Ai?PEJfDlX. — MENHADEN FISHERY. lOl 



In that year the aggregate value of fishery products reported at his of- 

 fice was $1,083,850. There were registered in his office that year 233 sail 

 and 23 steam vessels, aggregating 15,192.72 tons. In 1879 '^he number of 

 "fish taken in the Bays and rendered at factories reporting at his office w^as 

 211,000,000; gallons of oil made, 1.013,300; tons scrap (dry), 22,100; 

 estimated total catch in district, 400,000,000; estimated total value of pro- 

 ducts of fisheries within the Bays, $975,000. In 1883 the number of fish 

 rendered in factories reporting at his office was 178,050,000; gallons oil 

 made, 369,900; tons dry scrap, 15.278. 



A brief statement of the practical operation of the fishery may not be 

 out of place. The purse net or seine, now in use will average 1000 feet in 

 length by 75 to 100 feet in depth; but steamers often take nets for deep and 

 shallow water fishing — the former 140 or 150 feet in depth, the latter 70 or 

 80 feet; those used in deep water are generally 180 fathoms, or 1,080 feet 

 long, while in shoal water they are 130 fathoms, or 780 feet, in length. 

 The former would require about 50 feet depth of water; the latter about 18 

 feet. On the upper line or rope to which the net is fastened cork floats are 

 strung at short distances apart, in order to keep the net floating in the de- 

 sired position; the underline is weighted and fitted with rings for drawing, 

 or, as it is technically called, "pursing"' the net together. Half of the net 

 is placed in the end of each of two seine boats which, when a school offish 

 has been descried by the lookout and the vessel has approached sufficient- 

 ly near, are rowed in dift"erent directions to make a circuit of the water where 

 the fish are known or supposed to be. The time occupied in going round a 

 school is ordinarly 10 to 20 mmutes. When the ends have been brought 

 together and the net has been "pursed" by hauling the lines, the upper 

 ones over and the under ones below the fish, the upper lines are tied com- 

 pactly together, leaving an opening fi-om which to bail the fish. The ves- 

 sel comes close alongside, and, if a steamer, uses a scoop net swung on a 

 crane and lifted by steam, to bail the fish from the net into her hold; the 

 scoop holds 1,000 fish of standard measurement, which is 22 cubic inches, 

 and repeated trials prove that this method of counting by scoop-luls will 

 not vary materially, with fish of average size, from counting by hand. By 

 the use of steam the fish may be bailed at the rate of a scoop-ful a minute, 

 or 60,000. an hour. On sailing vessels the bailing has to be done by hand. 

 Experience has determined the size of mesh most serviceable for catching 

 menhaden of standard size, to be 21-2 inches, but sometimes nets are used 

 of 2 1-4 or 2 5-8 inches. A full grown lish commonly weighs i to i 1-4 

 pounds, but sometimes "fat fish" will range from i 1-3 to 2 pounds, and 

 yet heavier specimens have been seen. The temperature of the water most 

 congenial to menhaden is from 52 deg. to 58 deg. Fahrenheit. 



The first to enter upon the drying of scrap exclusively as a business 

 was Mr.'L. C. d'Homergue, of Brooklyn, then of Greenport, who also was 

 first to make shipments of the dried scrap to England and Germauy. He 

 had a factory at Hay Beach, Shelter Island. Tiie results of his experi- 

 ments and observations there made were embodied in a paper read before 

 the Association in 1876, and set forth more in detail in a paper read before 

 the American Institute on March 8, 1877. 



The following synopsis of facts reLiting to the menhaden oil and guano 

 manufacture on Great South Bay is from a letter kindly sent me by Wilson 

 J. Terry, of Sayville; Samuel W. Green, of Say ville, was the pioneer in the 

 business. He built works at that place in 1861, at a cost of ^2,500. 



