EEPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. [G6~\ 



nearly every vessel in the fleet engaging to a greater or less extent in 

 night fishing* 



Previous to this time the public at large were not, it seems, aware that 

 such large quantities of mackerel were taken in the night, though it was 

 on record that night fishing had been previously attempted, and with 

 good results.! 



The method of seining mackerel in the night is as follows : The vessel 

 being on the fishing-ground, if the night is favorable, she is allowed to 

 sail slowly ahead while a man goes aloft to the foremast-head and keeps 

 a lookout for the fish. If the signs are peculiarly favorable, perhaps 

 two or more men may be aloft for this purpose. These lookouts are 

 the men who have the watch on deck, and, not infrequently, the skipper 

 may be one of them, his ambition to succeed often impelling him to re- 

 main up during the entire night, constantly keeping on the alert for fish 

 and watching the movements of surrounding vessels. The remainder of 

 the crew — those having a watch below — are thoroughly prepared and 

 dressed in their oil-clothes ready to jump into the seine-boat at a mo- 

 ment's warning. If the fish are not seen in the first of the night, the 

 men off duty lie down on the cabin or forecastle floors or stretch them- 

 selves on the lockers, and endeavor in this way to get what sleep they 

 can, unless, indeed, they may be busy on deck in caring for the fish taken 

 the night or day previous. When a school of fish is seen by the look- 

 out, he at once shouts "I see a school!" If it is the skipper who first 

 descries them, he gives directions to the man at the wheel how to steer 

 in order to approach them. If not, the man who first reports the school 



* Mr. A. Howard Clark, writing under date of October 28, 1881, says: "Dining the 

 past lew weeks the mackerel fleet have taken some good hauls during the night, as 

 the fish have been difficult to catch by daylight but have rarely failed to show them- 

 selves on dark nights. When the moon shines it is impossible to see them, br.t when 

 the night is dark or starlight they can be plainly seen from the mast-head, and some- 

 times from the vessel's deck. Heretofore, in night fishing, the methods have been the 

 same as by day, but recently, owing to the difficulty of seeing the fish from the deck 

 or the boat, the lookout at the foremast-head has given directions to the men while 

 setting the seine. In this method the seine-boat is towed astern of the vessel, and 

 when ready to 'give 'em twine,' the dory is allowed to drift astern with one end of 

 the seine while it is being thrown out from the seine-boat. When ready to go around 

 the school, the order is given from the mast-head, to 'go ahead'; the seine-boat is 

 cast loose from the vessel and the seine brought together in the usnal manner. Still 

 another improvement in the methods is likely soon to be adopted in this ni^ht seining, 

 and that is in the use of large lanterns to show their position to' the men while setting 

 for them. The schooner 'Northern Eagle' tried this new method last Tuesday night 

 and found it to work splendidly. It was probably the first attempt to use lanterns 

 for such a purpose. Two schools of mackerel were secured, one at ten o'clock and 

 the other at midnight, both together yielding ICO barrels. The lantern was the ordi- 

 nary lavge signal light used by fishing vessels." 



t We hear of one vessel with a catch of 100 barrels in one week, and of several with 

 catches ranging from 30 to 60 barrels. Another vessel made a good haul in a seine, 

 one moonlight night recently, a new feature in this fishery. — (Cape Ann Advertiser, 

 O.tober 19, 1877.) 



