32 REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONER OF FISHERIES. 



The machine consists of a set of cogwheels fixed to a shaft and 

 geared so as to admit of considerable speed, and at the same time pow- 

 erful enough to withstand a heavy strain. To each end of the shaft is 

 attached a crank, the handle of which is long enough to permit three 

 men to work abreast. When the seine has been set around a school of 

 fish the ends are brought together in the usual manner, the purse 

 davit shipped, the purse line rove through the snatch blocks fore and 

 aft, and the seine is pursed b} r hand until there is a perceptible strain 

 on both parts of the purse line, which are then led to the machine and 

 placed around the drum, a man being stationed on the port side of the 

 boat to coil the line as it is hove in and also to slack away if necessary. 

 The men working the machine are relieved at intervals of a few minutes, 

 and by the time two or three shifts have been made the seine is pursed. 



Gill nets in the mackerel fishery. — Gill netting for mackerel was in 

 vogue at the time hook-and-line fishing was extensively carried on, but 

 a few years after purse seines came into general use it ceased to be 

 remunerative, and was entirely abandoned by vessels until about seven 

 years ago. The continuous scarcity of mackerel along the Atlantic coast 

 for a number of years, during which seining proved very unprofitable, 

 led to the revival of the old method, which has now been put in practice 

 by a considerable portion of the seining fleet. During the last few 

 years about 150 vessels, large and small, hailing from all parts of the 

 New England coast, but many of them from Gloucester, have been 

 engaged in this fishery. Seines are used only for schooling mackerel, 

 but in order to be prepared also for fish not seen at the surface but 

 thought to be near, the large vessels equipped with seines carry gill 

 nets in addition. 



"Dragging" for mackerel requires a considerable number of nets fas- 

 tened together in one long string, called a "gang," and set from the 

 vessel. The number of nets depends on the size of the vessel, 100 

 being the maximum and about 60 the average. As this kind of fishing 

 is always carried on at night, it is somewhat difficult to keep track of 

 the nets, particularly when it is very dark and a dozen or more vessels 

 are operating in the same locality. To prevent other vessels of the 

 fleet from crossing the nets, lights are attached to the outer and mid- 

 dle section of the gang, the buoys supporting the lanterns consisting 

 of two pieces of boards fastened together in the shape of a cross, with 

 a hole bored in the center to admit a staff some 3 or 4 feet long, from 

 which hang the lanterns. Besides serving the purpose of warning 

 other vessels as to the position of the nets, the light acts as a guide 

 when it is necessary to cast the nets adrift on account of rough weather. 



When the weather is pleasant and fish are fairty plentiful the nets 

 require constant attention. They are visited in dories, and one man 

 is supposed to tend 12 nets. Additional care is necessary when dog- 

 fish are numerous, and this is often the case when mackerel fishing is 



