EFFECTS OF MENHADEN FISHING. 273 
The menhaden, scientifically known as Brevooriza tyrannus, has many local 
names along the coast—in North Carolina, ‘‘fat backs;” in Virginia, “old wives;”’ 
in New Jersey and New York, ‘‘ moss bunkers;’’ and generally in New England, 
““Dogies.”’ 
As is common with all migratory fish, the oldest and strongest go farther 
afield, in the case of the menhaden farther north. Therefore the size of the fish 
found on various parts of the coast differs; the average size of the fish caught on 
the principal grounds being, in Maine, about 12 inches; in Long Island Sound 
and adjacent waters, about 10 inches; on the ‘‘Jersey beach” and in Delaware 
Bay, about 9 inches; in Chesapeake Bay, about 8 inches, and south of Cape 
Hatteras, 6 to 7 inches. 
On their journey north, which begins usually in March, the fish do not follow 
the coast, but travel some distance out at sea, the schools “striking in” near 
their usual feeding grounds. Returning, which migration begins from New 
England waters early in September, those about and north of Cape Cod usually 
disappear first from Nantucket Shoals and the waters adjacent to No-Man’s Land. 
From Cape Cod to Sandy Hook they sometimes follow the ocean side of Long 
Island and the New Jersey coast as far as Cape May, sometimes disappearing off 
Montauk Point. Those spending the summer on the “ Jersey beach” and south 
of the Delaware usually follow the coast to Cape Hatteras and often even to 
the Savannah River. ‘Therefore in the late fall and early winter large fish are 
often taken as far south as Charleston. 
Having thus with reasonable certainty established the nature and habits 
of the menhaden, the next and most important part of our inquiry is, What effect 
has the taking of them by man had upon the supply and quantity, and also upon 
their movements? 
THE MENHADEN FISHERY. 
Menhaden have been taken along the Atlantic coast since the first settling of 
the country by white men. Indeed, it is believed that the Indians were ac- 
quainted with the use of fish to enrich the ground. Up to about 1870 they were 
taken in small quantities only, in the smaller bays and inlets and in the mouths 
of the rivers, generally in shallow water, with very simple devices, and they were 
used mainly for fertilizer or manure, but in part for food. For many years they 
have been used in a small way for food by the negroes and poorer whites along 
the southern coast country. Properly cleaned and salted they can be eaten 
with relish in default of a better fish. The fresh roe, fried, is not bad food and 
is sometimes eaten in the coastal country south of Cape Hatteras, when the fish 
are taken on their way south in the months of November and December. The 
whole fish, either applied directly to the land or composted with barnyard 
manure or woods litter, has been used as a fertilizer all along the Atlantic coast 
of the United States since early colonial times. 
B. B. F. 1908—18 
