BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 459 



112 NOTES ON THE nF\tfU)I\ FISHERY. 



By OSCAR O. FRIEDL4EKDER. 



[From letters to Prof. S. F. Baird.] 



1882. 



The catch of menhaden this year is about 20 per cent, smaller than 

 last year. This is not on account of a scarcity of fish, but of the distance 

 the steamers have to go for them. The great resort for menhaden this 

 year is between Barnegat and the Delaware Breakwater. Just now 

 they are at the latter place, and I think there must be an abundance of 

 food there, especially as I have never, since entering the business, seen 

 such fat menhaden as those caught this summer. Last year the aver- 

 age yield of oil was about 2 gallons to a thousand fish ; this year it is 

 between 5 and gallons. Captain Powers, of the steamer De Blois, tells 

 me that he never saw such a sight of fish before as he saw last Satur- 

 day about 5 miles below the Delaware Breakwater. 



Our catch this season is thus far 19,305,000, with more steamers than 

 last year, when we took 17,069,000. Last week 1 went out on one of 

 the steamers to gather information. The sight of little fish was some- 

 thing extraordinary. For 50 miles along the Jersey coast there was one 

 solid body of fish, which cannot be estimated by numbers ; but if they 

 all were to grow up it would give the whole fishing fleet a plenty of 

 work for twenty years. It is detrimental to our future prospects to 

 catch these fish now when the scrap is not worth 50 per cent, of grown 

 fish. They yield only one-half gallon of oil per thousand fish. I have 

 prohibited our gangs from catching them, and would decidedly recom- 

 mend that purse-seining for menhaden with anything short of a 2^ inch 

 seine be prohibited. In Virginia, which I believe is the bed of these 

 fish, they are taken with 1^ inch seines. Some eastern men are now 

 catching them with 1^ to 2 inch seines. We use 2| to 2£ inch seines at 

 present. 1 am satisfied that if we had not caught the young fish in 

 1876 we should have better fishing now. 



New York, August 29, 1882. 



Our factory has received this season up to date 20,250,000 fish ; 

 Jones & Co. about 23,000,000 fish ; and Hawkins & Co. about 20,000,000 

 fish. The fish commenced to appear on our coast late, which does not 

 preclude the possibility that they were present but unnoticed before 

 that date. 



The best fish we received came from Sandy Hook and its neighbor- 

 hood. Still, I think that the fish caught between Atlantic City, N. J., 

 and the Delaware Breakwater, if received fresh, would yield fully as 

 much oil as those from Sandy Hook. 



