[51] HISTORY OF THE MACKEREL FISHERY. 



The use of this roller is to lessen the friction between the rail of the vessel 

 and the seine, as the latter is being hauled on deck or overhauled into the 

 boat ;* (5) by the head-box being" fastened to the forward end of the house. 

 The head-box is a bin 10 or 12 feet long, and wide enough to receive the 

 head of a fish barrel. In this box are stowed the heads of the barrels 

 that happen to be on deck; (G) by placing the bait-mill on deck, and 

 fastening the bait box (when one is used) to the main rigging on the 

 starboard side; (7) by nailing boards to the top timbers underneath 

 the main rail, between the fore and main rigging. These are about G 

 inches iu width, and are provided with single ropes, or stoppers, 2 or 3 

 feet apart ; the object of these stoppers is to hold the cork rope of the 

 seine when brought over the rail, preparatory to bailing thefish from the 

 seine upon the deck; (8) by taking on board an ice-grinder, these 

 being used only on Vessels which carry their fish fresh to market; (9) 

 by clearing^the hold of all bulkheads, ice-houses, or other appliances 

 which may have been used in the course of the winter's fishery ; (10) by 

 properly adjusting the quantity of ballast ; if the vessel has been in the 

 haddock or Georges fishery, ballast must be removed ; if in the herring 

 trade, ballast must be added ; a mackerel schooner of GO tons will carry 

 from 15 to 20 tons of ballast, and in exceptional cases somewhat more ; 

 (11) by an arrangement of ice-house on those vessels which intend to 

 take their fish fresh to market, somewhat similar to that on board the 

 halibut fishermen ;t (12) and by taking on board the necessary supply 



* Capt. George Merchant, jr., of Gloucester, Mass., states that purse-seines were used 

 by the fishermen of that port for six or seven years before "seine-rollers" were put on 

 the vessel's rails. This useful implement was first invented and used by Capt. Simeon 

 Tarr, of Gloucester, ahoutthe year 1857, while he was in commandof thepiukie "Andes." 



tTbe mackerel schooner's ice-house, as a rule, occupies the middle portion of the 

 hold, extending from side to side of the vessel one way, and from the grub beam to 

 the forward side of the main hatch the other way. It is separated from the other sec- 

 tions of the hold by bulkheads, and is divided into a number of pens similar to those 

 in the ice-house of a halibut schooner. Each of these pens is subdivided into three 

 parts by shelves, which are constructed, when occasiou requires, by laying some 

 boards crosswise, the ends resting on cleats which are nailed to the sides of the pens. 

 The first shelf is put in about fifteen inches above the floor of the ice-house, and a 

 second shelf fifteen inches above the first. The front of the pens are closed by boards 

 which slide in grooves on the stanchions, or bulkheads. The mackerel are iced fifteen 

 inches deep on the floor of the pen, after which the first shelf is laid and another tier 

 of the same deptli is put on that. After the second shelf is put in the fish are iced on 

 it nearly to the deck, a covering of ice being put over all. Iu this way the fish can 

 be kept in a better condition than if they were packed in a large bulk. If stowed iu 

 bulk the fish are jammed and soon become worthless. An average sized ice-house 

 has a capacity of about 200 barrels of fresh mackerel; some ice-houses will hold 300 

 barrels. 



Capt. Joseph Smith, of Gloucester, tells us that at present few of the mackerel ves- 

 sels carry ice-grinders, since the fishermen prefer to use the ice-pick instead. Each 

 vessel employed in market fishing is provided with from 2 to 4 ice-picks, and three 

 men can pick up ice fast enough to supply a whole crew, even if they should ice 100 

 barrels or more an hour, which is about the average speed with which mackerel are 

 taken care of. Captain Smith thinks his crew, on one occasion, iced 300 barrels in an 

 hour and a half. About 4 tons of ice are put on 100 barrels of fresh mackerel. 



