396 GEOGRAPHICAL REVIEW OF THE FISHERIES. 



At almost every village fishermen own small yacbts for carrying pleasure-parties on fishing or 

 sailing excursions. At Barncgat there are about twenty-five of these boats; at Tuckerton and 

 Beach Haven, thirty ; and at Atlantic City, eighty. These, added to the number owned at other 

 smaller places, swell the total for the district to one hundred and eighty-five yachts, with fifty addi- 

 tional row-boats, engaged in pleasure fishing and sailing from the middle of June till late in Sep- 

 tenber. These yachts vary in size from 1 to 50 tons, and have an average value of $400 to $000. 

 They are fully provided with fishing-gear and bait, and carry from one to two men each to sail the 

 boat and assist in baiting the hooks. At Barnegat trolling for bluefish (P. saltatrix) is a favorite 

 pastime, but at other points the fishing is chiefly for weakfish with hand-lines. The catch, which 

 is often very large, is usually given to the boatman to dispose of as lie may think proper, or taken 

 to the boarding-house where the parties are stopping; some, however, box their fish and ship them 

 to friends at a distance. The village of Baruegat is nearly supplied with fish taken by the pleasure- 

 seekers, and at Atlantic City many of the cottages receive an abundance from the same source. 



THE EEL FISHERY. The eel fisheries of the district are of considerable importance. In the 

 northern portion the fishing is usually with spears during the winter months, the greater part of 

 the catch being taken near Oceauville; but in Capo May County haul-seines, 25 to 50 fathoms in 

 length, are employed during the summer. A small vessel, owned by Captain Mitchell Howell, of 

 Dyer's Creek, is engaged in the fishery. She has a crew of three men, who, having provided them- 

 selves with eel-pots, fish at different points along the shores of Delaware Bay. 



In addition to the above, many of the farmers, mechanics, and men engaged in other branches 

 of the fisheries, fish occasionally for eels during their leisure hours both in summer and winter. 

 The bulk of the entire catch is consumed locally, while a small part is sent to the New York and 

 Philadelphia markets, netting the fishermen from 4 to 5 cents a pound. 



THE WINTER COD FISHERY. The winter cod fishery comes next in importance. Codfish make 

 their appearance in this region about the middle of November and remain till the last of April. 

 They seem to be quite generally scattered over the bottom, and may be found along almost any 

 part of the coast from one-half to 10 miles from the shore, though they are more abundant on the 

 rocky and clayey spots. 



THE FISHING GROUNDS FOR COD. As far as known there is but one important fishing-bank 

 off the New Jersey coast. This lies nearly east of Cape May, about 12 miles distant, and, accord- 

 ing to Captain George Hildreth, extends 15 miles in a northeast and southwest direction, and has 

 an average width of nearly a mile. This is known as "Five Fathom" or "Hereford Bank." There 

 is also a larger bank known as "The old grounds," lying to the southeast of Cape Henlopen. 

 These banks have long been frequented by a number of the New York market-smacks during the 

 winter months, and at the present time no less than thirty of them engage regularly in the cod 

 fisheries here and at other points along the New Jersey coast. 



THE COD-FISHERMEN OF ATLANTIC CITY AND TucKERTON. When the residents of this 

 district only are considered, the capture of the cod is confined to the fishermen of Atlantic City 

 and Tuckerton, though a few are taken by the crews of the various life-saving stations along the 

 shore, and by the pilot-boats in the vicinity of Cape May. 



At Atlantic City the cod fishery began, according to Capt. Washington Yates, fully forty 

 years ago, when the fishermen went out occasionally in boats or small vessels, selling their catch 

 locally. There was no regular fishing, however, and the practice was soon discontinued, so that 

 between 1855 and 1871 very few cod were taken. In 1871 Captain Yates, who is a harbor pilot 

 at Atlantic City, visited the fishing grounds and, finding cod plenty, engaged regularly in the 

 fishery. In 1875 three other boats joined him, and trawls were then introduced. From that date 



