THE RENAISSANCE OF THE FISHERIES 149 



in 1815, and did well. Sixteen schooners were added to 

 the fleet during the next two years, all built in Essex. 

 Marblehead continued to hold the distinction of being the 

 principal fishing town of the New World for half a 

 century after the Revolution, when Gloucester took the 

 lead, a position that it has claimed ever since. 



At the time of the treaty of 1783, the fisheries of 

 Plymouth were of little account. By the opening of the 

 nineteenth century they had expanded to include the cod- 

 fishery, which was carried on to the best advantage, and 

 the mackerel and herring fisheries. During the proper sea- 

 son the shores for two miles above and below the town 

 were devoted to this industry. The products of the catch 

 were sold to Spain or to Portugal, or to islands belonging 

 to those countries. In 1790, the inhabitants of Province- 

 town employed about twenty vessels in the codfishery. This 

 number had increased to thirty-three in 1802, with an ag- 

 gregate tonnage of 1,722 tons. These vessels went to the 

 banks of Newfoundland, the coast of Labrador, and the 

 Bay of Chaleur. The annual catch was about 33,000 

 quintals of fish worth $100,000. About three hundred men 

 and boys were engaged in this business. One-half of the 

 fish were cured in Provincetown. The provisions and 

 stores were purchased in Boston, where the greater part 

 of the catch was sold. Eight thousand hogsheads of salt 

 were used in the fisheries. The taking of mackerel, her- 

 ring, and bass was a local business, and was done by means 

 of seines, each worth about one hundred dollars; there 

 were about fifty seines owned in the town. 



Wellfleet had twenty -five vessels in 1802 engaged in cod 

 and mackerel fishing and in the oyster trade. The inhab- 

 itants took special pride in the quality of oysters to be 

 obtained from Wellfleet, a writer of the time stating, "No 

 part of the world has better oysters than the harbor of 

 Wellfleet." At the opening of the century, Duxbury had 



