142 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 



quantity, though its oily nature and strong odor render it particularly 

 well adapted for use as a toll bait for mackerel. " Slivered pogies '' are 

 carried by the •' bankers '' or vessels fishing for cod on the Newfound- 

 land and George's Banks from the ports of Gloucester and Province- 

 town.* According to Captain Atwood, salted menhaden are good bait 

 for haddock but inferior for cod. On the Labrador coast the bait prin- 

 cipally used is a small fish of the salmon family known as the capelin 

 {Mallotus viUosns/large quantities of which are easily piocured in those 

 waters for a short period in the summer. The herring (Clupea elongata] 

 is the most common bait in the Bay of Fundy cod-fisheries and it is 

 also used by the English " bankers" to a considerable extent, as well as 

 young mackerel. The English vessels also consume a large amount of 

 "slivered pogies" which they br.y from Massachusetts vessels. Fresh 

 " slivers" are preferred to those which have been salted, and vessels 

 bound to George's Banks usually carry their bait preserved on ice. 



Menhaden as mackerel bait. 



196. Asa toll bait for the mackerel fishery, the menhaden is better 

 than an^' other fish. The mackerel seem to prefer it, and the pres- 

 ence of a great quantity of oil renders it especially convenient for the 

 use of fishermen, since a small quantity of ground menhaden bait will 

 spread over a large area of water. 



The introduction of the use of menhaden bait. 



197. In early days it was the custom to grind up small mackerel for 

 bait, much to the detriment of the fisheries in succeeding years. Cap- 

 tviin Atwood remarked in his testimony before the Fishery Commission 

 at Halifax: "We now use menhaden for bait; but when I first went 

 fishing we did not do so. Onr practice then was to grind up small 

 mackerel for the purpose. Any quantity of these mackerel were at that 

 time to be found along the coast and plenty of them are there to be met 

 with now. These fish were of no account then, and so we ground them 

 up for bait; and when we could not obtain them, we ground up for bait 

 what you call gurry, the inwards of fish with the gills attached. Ameri- 

 can fishermen, when they fish with hooks, use menhaden bait almost 

 exclusively. The superiority of this bait over all others is such that 

 when this fish can get menhaden they won't take any other. At first 

 mackerel fishermen were afraid of this bait. It is a very bony fish, and 

 they then thought that if it was cut up for bait, the mackerel would 

 soon get sick of it, owing to the number of bones. There is a species of 

 fish belonging to this family found on our coast which is exceedingly 

 fat. We call them blue-backed herrings ; t and some preferred this fish 

 for bait, as it was not so bony as the menhaden ; but when the poorer 



* Vessels also carry for bait " sea-clams" {Mactra solidissima) waited, aud the common 

 long clam (Mya orenaria). The former are preferred by vessels fishiug off Block Islaud 

 and Nantucket to supply the New York market with fiesh cod and haddock. They 

 are sold at Nantucket at the rate of 30 cents a bushel 



t The alewife, Pomolohus psmdoharengu8. 



