376 GEOGRAPHICAL EEVIEW OF THE FISHERIES. 



the nets together in a mass, and even at times actually lifts them into the wheels. Three men go in 

 one boat on a fishing trip; two are engaged in rowing and the third handles the net. The fishing 

 season is usually from April 1 to May 15. The season of 1881 was short on account of cold weather 

 and the men had only one mouth's fishing. During the first of the season there were 100 drift- 

 nets in use, but at the close only 4 were employed. Mr. Joseph McLyman, a drift-uetter living at 

 Tompkiusville, Stateu Island, says that the season of 18SO was better for this mode of fishing than 

 that of 1881. In the latter year his highest catch ou a tide was 42 shad, while in the former it was 

 153. Some tides do not yield more than half a dozen fish. He thinks a fair average for 1880 was 

 50 shad to each net ou a tide, while it was only about 18 in 1881; a tide, in this case, meaning the 

 last of one tide and the first of the next, two tides a day being fished. 



The "gill-nets" or stake-nets are made of linen, coated with verdigris, white lead, and oil. 

 They are made of 5J-inch mesh, 80 meshes deep and 70 meshes wide. These nets are stretched 

 between poles which are set in rows. They are weighted at the bottom with heavy rings which 

 slide up the poles when lifted, and are suspended from the top by lines called "arm lines." 



None of these stake-nets are fished below Staten Island. On the island there is a company 

 (A. Simonson & Co.) that fishes four rows of nets, with twenty in a row. They employ eight men in 

 two boats. William Wardell, of Bay Ridge, Long Island, fishes in the same manner. Isaac Van 

 Duzer, of A. Siraousou & Co., has fished thirty-five years, and 1881 is the lightest season he has 

 known, though 1880 was light in comparison to former years. In the last-named season he took 

 16,000 shad, while in 1881 he caught only 9,500. His best season was in 1874, when he secured 

 21,000. He attributes the bad catch of 1881 partly to the late season and partly to the pollution of 

 the river, which is distasteful to the fish. He thinks that sewage is the main cause of his poor suc- 

 cess, as he fishes near the city, north of Staten Island, while 5 miles below, at New Dorp, the fykes 

 and pounds have had the best season in twenty years. Mr. Van Duzer says that there is a coating 

 of coal oil on the water, and he further adds that even the crabs taste of coal-tar. At New Dorp, 

 or Cedar Grove, there are two pounds and two fykes. The catch here has been good. Robert 

 Barnes owns the pounds, and Stephen Berger and John Kettletash fish the fykes. The fykes have 

 brush wings which extend greater or less distances. One fyke was set from Governor's Island 

 running from the south battery off southwest. The same parties fish for eels and flounders in 

 winter. A few lobsters were taken in former years, but none are found now. No crabs are taken 

 for market. One hundred men are engaged in fishing; forty are married, and two hundred and 

 fifty persons are dependent on the fisheries; $16,000 are invested in boats and vessels, and $5,000 

 worth of nets are employed. 



NEW YORK CITY. There are few fishing vessels hailing from New York City, though a very 

 large fleets from Long Island and New England ports resort to this market to dispose of their catch. 

 There are also great quantities of fishery products received by rail from all parts of the Atlantic 

 coast, the Gulf of Mexico, and from the Great Lakes. The receipts of fresh fish in 1880 aggregated 

 nearly 56,000,000 pounds, valued at about $3,500,000 at wholesale. 



The most important species, as regards weight, was cod, of which the receipts were 9,250,000 

 pounds. Among other species -were bluefish, 5,500,000 pounds; halibut, 3,650,000 pounds; shad, 

 4,002,000 pounds; large quantities of haddock, mackerel, herring, porgies or scup, smelts, flounders, 

 bass, sturgeon, whitefish, and other salt-water and fresh-water species; besides clams, crabs, lob- 

 sters, scallops, frogs, turtles, and other aquatic animals. 



The quantity of ice used for refrigerating fish in 1880 was 6,981 tons, valued at $41,055. There 

 are some large refrigerators, occupying buildings two or three stories high, where fresh fish are 

 stored during seasons of abundance, to be marketed throughout the year. 



