360 Memoir Sears Foundation for Marine Research 



is so dependent upon the fishery that nearly everyone watches the incoming vessels to 

 see what kind of a catch has been made. If the catch is good, the operator's flag is flown 

 from the "crow's nest" (see below), thus notifying the factory to get up steam and for 

 hands to stand by to take care of the catch. It is a common saying among people of 

 these communities that the stench from the factories "smells like bread and butter" 

 to them. 



Formerly, sailing vessels were used in this fishery. These were superseded by 

 auxiliary schooners, which in turn were replaced by power-driven vessels equipped 

 with diesel engines. All of those used in North Carolina and southward are of nearly 

 the same design and are capable of carrying 400,000 fish or more. They are ruggedly 

 built wooden vessels, most of them less than 100 feet long, with a broad beam and a 

 high bow to make them seaworthy. A tall mast is set in the forepart of the vessel, and 

 near the top of it is a small platform, generally surrounded by a rail and often partly 

 enclosed by canvas. This is the crow's nest from which one or two men watch for 

 schools of fish. 



Each vessel carries two "purse seine boats" which, when not in use, are suspended 

 from derricks on each side of the mother ship. When a school of fish is sighted, the vessel 

 approaches it, the purse seine boats with seine aboard are lowered, and the school of 

 fish, or at least part of it, is surrounded as quickly as possible with the seine. Next the 

 seine is "pursed" by drawing in a line (at the bottom of the net) that runs through 

 rings. After the fish have been concentrated into a more or less compact mass they are 

 loaded aboard the vessel with a large dip net, generally operated by means of block 

 and tackle. 



Steamers are also used in pursuing these fish, though less so than formerly. 

 They are larger than the vessels driven by diesel engine, hence they can go farther and 

 stay out longer. This was advantageous in former days when the scrap was used only 

 as a fertilizer, but now that it is used mostly as poultry and stock feed and since the fish 

 preferably should be processed on the day they are caught, the advantage of these 

 larger vessels has diminished. 



General Range. Continental waters of North America, from Nova Scotia to Florida; 

 taken commercially from eastern Maine to northern Florida, as far south as Mayport. 

 Stragglers have been taken as far northeastward as St. John Harbor, New Brunswick 

 {64: 11), and St. Mary Bay, Nova Scotia {l6\ 120), and as far south as Indian River 

 City, Florida (jj: c,G)\ and large schools have been reported as seen during the winter 

 off Cape Canaveral and Mosquito Inlet {42: Z^^. This species has often been reported 

 for the coasts of the Gulf of Mexico, Brazil, Uruguay, and Argentina, but these reports 

 are for another species (p. 344; 55 : 1-39). Fowler reported it for the "Senegal region" 

 of Africa but had no specimens from there (jp: 174); also, there are earlier reports 

 of a Brevoortia from Africa; whether it is tyrannus needs verification. 



Details of Occurrence. As discussed under Fluctuations in Abundance (p. 358), it 

 is well known that Atlantic Menhaden fluctuate widely from year to year and over 

 periods of years. Prior to 1850 they were reported as plentiful at the mouth of the 



