232 NEW ENGLAND FISHERIES 



dance and good qualities of the lobster, and it is very 

 probable that it was regarded as an important food-fish. 

 Its use, however, was confined to the people of the sea coast 

 for a long time, and it was not until 1840, or later, that 

 the lobster was used to any extent at any distance from 

 its natural surroundings. 



The lobster canning industry of the United States was 

 first attempted at Eastport, Maine, in 1840, and it was 

 made successful in 1843. The business was in the experi- 

 mental stage for several years. Salmon, halibut, and 

 vegetables were canned in addition to lobsters. By 1854, 

 canned goods from Eastport were being shipped to 

 California. In 1850, there were only three canneries in 

 the United States engaged in hermetically sealing fish, 

 meats, fruits and vegetables. The supply of lobsters for 

 the Eastport canneries came at first from the westward, 

 probably beyond Penobscot Bay; the lobster fishery was 

 not introduced in that vicinity until 1853, as it was sup- 

 posed there were no lobsters in the vicinity. About 1870, 

 owing to the fact that there was a noticeable scarcity of 

 lobsters on portions of the Maine coast, American capi- 

 talists interested in the lobster canning industry began to 

 establish canneries on the coast of the British Provinces. 

 By 1880 the amount of American capital so invested ex- 

 ceeded that invested in lobster canneries on the coast of 

 Maine. 1 The canning of lobsters at Eastport continued 

 to develop from 1855 to 1865, reaching its height about the 

 latter year. Since that time it has declined in American 

 waters, until it is no longer profitable to be carried on. 

 "As the decline in the supply was attributed to the 

 canneries, a sentiment against them was gradually formed, 

 and laws were enacted regulating the time in which they 

 should operate and the size of the lobsters they should put 

 up. Prior to 1879, they were permitted to pack lobsters at 



i Goode, Sec. V, Vol. II, pp. 687-689. 



