174 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 



" New Bedford, June 5. — The greatest week's work at this time in 

 the season was made by Messrs. J. Church & Co.'s steam fishing fleet 

 last week. The Joseph Church, Jemima Boomer, A.M. Hathaway, and 

 George W. Humphrey nearly every day were loaded almost to the 

 water's edge. The George W. Humphrey brought in 2,200 barrels ou 

 Saturday, and the A. M. Hathaway the same number. The catch was 

 made in the Seconet River. The first of last week this gang were fish- 

 ing back of Long Island Sound, but as the fish worked this way the 

 fleet followed them to Seconet River. Tbe catch last week amounted 

 to about 19,000 barrels, and the Narragansett oil works at Portsmouth 

 are consequently running day and night. While the George W. Hum- 

 phrey was coming up from below Long Island on Wednesday night, 

 loaded hold and deck, she encountered a heavy sea which swept her 

 deck load of 800 barrels of menhaden into the water, which probably 

 was the means of saving the steamer." 



Gloucester, Mass., June 14, 1883. 



Since my last letter mackerel have come on the coast in considerable 

 numbers. During the past week there have been thirty-five arrivals 

 with 4,840 barrels of salt mackerel. On last Thursday and Friday 

 (June 14 and 15) there were thirty-one arrivals in Boston with 4.000 

 barrels of fresh mackerel. The mackerel are small — smaller than those 

 of last year. Most of them have been caught from 20 to 40 miles easfc- 

 southeast of Thatcher's Island. Two vessels came in last night from 

 t lie southeast part of Cashe's with 4G0 barrels — most of them larger 

 mackerel. Mackerel have got through spawning; among 100 barrels 

 of them landed at the canning factory I saw no spawn. The weather 

 has been unfavorable for fishing during the last four days — mostly thick 

 fog; with fair weather there would have been a good catch. Mackerel 

 sold to-day for $0.25 a barrel — with the barrel out of pickle, and no 

 inspection. 



Pogies are abundant along shore. The small boats catch enough in 

 their nets for bait, which is what they have not done before for five 

 years. The weirs at Portsmouth were full of pogies last Monday ; and 

 they have been caught as far east as Portland. 



Gloucester, Mass., June 21, 1883. 



The amount of fish landed at Gloucester during the month of June 

 was as follows: George's Bank cod, 1,570,000 pounds; George's halibut. 

 44,550 pounds; Western Bank cod, 3,525,000 pounds; Western Bank 

 halibut, 95,000 pounds; Cape North cod, 2,200,000 pounds ; shore lis] i. 

 consisting equally of cod, cusk, and hake, 1,355,000 pounds; fresh hal- 

 ibut caught on Grand Banks, 924,000 pounds; mackerel landed, 12,755 

 pounds. Two hundred and ninety-five barrels of pogies were caught in 

 seines at the mouth of Gloucester Harbor, and 88 barrels of them were 

 taken in weirs in the harbor; 78 barrels of mackerel were caught in 



