606 



HISTORY AND METHODS OF THE FISHERIES. 



This is a marked increase over the number existing in 1877, which has been set down by Pro- 

 fessor Goode as thirty. 



No difficulty is usually found in securing good prices for the fish in New York and Philadelphia. 

 The markets of Providence and Newport also absorb a very considerable proportion of the products 

 of the fishery. 



STATISTICS FOE 1880. The amount of the catch in 1880, according to the information obtained 

 by Messrs. Kumlien, Wilcox, and others, was about 8,300,000 pounds. 



In 1877 the yield of three traps was as follows : 



In 1876 the three traps of Messrs. Edward Gladding & Co. and Mr. H. M. Merritt yielded 

 248,400 pounds of fish, or about 82,800 pounds to the trap. 



In 1867 Mr. Benjamin Tallman, of Portsmouth, caught in six traps in nine days $18,000 worth 

 of fish. Estimating the value of the fish at $5 per box, which is not too great a sum, the number 

 of boxes secured was about 3,600, representing 1,260,000 pounds of fish. The average catch to a 

 trap each day was about 23,300 pounds. 



8. THE POUND-NET FISHERIES OF CONNECTICUT. 



CONNECTICUT EIVER SHAD-POUNDS. The pound-net fishery in Connecticut for the capture of 

 shad is carried on chiefly at the mouth of the Connecticut River and to the westward. The nets 

 are in every respect similar to those fished on Vineyard Sound, and it is therefore unnecessary for 

 me to do more than allude to them. Full information on this topic will be found in the chapter on 

 the river fisheries of the Atlantic States. 



9. THE POUND-NET FISHERIES OF NEW YORK. 



LOCATION AND IMPORTANCE OF THE POUND-NET FISHERIES OF LONG ISLAND. In New 

 York the pound fisheries are confined to Long Island, and are not so extensively carried on as 

 formerly. The height of the prosperity of the fishery seems to have been reached in 1875. The 

 investigations of Mr. Fred. Mather show that there are nets scattered along both shores of Long 

 Island at considerable intervals. They are moved quite frequently, to the end that more fish may 

 be taken. 



The nets employed correspond to those in use in Vineyard Sound. Some, however, have no 

 " heart," but merely a funnel leading into the bowl, which may be circular or square. Such nets 

 are known in common parlance as "traps." All the nets have leaders. 



The fish most sought for are shad and striped bass. Some of the traps are employed for the 

 capture of the latter species alone. A few Spanish mackerel are taken in many of the nets. 



