THE SPANISH MACKEREL FISHERY. 551 



only a few hundred cans having been prepared. Recently, at the suggestion of Professor Baird, 

 experiments were made in canning the Spanish mackerel at Cherrystone, Va., for the purpose of 

 ascertaining their relative value as compared with other kinds of canned fish. The report from 

 the canneries is to the effect that they were no better than fish of ordinary grades, though there 

 seems to be a difference of opinion on the subject. However this may be, there is certainly no 

 prospect of an extensive business either in the salting or canning of the species, as the demand 

 for the fresh mackerel is sufficient to offer an outlet for all that can be secured; while the price 

 ranges so high as to make their canning or salting entirely impracticable. 



As a fresh fish, the Spanish mackerel has few equals. It is one of the most valuable species 

 taken in the United States, and is a great favorite with epicures. The price paid for the species 

 in the different markets is often extravagant. Instances are not uncommon where the wholesale 

 price has exceeded $1 per pound. The first fish sent to Few York in the spring usually sell as 

 high as 75 cents a pound, and the price does not fall far below 60 cents for some time; but as the 

 quantity increases the price is gradually reduced, until, at times of oversupply, when the market 

 becomes glutted, they occasionally sell as low as 6 or 7 cents a pound. The average wholesale 

 price in New York in 1880, for all grades, is said to have been about 18 cents a pound. Mr. C. W. 

 Smiley, who has made a careful study of the Philadelphia market, puts the average price for that 

 city at 16J cents per pound during the same period. The fish taken in the northern waters reach 

 the market in much better condition than those shipped from a distance, and for this reason they 

 sell more readily and at better figures. They are, as a rule, much larger and fatter than those 

 taken in Chesapeake Bay ; this fact alone making considerable difference in their value. While 

 the Virginia fish are selling in New York at 15 cents, the larger ones from Sandy Hook and Long 

 Island frequently bring more than twice as much. 



Many of the fishermen of the lower Chesapeake do not ship their own fish, but sell to the 

 dealers in Norfolk and other places at 7 to 10 cents apiece. Others pack in ice and ship directly 

 to Baltimore by steamer, but as their facilities for packing and shipping are limited, the amount 

 realized, after deducting the numerous expenses, is little, if any, in advance of that received by 

 parties selling in Norfolk. 



The principal markets, in their order of importance, are Baltimore, New York, Norfolk, and 

 Philadelphia; from these points the catch is distributed to the larger cities of the country, where 

 the fish are consumed by the wealthy classes, few going into the country towns of the interior. 

 Few cities keep any accurate statistics of their fish trade, and for this reason it is impossible to 

 give the quantity of mackerel handled by their dealers. No figures can be given for the Baltimore 

 trade, though it is safe to say that the dealers of that city handle fully three-fourths of a million 

 pounds annually. The report of the New York Fish-Mongers' Association shows that 274,913 

 pounds were handled in that city in 1878. This quantity, according to the same authority, was 

 increased to 309,168 in 1879, and to 390,000 pounds in 1880. Mr. Smiley, in his report on the 

 Philadelphia market for 1880, places the quantity of Spanish mackerel handled at 65,880 pounds, 

 valued at $10,870. Mr. W. A. Wilcox, secretary of the Boston Fish Bureau, estimates the quantity 

 handled in Boston in 1879 at 15,865 pounds, while that in 1880 was about 20,000 pounds. 



5. STATISTICS OF THE FISHERY. 



It is not possible to state the exact quantity of Spanish mackerel taken by the fishermen of 

 the United States during any season, but a careful study of the fisheries in the interests of the 

 Fish Commission and Census enable us to give the following table, compiled from the preliminary 

 statistical reports prepared by Col. Marshall McDonald, Mr. A. Howard Clark, and the writer, for 



