FISHERY INDUSTRIES OP THE UNITED STATES, 192-t 



263 



19,915 barrels, or 2,987,250 pounds. The total catch of salted 

 mackerel landed by the fishing fleet was 10,841 barrels, or 2,168,200 

 pounds, compared'with 3,864 barrels, or 772,800 pounds, in 1923, an 

 increase of 6,977 barrels, or 1,395,400 pounds. In 1924 about 8,000 

 barrels of salted mackerel were prepared from mackerel landed fresh, 

 as compared with about 15,000 barrels in 1923. The quantity of 

 mackerel landed at Boston, Gloucester, and Portland by fishing 

 vessels during the vear was 9,757,509 pounds, valued at $541,784, of 

 which 8,474,322 pounds, valued at $450,323, were fresh and 1,283,187 

 pounds, valued at $91,461, were salted. There was a decrease of 

 1,807,719 pounds in the total catch of mackerel landed by fishing 

 vessels at these ports and an increase of $54,147 in value as compared 

 with 1923. 



In 1924 the catch of mackerel up to July 3 was 38,916 barrels 

 fresh and 860 barrels salted, compared with 25,879 barrels fresh and 

 346 barrels salted for the same period in 1923. The southern mackerel 

 seiners had the best season for many years, but the gill-netters had a 

 comparatively poor season. The mackerel taken by the seiners 

 weighed about 1 pound each. The fleet was about the same size as 

 last year. The first catch was landed at Cape May on April 8 and 

 consisted of one barrel of blink mackerel, weighing three fish to the 

 pound. These fish were landed one day earlier than the first mackerel 

 were landed the previous season. 



A large body of small mackerel was reported in the south. Large 

 schools of large mackerel were also seen off Block Island late in the 

 spring, but they were "wild", and it was impossible to seine them. 

 The small mackerel landed by the southern fleet sold at from 7 to 

 15 cents per pound and the large ones at 9 to 25 cents per pound, 

 according to market conditions. The first arrival of mackerel at 

 Boston direct from the fleet was on May 16 and consisted of 5,000 

 pounds of large fresh fish, which were sold at 22 cents per pound. 

 The Cape Shore mackerel fleet was about the same size as in 1923, 

 but there was a decline in the catch. A considerable quantity of 

 small mackerel was landed from the Cape Shore, which was unusual. 

 The first arrivals of mackerel at Boston from the Cape Shore were 

 two fares on July 9, consisting of 56,000 pounds of fish weighing 1 ^ 

 pounds each and 30,000 pounds of large mackerel. The mackerel 

 sold at from 8 to 83^ cents per pound. 



The quantity of mackerel salted by the Cape fleet was small but 

 larger than last year. They were about half mediums, and counted 

 from 260 to 300 fish to a barrel. The}^ sold from the vessel at $14 

 per barrel, as compared with $11 per barrel the previous year. 



The Cape Shore catch of mackerel for the past five years, shown in 

 pounds, was as follows : 



