MAINE: FRENCHMAN'S BAY DISTRICT. 31 



OFFSHORE VESSEL FISHERIES. It is stated by Mr. Curtis Stephens, that Gouldsboro' has 

 never sent any vessels to Labrador or to the Magdalen Islands. She sent two sail to Grand Banks 

 for several years, beginning with 18C7. The first mackerel vessels were sent to the Gulf of Saint 

 Lawrence in 1855, from which time to 1803 four or five sail were sent annually to that locality. 



THE HAKE FISHERY. Perhaps the most important fishery in which the people of Gouldsboro' 

 have been interested is that for hake in Frenchman's Bay. According to Mr. Stephens, this fishery 

 began about 1840, when vessels from the westward, probably from Massachusetts, first resorted to 

 the region. The fleet increased yearly until 1858 to I860, when there were often 100 sail in the 

 bay at one time, and fully twice that number came occasionally to the locality. Between 1800 and 

 1805, owing to the Rebellion, which uec< ssitated the absence of a large percentage of the male popu- 

 lation, the fishery declined very rapidly. A few years later the hake are said to have left the bay, 

 and for this reason the fishery has never been revived. 



THE MENHADEN FISHERIES. Menhaden were formerly very abundant in the waters of this 

 region, but for many years they were taken only in limited quantities for use as bait in the hake 

 fisheries. When the value of their oil became known, the Gouldsboro' fishermen at once engaged 

 extensively in their capture. The business began about 1855, and by 18G3 there were, according 

 to Mr. D. D. Hodgkins, of Lamoine, fully one bundled try-houses, with two to four kettles each, in 

 active operation along the shore between Jordan's River and Winter Harbor. Each of these 

 "stands" is said to have produced an average of fifty casks of oil yearly. By 1870 the business 

 began to decline, and now, owing to the absence of the fish from these waters, it is wholly discon- 

 tinued. 



THE PRESENT CONDITION OF THE FISHERIES. At the present time Gouldsboro' has but two 

 vessels engaged iu the fisheries ; one, fishing for herring at Wood Island in the fall ; while the other 

 fishes for cod and other species along the shore. In addition to the above there are two smaller 

 craft engaged in the lobster trade. The four vessels, val ued at $1,300, neasure but 75 tons in the 

 aggregate, and furnish employment for only twelve men. 



The principal fishing of the town is for lobsters. In the summer of 1880 seventy-eight men were 

 engaged in this work, setting an average of sixty pots each. Two canneries, established in 1803 

 and 1870, respectively, are at present in operation. These use all of the small lobsters taken by 

 the fishermen, and the larger ones are sold to Portland and Boston smacks. The two factories 

 employ over fifty hands during the height of the season. 



Most of the professional boat-fishermen of the town have small camps and flake yards on the 

 outer headlands or islands. When the fishing season arrives they repair to their camps with pro- 

 visions and cooking utensils, and spend the summer in catching and curing the cod, hake, and 

 haddock, which they often take in considerable numbers. There are fourteen of these camps, with 

 twenty-five regular fishermen, and eight others that fish occasionally during the summer months. 

 In addition to these, nearly all of the lobstermen fish, more or less, with handline and trawl after 

 the lobster season is over. 



In the early spring, eight men make a business of clamming on the flats, near West Goulds- 

 boro', shucking and salting their catch, which they sell to the Hancock vessel fishermen. 



14. SULLIVAN, HANCOCK, AND LAMOINE. 



SULLIVAN. Sullivan is a town of 1,200 inhabitants, lying to the north of Gouldsboro', with 

 important mining interests. It is too far from the fishing grounds to have any extensive fish- 

 eries. One small fishing schooner, of 7.05 tons, is owned here, but the captain usually makes his 

 headquarters at other places. Aside from this, the fishing is confined to eight lobstermen, who 



