3i8 AMERICAN FISHES. 



Pounds. 



Weirs on north side of Cape Cod 436 



Weirs on south side of Cape Cod 3,600 



Weirs in Vineyard Sound 326,620 



Weirs in Buzzard's Bay 15, 749 



Weirs on Block Island, (estimated) 94,500 



Weirs in Fisher's Island Sound, (estimated) 4,000 



Weirs on eastern end of Long Island 14,000 



Weirs on Rhode Island - ._. 172,250 



663,555 

 From other localities 50,000 



713^555 

 Estimated annual catch of Flat Fish 600,000 



1. 313. 555 

 Value of the above, at four cents a pound, ^52,542.00. 



These statistics of the catch in pound-nets include Plaice and Flat Fish, 

 and in the statement of the total catch no distinction will be made 

 between these two species. 



Immense numbers of them are sometimes taken in large seines hauled 

 up on the beach. In 1S76, E. Cleveland seined 128,000 pounds at 

 Menemsha Bight, Mass. By far the greater quantity, however, is taken 

 by small fishing smacks belonging to and hailing from Noank, Mystic, and 

 New London, which pursue this special business from May until October. 

 These vessels are usually absent from port four or five days, and spend two 

 days in fishing. The fish are shipped in ice from Noank and New London 

 principally to New York, and also to inland cities in the vicinity. A single 

 smack, with a crew of a man and two boys, usually will obtain and ship to 

 New York, on an average, about 12 barrels a week, about 160 barrels a 

 year, or 25,000 to 28,000 pounds. Capt. Palmer, of Noank, in 1S73, 

 caught on one trip of two days about 1,000 fish, weighing, perhaps, 2,000 

 pounds. On this trip he used four lines. A good fisherman is able to 

 manage two lines, each carrying two hooks. Menhaden bait is always 

 used by professional fishermen, though I have caught Plaice to good advan- 

 tage with lobster bait. A vessel usually consumes one barrel of menhaden 

 on each trip. The fish strike the hook sharply as soon as it approaches 



