52 GEOGRAPHICAL REVIEW OF THE FISHERIES. 



weeks in their capture, after wlucli the landsmen return to their work on shore and the others fish 

 for cod, hake, and haddock till cold weather sets in. 



A greater part of the fish caught by the small vessels and boats are sold to dealers, or landed 

 at the stand of some professional curer to be prepared for the market. In 1879 there were uiiie 

 curing stands on the two islands, employing an average of two men each. The quantity of fish 

 cured during the season, including 1,060 quintals handled by the boat-fishermen, was 18,400 quin- 

 tals, the 'greater part being sold in Boston. 



G. THE WALDOBORO' DISTRICT. 



27. GENERAL REVIEW OF THE FISHERIES OF THE DISTRICT. 



ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE FISHERIES. The Waldoboro' customs district, which 

 includes the coast line between Camden and Booth Bay, as well as the islands of Matinicus and 

 Mouhegan, is from a historical standpoint one of the most interesting in the United States. It 

 wis visited by European voyagers as early as 1602, and by 1G17 British merchants sent vessels 

 regularly to Monhegau to engage in the fisheries. It was originally included under the Pemaquid 

 patent, granted by King Charles I to Elbridge and Aldsworth in 1629. According to Williamson, 

 the section lying between Sagadahoc and Saint George had a population of 500 as early as 1630 ; 

 of this number it may fairly be inferred that two-thirds were within the present limits of the 

 Waldoboro district. Nearly all of the early settlers came to the region to engage in the fisheries, 

 which at that time formed the principal occupation of the people. 



The district is now quite thickly settled. It includes the cities of Rockland, Thornastou, and 

 Damariscotta, and several small villages. Many of the inhabitants devote their attention to agri- 

 culture, but a majority of those living along the coast are engaged in the fisheries, while not a few 

 are employed in ship-building or are dependent upon the coasting trade. 



THE VESSEL AND BOAT FISHERIES. The fishing vessels of the region have, as a rule, been 

 quite small, and now as in the past, only a few large ones are owned in the district. Those of 

 suitable size are sent to the more important fishing grounds, but the majority are engaged in the 

 shore fisheries only. The present fleet numbers 111 sail, these averaging about 22 tons each. 



The boat-fisheries have long been important, though owing to the menhaden fisheries they 

 have decreased somewhat in certain towns during the last ten or fifteen years. They now furnish 

 employment to 483 men, only one hundred less than the number on the vessels. Of these, 250 

 are engaged in the capture of lobsters during some portion of the year. The catch for the season 

 reached 1,695,882 pounds, of which quantity 748,182 pounds were put up at the Port Clyde cannery. 

 The remainder of the boat fishermen are engaged in the capture of cod, herring, mackerel, and 

 other species along the shores of the outer headlands and islands. 



THE MENHADEN INDUSTRY. The menhaden fisheries of Maine began in a small way more 

 than twenty years ago. In 1864, a factory was built at Bristol near the eastern boundary of the 

 district. Later, the business became very important, and Bristol came to be the center of the 

 industry for the State. In 1878, according to reliable authorities, there were eleven factories at 

 Bristol, valued, with machinery and fixtures, at three-quarters of a million dollars. Twenty-nine 

 steamers with five hundred fishermen were employed, and two hundred additional hands were 

 engaged in manipulating the catch. The production of these establishments duriug the season was 



