MAINE: SACO, KENNEBUNK, AND YORK DISTRICTS. 99 



vicinity of Wood Islaml, Cape Porpoise, and Boon Island. They arrive between the 7th ami 20th 

 of September and remain for two or three weeks, after which they work their way southward, often 

 going as far as the entrance to Boston Harbor. There they are met by quite a fleet of the so-called 

 "Irish boats" from Boston, and by numerous small vessels from Gloucester, Marblehead, Salem, and 

 Beverly ; but although these all help to swell the total catch, the bulk of the fish are always taken 

 off Biddeford Pool and vicinity. An extensive fleet of small schooners from Maine, New Hamp- 

 shire, and Massachusetts resorts yearly to this region, and as many as 185 sail have been seen 

 fishing here at one time. They take their catch with gill-nets, which are fished from dories manned 

 by two men each. The vessels use from six to twenty nets according to their size, an average 

 being from ten to twelve. The largest vessels carry six or seven dories and from twelve to 

 fifteen men. The nets used are forty yards long, twenty-one feet deep, and have a mesh varying 

 from two and a half to three inches. They are set in the afternoon and "run" or "picked" the 

 next morning. The fish usually "mesh" in the night, but in exceptional instances they have been 

 known to do so in the daytime. In this case the nets are visited twice a day. The average catch 

 is 10 barrels to the net, although as high as 50 barrels are sometimes taken. 



The herriug are generally marketed at Portland, where they are packed "round" (i. e., as they 

 come from the water) in barrels filled with a salt-water pickle. The greater part are distributed 

 through the Southern and Western States. The total quantity taken by the fleet in 1879 was 

 15,000 barrels, while in 1880 it was diminished to 7,500. The average annual catch is between 

 10,000 and 12,000 barrels. 



A life-saving station was established near Biddeford Pool in 1874, the captain and crew of 

 which are selected from the fishermen of the region. Captain Goldthwaite, who is in charge of the 

 station, has shown us many courtesies and given us much valuable information about the fisheries 

 of the place. From him and others we learn that the fleet of the town numbers ten vessels, valued 

 at $5,750 and carrying thirty-seven men. There are, in addition, forty-eight men, with thirty 

 boats, engaged in the capture of fish, lobsters, and clams during a greater part of the year. The 

 value of the sea-products taken by these parties during the average season is about $22,000. 



49. MR. WILCOX'S ACCOUNT OP THE FISHERIES OF KENNEBUNK AND KENNE- 



BUNKPORT. 



KENNEBUNK AND KENNEBUNKPOBT. About 25 miles south of Portland are the towns of 

 Kennebunk and Keunebunkport. They are separated from each other by a river, at the mouth of 

 which is a small harbor that affords shelter for the boats and vessels owned in the vicinity. Two 

 villages, known as Kennebunk and Kennebunkport, respectively, are, with the exception of Cape 

 Porpoise, the only settlements of importance. 



The people of these villages have given little attention to the fisheries, their time being largely 

 employed in ship-building, which for many years has been their principal business, and they have 

 won an enviable reputation for the superior quality of their work, especially in the vessels of large 

 size. Though the business has, for some years past, been less extensive than formerly, the four 

 ship-yards constructed, between the years 1873 and 1879, sixty-four vessels, having a total of 

 25,863.20 tons. Thirty-eight of these, aggregating 1,078.97 tons (including seven menhaden 

 steamers), were for the fisheries. A number of other fishing vessels, too small for enrollment, have 

 been built here. 



The few boat-fishermen of these towns fish from April to November along the outer shore and 

 in Wells Bay, using hand-lines and trawls for ground fish, and nets for mackerel and herring. 

 About one-third of the ground-fish taken are cod ; the rest are mostly hake and haddock, the 



