[83] HISTORY OF THE MACKEREL FISHERY. 



Rock, situated east of the Magdalen Islands, has occasionally been a fav- 

 orite ground, since the mackerel taken there were almost always very 

 large. 



(b.) Gulf of Maine. — From June to November excellent fishing was 

 to be had in various parts of the Gulf of Maine. Early in the season 

 mackerel were taken all the way from Cash's Ledge to the Bay of 

 Fundy; from the middle of June to September the favorite localities 

 were in the vicinity of Monhegan Island, Matinicus Eock, and Mount 

 Desert Eock. From about 1830 to about 1845 some fishing was done 

 in the Bay of Fundy, north of the island of Grand Manan. When the 

 autumnal migration of the mackerel begins the vessels follow them as 

 they proceed southward. Favorite fishing grounds are then oif Port- 

 land; later, about Boone Island, off Cape Ann, and the waters of Mas- 

 sachusetts Bay, and along the outside of Cape Cod, the latest catches 

 being generally obtained off Chatham and the eastern part of Nantucket 

 Shoals. Fishing here continues sometimes until the latter part of No- 

 vember.* 



(c.) George's Bank. — Mackerel were in some years very abundant on 

 George's Bank, especially on the southern portion from June to Sep- 

 tember. Later in the season the weather was generally unfavorable for 

 fishing in this region. The mackerel caught here were recognized, as 

 now, to be of very fine quality. 



(d.) South coast of New England. — Of late years a small quantity of 

 extraordinarily fine mackerel have been caught with jigs in the vicinity 

 of Block Island in summer and fall. In previous years the mackerel 

 fishery in this vicinity was chiefly carried on in the spring. 



(e.) The coast of the Middle States from Mont auk Point to Delaware. — 

 This fishery was chiefly carried on in May, and in many respects cor- 

 responded to the spring mackerel fishery described in another section 

 of this chapter; this is now prosecuted with seines on the same grounds, 

 and the fish are mostly taken to New York for sale, principally in a fresh 

 condition, though formerly they were generally salted. 



(_/'.) The eastern coast of Nova Scotia. — In this region, although great 

 quantities of mackerel are sometimes taken in pounds, nets, and seines, 

 in the early summer and fall, they are very rarely taken on the hook. 

 About 1854 and 1855 several fares of extremely large mackerel were 

 caught at Sable Island by Cape Cod vessels. 



23. — The fishermen.. 



The men engaged in the mackerel hook fishery, especially in the pe- 

 riod of its culmination, were almost exclusively natives of New Eng- 

 land. From 1850 to 1870 the provincial element in the fleet gradually 

 increased. When this fishery was most prosperous not less than 10,000 



* In the fall of 1H49 one of the writers had the opportunity of seeing a fleet of mack- 

 erel schooners lishing off Chatham. The number of vessels in the ileet was variously 

 estimated from 500 to 700 sail — a beautiful and interesting sight. 



