680 HISTORY AND METHODS OF THE FISHERIES. 



Some of the lobster fishermen of Small Point raise a little produce; iu the winter they engage 

 in cutting and storing ice, and during the fishing season they leave off lobsteriug for days, and 

 even weeks at a time, to catch mackerel when the latter are abundant near shore. At such times 

 the pots are left down and hauled whenever an opportunity offers. 



But few men engage in lobstering at Little Deer Island, aiid these handle only a small number 

 of pots each. They spend about half of their time in tending the pots and the remainder mostly 

 in digging clams. 



The boat fishermen of the vicinity of Isle au Haufc make a specialty almost of fishing for 

 lobsters during a longer or shorter season. When mackerel are plentiful they fish for them quite 

 generally, and the same is true with respect to cod and hake, the fishermen engaging for the time 

 being iu whatever fishery pays them best. No fishing is done in the winter, but that season is 

 devoted to fixing the gear or spent in idleness, no other occupations being offered by these islands. 



MANNER OP TENDING THE TRAPS. The greater part of the lobstermen own their gear 

 and fish singly. Frequently, however, they go in pairs, one to manage the boat while the other 

 hauls the pots. The pots are more easily handled by a single person when set in trawls than when 

 set on single warps. When working in pairs they may own the gear in common, or it may belong 

 to one, who employs the other either at stated wages or on shares. In some cases the pots are 

 tended entirely by hired help. 



MANNER OP DISPOSING OP THE CATCH. The manner in which the fishermen dispose of 

 their catch varies greatly on different parts of the coast, depending upon their distance from the 

 markets and their facilities for reaching them. On the coast of Maine large numbers of the lob- 

 stermen are located near the canneries to which the small lobsters are directly carried. Those 

 suitable for the fresh markets are retained for the market smacks, which make regular trips along 

 the coast, or are disposed of to dealers in the neighboring towns who -ship, by smacks and steamers 

 or railroad, such as are not needed to supply the local demands. Dry smacks visit the fishermen 

 who are located too far from the canneries to reach them in their own boats. These remarks, 

 excepting such as refer to the cannery supplies, apply to the entire coast. 



EARNINGS OP THE FISHERMEN. The earnings of the lobster fishermen upon our coast afford, 

 at the most, but a meager living, and, according to all accounts, they have been gradually falling 

 off during the past fifteen to twenty years. At Provincetown, Mass., we find a striking, though 

 extreme, illustration of the decline in the profits of lobster fishing, consonant with the decrease 

 in the abundance of lobsters, which has forced all the able-bodied men of that locality into other 

 branches of fishery or other occupations. Elsewhere the decrease has generally been less marked, 

 though none the less apparent. In this industry as in all others, the more energetic men using 

 the best appliances are, as a rule, the most successful, while the older and less active ones make 

 but small profits. Below we give a summation of the gross earnings of lobstermen for many por- 

 tions of the coast, based upon the fishery census returns of 1880. In this connection it should be 

 remembered that the lobster season continues actively for only about three or four months of the 

 year in the principal districts, and the earnings stated are for lobster fishing only. To ascertain 

 the actual profits iu this one line, allowance must, however, be made for the cost and repair of 

 traps, boats, and other appliances. 



At Eastport, Me., the average earnings per man were from $25 to $30 a mouth ; at Jonesport, 

 about $150 for the canning season of four months, or from April to August; Gouldsborough, $30 a 

 month ; Rockport, $40 a month by the best fishermen; North Haven, $20 to $25 a month; Port- 

 land, $1.50 a day. According to Mr. R. E. Earll, who carefully studied the subject, the average 

 daily stock or earnings per man in the different lobster districts of the coast of Maine iu 1880 



