﻿THE 
  HERRING 
  FISHERIES 
  OF 
  THE 
  NORTHEAST 
  COAST. 
  421 
  

  

  were 
  abundant, 
  and 
  in 
  1895 
  all 
  tlie 
  upi^er 
  arms 
  of 
  Cobscook 
  Bay 
  were 
  

   teeming 
  with 
  them. 
  

  

  On 
  the 
  east 
  side 
  of 
  Moose 
  Island 
  (Eastport) 
  and 
  on 
  the 
  main 
  shore 
  

   as 
  far 
  north 
  as 
  Gleason 
  Cove 
  the 
  weirs 
  have 
  failed 
  more 
  or 
  less 
  com- 
  

   pletely, 
  and 
  many 
  of 
  them 
  have 
  been 
  abandoned. 
  Many 
  years 
  ago, 
  at 
  

   least 
  fifty, 
  a 
  ''half-tide" 
  weir 
  was 
  built 
  north 
  of 
  Harris 
  Head. 
  It 
  was 
  

   a 
  small, 
  cheap 
  structure, 
  but 
  it 
  took 
  great 
  quantities 
  of 
  herring. 
  It 
  

   sometimes 
  caught 
  more 
  than 
  could 
  be 
  used, 
  and 
  it 
  was 
  then 
  necessary 
  

   to 
  knock 
  down 
  a 
  section 
  so 
  as 
  to 
  liberate 
  some 
  of 
  the 
  fish 
  and 
  prevent 
  

   them 
  dying 
  in 
  the 
  weir. 
  This 
  was 
  afterwards 
  replaced 
  by 
  a 
  more 
  

   elaborate 
  structure, 
  which, 
  like 
  its 
  predecessor, 
  fished 
  reguhirly 
  for 
  

   many 
  years, 
  its 
  owner 
  stating 
  that 
  for 
  fifteen 
  years 
  it 
  averaged 
  300 
  

   hogsheads 
  per 
  annum, 
  the 
  catch 
  ranging 
  from 
  250 
  to 
  350 
  hogsheads. 
  

   According 
  to 
  the 
  same 
  authority, 
  about 
  three 
  years 
  after 
  the 
  factories 
  

   were 
  established 
  at 
  Eastport 
  it 
  began 
  to 
  fail, 
  and 
  was 
  soon 
  abandoned 
  

   and 
  has 
  not 
  been 
  rebuilt. 
  South 
  of 
  Harris 
  Head 
  and 
  on 
  the 
  south 
  side 
  

   of 
  Kendall 
  Head 
  the 
  experience 
  was 
  the 
  same. 
  North 
  of 
  Kendall 
  Head 
  

   the 
  weir 
  is 
  said 
  to 
  have 
  failed 
  a 
  little 
  later. 
  In 
  1894 
  there 
  were 
  two 
  

   weirs 
  at 
  this 
  point, 
  but 
  in 
  1895 
  one 
  of 
  them 
  had 
  been 
  abandoned. 
  The 
  

   other 
  had 
  caught 
  nothing 
  up 
  to 
  September 
  20. 
  

  

  There 
  have 
  been 
  two 
  weirs 
  in 
  Gleason 
  Cove 
  since 
  about 
  1882 
  or 
  1883, 
  

   and 
  until 
  1888 
  they 
  did 
  very 
  well. 
  In 
  1887 
  the 
  two 
  caught 
  about 
  400 
  

   hogsheads, 
  the 
  best 
  that 
  they 
  have 
  ever 
  done. 
  Prior 
  to 
  that 
  they 
  

   caught 
  from 
  150 
  to 
  200 
  hogsheads 
  per 
  annum. 
  In 
  1888 
  there 
  was 
  a 
  

   sudden 
  dropping 
  otf. 
  Since 
  then 
  they 
  have 
  barely 
  paid 
  expenses, 
  and 
  

   in 
  1894 
  the 
  catch 
  was 
  practically 
  nothing. 
  In 
  1895 
  nothing 
  was 
  taken 
  

   up 
  to 
  September 
  1. 
  The 
  herring 
  usually 
  came 
  here 
  about 
  August 
  ly 
  

   and 
  lasted 
  to 
  the 
  end 
  of 
  the 
  season. 
  

  

  About 
  a 
  mile 
  north 
  of 
  Gleason 
  Cove 
  a 
  weir 
  had 
  taken 
  about 
  100 
  

   hogsheads 
  in 
  1895 
  up 
  to 
  the 
  latter 
  part 
  of 
  August, 
  and 
  I 
  was 
  informed 
  

   that 
  from 
  1,500 
  to 
  2,000 
  hogsheads 
  of 
  herring 
  had 
  been 
  caught 
  in 
  9 
  

   weirs 
  between 
  Gleason 
  Cove 
  and 
  Kobbinston 
  prior 
  to 
  September 
  20, 
  

   1895, 
  which 
  catch, 
  my 
  informant 
  claimed, 
  was 
  larger 
  than 
  any 
  during 
  the 
  

   last 
  decade. 
  It 
  was 
  stated 
  that 
  there 
  were 
  more 
  weirs 
  on 
  this 
  shore 
  in 
  

   1885 
  than 
  at 
  present, 
  but 
  if 
  this 
  be 
  a 
  fact 
  they 
  must 
  have 
  been 
  built 
  

   between 
  1880 
  and 
  1885. 
  In 
  1880 
  there 
  were 
  about 
  as 
  many 
  as 
  in 
  1895. 
  

  

  From 
  the 
  foregoing 
  it 
  would 
  appear 
  that 
  in 
  1894 
  and 
  1895 
  there 
  were 
  

   less 
  herring 
  than 
  formerly 
  on 
  the 
  American 
  shore 
  at 
  Treat 
  Island, 
  in 
  

   Johnson 
  Bay, 
  the 
  lower 
  waters 
  of 
  Cobscook 
  Bay, 
  and 
  Ironi 
  the 
  month 
  

   of 
  Cobscook 
  Bay 
  north 
  to 
  Gleason 
  Cove. 
  In 
  all 
  other 
  places 
  there 
  was 
  

   either 
  no 
  decrease 
  or 
  but 
  a 
  very 
  slight 
  one. 
  In 
  189C 
  the 
  fish 
  weie 
  

   everywhere 
  abundant, 
  and 
  large 
  schools 
  frequented 
  all 
  of 
  the 
  waters 
  

   about 
  Eastport 
  and 
  Lubec. 
  

  

  On 
  the 
  Canadian 
  side, 
  beginning 
  with 
  St. 
  Andrew 
  Bay 
  and 
  its 
  

   several 
  arms, 
  we 
  find 
  almost 
  unanimous 
  testimony 
  to 
  the 
  abundance 
  of 
  

   the 
  herring 
  during 
  the 
  past 
  lew 
  years. 
  On 
  August 
  29, 
  1895, 
  the 
  fish- 
  

  

  