BY-PRODUCTS OF FISHERY INDUSTRIES 215 



haden is a migratory fish, the season differs on 

 various points along the coast. Some are caught in 

 Florida throughout the year, but most of them are 

 caught between April 1 and November 1. In North 

 Carolina, the northward movement of the fish ends 

 about the middle of June. From then on .little fish- 

 ing is done until autumn, when the fish return. In 

 the Chesapeake Bay region, where most of the fish 

 are caught, the season begins about the middle of 

 May, when the fish usually appear at sea, where they 

 are captured during the latter part of May and 

 June. In July, August, and September, the fishing is 

 carried on chiefly in the bay. From then until the end 

 of the season, usually about the middle of November, 

 the fish are again caught at sea. 



Large steamers have gradually supplanted the 

 motor-boats, schooners, and sloops formerly used in 

 the fishery. The fish are caught in purse-seines, from 

 eighteen to twenty yards in depth and 270 to 400 

 yards in length. Attached to the bottom of the net 

 are lead sinkers which keep the net submerged in the 

 water, while at the top are numerous corks which 

 keep it on the surface. 



The menhaden swim near the surface in large 

 schools. When a school of fish is sighted by the look- 

 out in the crow's-nest, two seine-boats, each carrying 

 half of the net, leave the steamer and encircle the 

 school. When the two boats meet, a large piece of 

 lead called the tom is attached to the purse-lines and 

 dropped overboard to hold the ends of the net. The 

 net is then pursed; that is, the bottom of the net is 

 pulled together so that the fish cannot escape. After 



