COD-FISHERIES OF CAPE ANN. 699 



the fish are abundant during the greater part of the winter. Many of 

 the larger Cape Ann vessels engage in the frozen -herring trade during 

 these months, visiting those points where the herring chance to be most 

 abundant, and bringing large trips to the principal New England mar- 

 kets. Formerly they supplied themselves with nets for catching their 

 own fish, and took full crews of fishermen to assist in the work, but of 

 late they often find it cheaper to buy the fish of the natives, in which 

 case they carry only enough men to work the vessel on the passage. 

 The herring are first frozen on the shore, after which they are thrown, 

 with a little straw, into the hold, and at times even the cabin of the ves- 

 sel is filled, the crew living in the forecastle. A vessel thus loaded car- 

 ries from three to four hundred thousand fish. If the trip is to be sold 

 to the fishermen, the vessel is anchored in the middle of the harbor, and 

 a flag set in the rigging as a signal that bait may be obtained. The fish- 

 ing-vessels are brought alongside of the " baiter " and the herring are 

 counted out, and quickly transferred by the crews to beds of straw or 

 canvas, where they remain in good condition until such time as they 

 are needed. The jirice varies from 25 cents to $1 i)er hundred, the aver- 

 age being a trifle under 50 cents. The fish have an average length of 

 nearly 12 inches. In prei)aring them for bait, they are first slivered, 

 and the head and tail thrown away, after which the balance is cut so as to 

 make about six baits. A vessel carrying eight dories and fishing with 

 trawls requires from eight to twelve hundred herring for a day's fishing. 



After the season for frozen herring is over, the fishermen often find 

 great difficulty in securing bait of any kind. In the spring of 1879 

 shore-fishing was ahnost wholly suspended for several weeks on this ac- 

 count. About the 1st of May a small school of herring made their ap- 

 pearance in the locality, and the water was soon filled with nets for their 

 capture, but the supply was so small as to atibrd relief to only a few of 

 the smaller boats. Later mackerel were i^urchased from the market- 

 fleet when they were cheap, but the price was generally so high that 

 the fishermen could not aflbrd to use them. Again, from the lOtk of 

 May until the 1st of June almost no bait could be found in the locality, 

 and the shore-fishing by the small boats was practically suspended. 

 The larger vessels started out to seek it elsewhere, and were often obliged 

 to go as far as Greenport, Long Island, before a supply could be ob- 

 tained. In this way two weeks were often spent in getting enough for 

 three or four days' fishing. The ofl'shore fleets were also seriously hin- 

 dered in their work by the scarcity of bait, and usually spent much more 

 time in search of it than they did on the fishing-grounds. 



While the season of 1879 has been an exceptional one, owing to the 

 absence of the menhaden [Brevoortia tyrannus) from the Gulf of Maine, 

 yet the question of the bait supply has for years been growing more 

 serious, and the difiiculty of obtaining it has been constantly increasing. 

 The expense has also been proportionately increased, until it now seri- 

 ously reduces the i^rofits of the business. 



