194 NEW ENGLAND FISHERIES 



Newfoundland in 1856 for bait in the George's codfishery 

 was a great stimulus to the prosecution of that fishery. 

 The herring furnished excellent bait for the school of 

 cod that appears on George 's in winter. There were twenty 

 firms in the town that owned schooners engaged in the 

 mackerel fishery or fitted out other schooners for the 

 business. In 1859, three hundred and one schooners formed 

 the fishing fleet of the place, manned by 3,454 men and 134 

 boys. The value of the products of the fishery that year 

 was $1,276,704, exclusive of the value of the herring trade 

 with Newfoundland, which was worth $250,000 more. 1 



According to the census report of Massachusetts for the 

 year 1865, the fisheries of Gloucester employed 358 vessels 

 with an aggregate tonnage of 25,670 tons, and the value of 

 the products was $3,319,458. This is a remarkable record 

 of growth, for the value of the fishing industry of Gloucester 

 had increased fivefold, or more, within eighteen years. 

 The products of the fishery were sold principally in Boston, 

 New York and Philadelphia. 2 



The status of the Massachusetts cod and mackerel fish- 

 eries for 1855, and the relative standing of the principal 

 fishing towns show that the number of vessels engaged in 

 the fisheries of the State that year was 1,050, of a tonnage 

 of 71,372, manned by 9,756 men. The amount of capital 

 invested in the industry was $3,638,041, the value of the 

 production for 1855 was $2,753,535, and the gross earnings 

 for the year were nearly 76 per cent of the capital invested. 

 The extent and value of the fisheries of Gloucester surpassed 

 the combined products of Boston and Provincetown, the 

 next towns in importance in the State. 3 



In 1859, Massachusetts had 1,138 vessels employed in the 



1 Goode, Sec. II, p. 692. 



2 Hunt, Vol. xliv, p. 229. 



336th Cong., 1st Sess., Sen. Docs., Vol. I, No. 41, quoting "In- 

 dustry of Massachusetts." 



