﻿THE 
  HERRING 
  FISHERIES 
  OF 
  THE 
  NORTHEAST 
  COAST. 
  395 
  

  

  cook 
  Bay, 
  and 
  the 
  vicinity 
  of 
  Lubec, 
  or 
  northward 
  to 
  the 
  several 
  parts 
  

   of 
  St. 
  Andrews 
  Bay 
  and 
  the 
  vicinity 
  of 
  Robbinston. 
  Sometimes 
  the 
  

   schools 
  work 
  out 
  through 
  Lubec 
  Narrows 
  and 
  are 
  caught 
  in 
  West 
  

   Quoddy 
  Bay. 
  

  

  The 
  small 
  herring, 
  and 
  some 
  of 
  the 
  larger 
  ones, 
  remain 
  in 
  the 
  vicin- 
  

   ity 
  throughout 
  the 
  year, 
  and 
  the 
  same 
  statement 
  will 
  hold 
  concerning 
  

   sardine-herring 
  on 
  other 
  parts 
  of 
  the 
  coast 
  of 
  Maine. 
  During 
  winter 
  

   they 
  apparently 
  keep 
  in 
  the 
  deeper 
  water, 
  but 
  occasionally 
  catches 
  have 
  

   been 
  made 
  in 
  the 
  weirs 
  during 
  February. 
  Schools 
  of 
  small 
  fish 
  are 
  seen 
  

   in 
  the 
  Bay 
  of 
  Fundy 
  throughout 
  the 
  winter 
  and 
  bodies 
  of 
  larger 
  ones 
  

   sometimes 
  occur 
  in 
  the 
  vicinity 
  of 
  Grand 
  Manan 
  during 
  the 
  cold 
  months, 
  

   but 
  they 
  do 
  not 
  usually 
  approach 
  the 
  shores 
  and 
  very 
  few 
  are 
  said 
  to 
  

   enter 
  Dark 
  Harbor 
  after 
  November. 
  

  

  In 
  spring 
  the 
  herring, 
  especially 
  the 
  smaller 
  ones, 
  begin 
  k) 
  approacli 
  

   the 
  shores, 
  but 
  they 
  are 
  not 
  caught 
  in 
  the 
  weirs 
  in 
  abundance 
  until 
  

   July. 
  Some 
  of 
  the 
  fishermen 
  state 
  that 
  i^rior 
  to 
  about 
  1883 
  consider- 
  

   able 
  quantities 
  were 
  caught 
  during 
  March, 
  but 
  that 
  since 
  then 
  tlie 
  

   advent 
  of 
  the 
  schools 
  has 
  grown 
  gradually 
  later 
  until 
  at 
  the 
  present 
  

   time 
  they 
  are 
  not 
  expected 
  until 
  July. 
  Concerning 
  this 
  we 
  find 
  tlie 
  

   following 
  in 
  The 
  Fishery 
  Industries 
  of 
  the 
  United 
  States, 
  compiled 
  from 
  

   information 
  gathered 
  about 
  1880 
  : 
  

  

  The 
  fish 
  taken 
  in 
  tlie 
  early 
  3})ring 
  are 
  usually 
  quite 
  small, 
  and 
  have 
  little 
  value 
  for 
  

   smoking 
  or 
  for 
  bait; 
  they 
  are 
  also 
  in 
  such 
  poor 
  condition 
  that 
  they 
  yield 
  but 
  little 
  

   oil, 
  and 
  it 
  therefore 
  seldom 
  pays 
  to 
  ])re8s 
  them. 
  For 
  these 
  reasons, 
  during 
  the 
  early 
  

   years 
  of 
  the 
  lishery, 
  the 
  weirs 
  were 
  seldom 
  put 
  in 
  order 
  before 
  the 
  1st 
  of 
  June, 
  and 
  

   frequently 
  few 
  fish 
  were 
  taken 
  prior 
  to 
  the 
  beginning 
  of 
  September, 
  wheu 
  the 
  fishing 
  

   began 
  in 
  earnest 
  and 
  continued 
  till 
  the 
  close 
  of 
  the 
  year. 
  Now, 
  however, 
  owing 
  to 
  

   the 
  demand 
  for 
  small 
  fish 
  by 
  the 
  sardine 
  canneries, 
  the 
  weirs 
  are 
  usually 
  repaired 
  

   in 
  the 
  early 
  spring, 
  and 
  the 
  fishermen 
  tend 
  them 
  regularly 
  from 
  the 
  1st 
  of 
  April 
  

   till 
  the 
  following 
  January. 
  (Fishery 
  Industries, 
  section 
  v, 
  vol. 
  i, 
  p. 
  502.) 
  

  

  The 
  records 
  of 
  the 
  catches 
  of 
  individual 
  weirs 
  in 
  1878 
  and 
  1879, 
  

   published 
  with 
  the 
  foregoing, 
  show 
  that 
  comparatively 
  few 
  herring 
  were 
  

   taken 
  before 
  July 
  or 
  August, 
  precisely 
  as 
  is 
  now 
  the 
  case. 
  The 
  sardine- 
  

   packers 
  state 
  that 
  they 
  do 
  not 
  care 
  to 
  begin 
  work 
  before 
  July 
  because 
  

   of 
  the 
  irregular 
  catch 
  and 
  that 
  in 
  the 
  early 
  days 
  of 
  the 
  business, 
  Avhen 
  

   operations 
  began 
  at 
  an 
  earlier 
  date, 
  the 
  supply 
  of 
  fish 
  was 
  insufficient 
  

   for 
  all, 
  and 
  the 
  resulting 
  competition 
  raised 
  the 
  prices 
  to 
  a 
  level 
  which 
  

   was 
  wholly 
  unjustified, 
  and 
  which 
  would 
  be 
  ruinous 
  at 
  the 
  present 
  price 
  

   of 
  the 
  finished 
  product. 
  There 
  is 
  no 
  difficulty 
  in 
  securing 
  all 
  the 
  fish 
  

   needed 
  after 
  July 
  1, 
  and 
  the 
  comparative 
  abundance 
  and 
  regularity 
  

   of 
  the 
  catch 
  then 
  renders 
  possible 
  the 
  steady 
  and 
  more 
  economical 
  

   operation 
  of 
  the 
  factories. 
  

  

  The 
  probability 
  is, 
  therefore, 
  that 
  the 
  herring 
  arrive 
  at 
  about 
  the 
  

   same 
  time 
  that 
  they 
  always 
  did, 
  that 
  there 
  is 
  no 
  recession 
  of 
  the 
  date 
  

   such 
  as 
  was 
  noticed 
  in 
  the 
  later 
  years 
  of 
  the 
  winter 
  fishery, 
  and 
  tliat 
  

   the 
  weirs 
  are 
  not 
  fished 
  before 
  July 
  merely 
  because 
  there 
  is 
  no 
  deniand 
  

   for 
  the 
  product, 
  and 
  not 
  on 
  account 
  of 
  any 
  change 
  in 
  the 
  habits 
  or 
  

   distribution 
  of 
  the 
  fish. 
  For 
  the 
  same 
  reason 
  the 
  fishing 
  season 
  of 
  the 
  

  

  