, 

 the evolution of processes of fish-culture chiefly by the 

 establishment of a national fish commission, and the intro- 

 duction of new methods for preserving and transporting 

 the products of the sea. 



The recovery of the fisheries after peace had been de- 

 clared was slow. In the earlier years there had been rapid 

 recoveries after colonial wars in which there had been more 



129 



