[275] HISTORY OF THE MACKEREL FISHERY. 



along the shore for about five weeks, going as far north as Mount Louis, 

 but met with extremely poor success; so much so, indeed, that after being 

 in the bay nearly six weeks we had taken only 27 barrels of mackerel, includ- 

 ing the 21 barrels caught at Cape Kozier, of which mention has been 

 made above. At last, feeling fully convinced that mackerel would not 

 strike in on the south shore of Saint Lawrence, and the advanced sea- 

 son and state of the weather warning us of the risk of reinainiDg any 

 longer on that coast, we proceeded south and began fishing around the 

 Magdalen Islands, where, in about three weeks, we succeeded in catch, 

 ing enough mackerel to make us up a fare of 125 sea-packed barrels, 

 which, for the time and place, was much better than an average. For 

 the 3STo. 1 mackerel on this trip (a large percentage was No. l's) we ob- 

 tained $18.50 per barrel. My own share for the trip was $124.25. After 

 returning home and packing out our bay trip, we engaged in the mack- 

 erel fishery off the New England coast. The contrast this year between 

 the Gulf of Saint Lawrence and the New England coast was quite re- 

 markable, since in the former the mackerel were almost all of large size 

 and very scarce, as has been show r n, while on our own coast mackerel were 

 of medium size, averaging about 12 inches long, and very abundant. After 

 returning from the bay we made two trips, taking altogether 275 sea- 

 packed barrels of mackerel. For the first fare of 175 barrels we got 

 $8.50 per barrel ; but for the last trip the price was lower. A large 

 portion of the mackerel catchers were fishing off the New England coast 

 during the summer and autumn, and it is perhaps safe to estimate that 

 at one time a fleet numbering five or six hundred sail were engaged in 

 fishing for mackerel in Barnstable Bay. The mackerel at one time dur- 

 ing the fall were exceedingly abundant off Truro and Wellfleet. This 

 was very advantageous to the fishermen, since in this partially sheltered 

 bay fishing could be carried on much longer than in other places, and, 

 consequently, a great amount of mackerel were taken. But little was 

 done, however, outside of Cape Cod along its eastern shore, from the 

 Highland to Chatham, as has been the case in other years. The mack- 

 erel which had remained for several weeks in Barnstable Bay, when 

 once outside of Race Point and on their way south, moved so rapidly 

 that but comparatively few were taken. 



I860. — Successful use of the purse seine off cape ann. 



A large quantity of mackerel were seined off Rockport on Saturday 

 last. One seine obtained 225 barrels of pretty fair mackerel, while quite 

 a number of barrels were caught b$ dory fishermen. — (Cape Ann Ad- 

 vertiser, July 13, 1860.) 



Small catch by the newburyport fleet at the south. 



Southern fleet have all returned, and are now fast leaving for the Bay 

 of Chaleur. Catch south small. "Sarah Jane" took 112 barrels of 

 mackerel, and 50 of bait. Largest catch. — (Newburyport Herald, June 

 28, 1860.) 



