780 HISTORY AND METHODS OF THE FISHERIES, 



those years was only about 300 lobsters. At Cotuit, near Barnstable, twenty-five traps were set 

 in 1880, taking in all only about 500 lobsters. One lobster smack, the Pontiac, is owned at 

 Barnstable. She is a schooner of 9.93 tons, is valued at $400, and carries a crew of four men. She 

 sets traps on the coasts of Maine and Massachusetts and also engages in other branches of fishery. 



Capt. Benjamin Lovell, of Yarmouth Port, fished with seventeen traps during the season of 

 1880, making a total catch of about 2,500 lobsters. A portion of this catch was shipped to Boston 

 and the remainder was used locally. Lobsters are generally sold by weight, at the rate of 5 to 10 

 cents a pound. Since 1876 the lobster fishery of this region has scarcely sufficed to supply the 

 local demand until this year. Captain Lovell, in speaking of the decrease in the abundance of 

 lobsters, states that twenty years ago, with half the number of pots, he could cateh 5,000 lobsters 

 in one week. 



Five men engage in lobstering at Wood's Holl, and when not so occupied follow other kinds 

 of fishing. The traps are set in depths of 4 to 15 fathoms, the season extending from April to 

 October. Each man will stock from $100 to $200 per season. The average daily catch per trap is 

 said to be four or five lobsters of all sizes. About one-half the catch is sold locally, the balance 

 being shipped away, mainly to New York and New Bedford. The wholesale price of lobsters is .3 

 cents per pound; the retail, 6 cents per pound. 



Summation of the lobster fisheries in Barnstable district in 1880. 



Number of fishermen 66 



Number of smacks 1 



Value of same $400 



Number of boats 60 



Value of same f 1,000 



Number of lobster pots 3,000 



Value of same $3,000 



Total capital invested hi the fishery $4,400 



Number of barrels of bait used 420 



Value of same . $210 



Quantity of lobsters taken and disposed of, iu pounds 211,230 



Value of same to the fishermen * $7, 745 



NANTUCKET DISTRICT. 



This district includes the islands of Nantucket and Tuckernuck. Four men engage regularly 

 in lobstering from Nantucket, and eleven others fish at odd times. At Tuckernuck there are six 

 regular lobstermen, who set from thirty to sixty or seventy traps each. Most of the catch, which 

 is very small, is sold to a New York smack, which makes a trip about once every ten days. 



Summation of the lobster fisheries in Nanttieket district in 1880. 



dumber of fishermen 21 



Number of boats 21 



Value of same $420 



Number of lobster pots '. 1,500 



Value of same. $1,500 



Total amount of capital invested in the fishery $1,920 



Number of barrels of bait used 22 



Value of same $11 



Quantity of lobsters taken and disposed of, in pounds 11, 250 



. Value of same to the fishermen $412 



EDGARTOWN DISTRICT. 



Edgartown district includes Martha's Vineyard, No Man's Land, and the Elizabeth Islands. 

 Lobster fishing is carried on mainly from Cuttyhunk, No Man's Land, Lobsterville (Menemsha 

 Bight), and Edgartown, Martha's Vineyard. This fishery was begun at the Elizabeth Islands 



