38 



has become customary to take these fish by seining, and when the 

 net surrounds a "school," there is a chance, indeed almost a certain- 

 ty, of a great haul ; but it sometimes happens to a fishing crew that 

 no such chance occurs for months, and a bad voj'age for the vessel 

 and the men is the unfortunate result. The cases of total or partial 

 failure, however, are not sufficiently numerous to create discourage- 

 ment, or to excite apprehension that Gloucester will soon cease to 

 exhibit that preponderance in this fishery it has so long enjo3*ed. It 

 is true that the last year was one of poor success, but in the preced- 

 ing the quantity of mackerel packed in this city was 118,314 barrels, 

 of the net value probably of more than one million dollars. 



A remarkable feature in the modern business of Gloucester is the 

 fishery for halibut on Georges Bank and Grand Bank. This fish is 

 the only one of the flat kind, so far as we know, that is extensively 

 used as an article of food in this country. It is found in the waters 

 of Northern Europe, and is said to afford a considerable part of the 

 diet of the people on the coast of Lapland, where it sometimes at- 

 tains the weight of five hundred pounds. Those of a little more 

 than half this weight, or about three hundred pounds, are considered 

 large specimens by our fishermen. This fish is most highly es- 

 teemed when in a fresh condition, and we are not aware that it goes 

 at all into the market in a pickled state, though great numbers are 

 " fletched," to use a fisherman's phrase ; that is, the skin with a por- 

 tion of the flesh attached, is cut into strips, salted, and smoked, and 

 in this condition, when slightly broiled, finds much favor as a tea 

 table relish. There are large establishments in Gloucester for cu- 

 ring halibut in this manner, and there is always a demand for all 

 they can supply. The fins of the fish are also preserved in salt and 

 pickle ; but those who eat them in this condition know but little of 

 the richness and delicacy of the fresh fin. 



It does not appear that the halibut has ever been abundant near 

 the coast, though the shore fishermen of former times occasionallv 

 found them when fishing for cod, and were able to furnish a limited 

 supply for home consumption. It was not till the discovery of the 

 great feeding ground of this fish, on Georges Bank, that the attention 

 of our fishermen was directed to a special prosecution of this fishery ; 

 and, indeed, not till the opening of railroad communication with all 

 the cities and principal towns in the country, and the use of ice ren- 

 dered it possible to supply very distant inhabitants with this excel- 

 lent article of food in a fresh condition and at a low price, did any 

 considerable number of vessels engage in the business. The Boston 





