HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN MENHADEN. 129 



Until the introduction of the purse-seine and its general adoption, 

 about the year ISGO, gill-nets were exclusively used. In the intermedi- 

 ate time the stationary gill-nets were supplanted by sweep-nets, 

 arranged by fastening together several small gill-nets. 



Weir fishing for menhaden. 



178. Weirs and pounds are never set for the express purpose of capt- 

 uring the menhaden, but large numbers of these fish are taken in these 

 traps. In Chatham Bay, Massachusetts, there are thirteen weirs of 

 various lengths set in water from 2 to 5 fathoms in depth for the 

 purpose of catching mackerel, sea-bass, and shad. Tlie average catch 

 of menhaden for the past five years has been about 5,000 barrels, about 

 half of which is sold for bait, the remainder thrown away. Goodale 

 and Atkins state that on the coast of Maine there are a very few weirs 

 built especially for the capture of menhaden ; two or three near Stock- 

 ton, on Penobscot Bay, being all of which they have knowledge. Some 

 are also taken in the weirs built for salmon and alewives. The herring- 

 weirs, on the other hand, are not adapted to their capture, their en- 

 trances being so wide that the menhaden generally "play out" after 

 once entering. 



On the eastern end of Martha's Vineyard are numerous pounds, ex- 

 tending 1,200 feet and more from the shore, set for sea-bass, squeteague, 

 scuppaug, and bonitos. Many menhaden are taken here, which are 

 sold for bait. 



In the vicinity of Greenport, N. Y., "'longshore seines" are some- 

 times used, though not so generally as in former years, when this was 

 the usual mode of capture. 



Colonel Lyman on u-eir fishing at Waquoit. 



179. Col. Theodore Lyman has given a very graphic account of the 

 capture of bait menhaden in the Vineyard Sound : 



"The weir is hauled once a day, and always at slack water, because 

 with a strong tide running east or west it is impossible to handle the 

 bottom-lines. The men pull out in two parties, of which one in a large, 

 scow passes round the outside of the bowl, casting off the bottom-lines, 

 while the other in a yawl-boat pushes inside the bowl, pulls up the slid- 

 ing poles, and closes the entrances. The slackening of the bottom- 

 lines allows the bowl-net to hang free, and the crew inside begin to 

 haul up the bottom of this net in such a way as to work the fish toward 

 one corner, letting the net as it comes to the surface pass under their 

 boat, which, is thus slowly drawn across the bowl toward the corner 

 where the capture is to take place, and where the scow is already wait- 

 ing outside. 



" The scene now becomes an exciting one. The menhaden in thou- 

 sands begin to show the sharp upper lobes of their tails above the water; 

 9 F 



