THE MACKEREL AND ITS ALLIES. 169 



The wonderful abundance of Mackerel in the Western Atlantic has 

 always been a subject of remark. Francis Higginson, in his " Journal of 

 his Voyage to New England, 1629," speaks of seeing " many schools of 

 Mackerel, infinite multitudes on every side of our ship," off Cape Ann on 

 the 26th of June ; and Richard Mather, in his journal, 1635, states 

 that the seamen took abundance of Mackerel off Menhiggin (Monhegan). 

 In Gov. Winthrop's journal, speaking of the year 1639, he remarks : " There 

 was such a store of exceeding large and fat Mackerel upon our coast this 

 season as was a great benefit to all our Plantations, since 'one Boat with 

 three men would take in a week ten hogsheads, which were sold at Con- 

 necticut for ^3 i2s. od. per hogshead." 



Their abundance has varied greatly from 3' ear to year, and at times their 

 numbers have been so few that grave apprehensions have been felt lest 

 they should soon depart altogether. 



As early as 1670, laws were passed by the colony of Massachusetts for- 

 bidding the use of certain instruments of capture, and similar ordinances 

 have been passed from time to time ever since. The first resource of our 

 State governments has always been, in seasons of scarcity, to attempt to 

 restore fish to their former abundance by protective legislation. It seems 

 to us at the present day absurb that the Massachusetts people should have 

 supposed that the use of shore-seines was exterminating the Mackerel on 

 the coast of Massachusetts, but it is a fair question whether their appre- 

 hensions were not as well grounded as those of legislators of the present 

 century who have endeavored to apply a similar remedy for a similar evil. 

 In the author's writings upon " The Mackerel Fishery" published else- 

 where, is shown a diagram, which, by means of curves, exhibits the catch 

 of Mackerel in New England for a period of seventy-five years. 



From a study of this it seems quite evident that the periods of their 

 abundance and scarcity have alternated with each other without reference 

 to overfishing or any other causes which we are prepared to understand. 

 In the year 383,5483^ barrels of Mackerel Avere caught by the citizens of 

 Massachusetts. In 1881 the number of barrels salted was 269,495 ; to 

 this, however, should be added 125,000 barrels caught and marketed 

 fresh by the Massachusetts fleet, making an aggregate of 394,495 barrels. 



The stories which are told by experienced fishermen of the immense 

 numbers of Mackerel sometimes seen are almost incredible. Capt. King 

 Harding, of Swampscott, Mass., described to me a school which he saw 



