772 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 



T\^o of the nieii wlio Lnd the good luck in the herring fisheries to ex- 

 ceed the limits of the minimum share made a verj" good living, while 

 the others might console themselves over the moderate result of the 

 herring-fisheries — obtained by their vessels — with the thought that their 

 total, earnings amounted to a sum which they could only have gained 

 from the herring-fisheries under very favorable circumstances. The 

 winter fisheries thus remunerated them in advance for the unfavorable 

 results of the later herring-fisheries. 



As soon as the combined fisheries yield steady results the managers 

 will be able to pay such good annual wages that the best men will not 

 think of leaving them. During the first year only five months' wages 

 were paid ; during the following year — and so on — one month more. By 

 adding, therefore, about 20 per cent, to the above figures we will get 

 the next minimum earnings, and by adding 50 per cent, more we would 

 get near the maximum which can be attidned. The wages should, there- 

 fore, in the future, if everything is managed proj^erly, be as follows : 



lows : 



Herringfisheries. Winter fisheries. Total. 



Captain $200 00 to 300 00 $137 05 to 200 00 $337 05 to 500 00 



Mate 125 00 to 187 05 112 05 to 150 00 237 05 to 337 05 



tSaitor 100 00 to 150 00 87 05 to 125 00 187 05 to 275 00 



and in the same proportion for the rest of the men. 



The uninterrupted service of the herring-fishery association has more- 

 over another advantage, which the service on sailing vessels offers but 

 rarely : the men can twice a year visit their families for several weeks, 

 and besides this several times for a few days. It is but natural that 

 under these circumstances the service meets with greater favor from year 

 to year. 



The Oldenburg has brought upwards of 50,000 pounds of fish into the 

 market from February to May, 1870. If the fisheries are established 

 on a firm basis, and commence in the beginning of December, every ves- 

 sel could easily catch double this quantity of fish. Eleven "loggers" 

 would therefore catch about one-half miUion kilograms offish per year. 



It would be very desirable, and would contribute greatly to make the 

 use of salt-water fish as an article of food more common in Germany, and 

 would make them cheaper, too, if the association would as soon as pos- 

 sible bring their fish into the German markets. So far, however, the 

 Hull, Grimsby, Yarmouth, and Lowestoft markets have offered greater 

 advantages than the German ones. The above-mentioned i)orts supply 

 the city of London, which is said to consume as much fish, oysters, crabs, 

 &c., as meat, on a large scale 5 the transportation by rail being organ- 

 ized in the most perfect manner. In Germany, the salt-water fisheries 

 are looked down upon by the railroad companies ; in England and Scot- 

 land, the very reverse is the case. 



In most of the English ports there are special docks in which hundreds 

 of fishing-vessels land early in the morning. Close to the water, opeu 

 halls have been built on the quays which are used for sorting, cleaning, 



