A HALF-CENTURY OF GROWTH 173 



from the statistics of the fishery industry of New England 

 from 1818 to 1866 that there was an average annual catch 

 of 225,000 barrels of mackerel by our fishermen, valued at 

 $1,935,000 annually. 1 Between 1850 and 1860 there were 

 annually employed in the mackerel fishery of New England 

 662 vessels, carrying 5,252 men in the crews. The average 

 size of each vessel was 65 tons; of the crew, eight men. 2 



Accounts of the extent and value of the New England 

 fisheries for the year 1851 show that the number of ves- 

 sels employed in the cod and mackerel fisheries was 2,691, 

 valued at $12,000,000, including their outfits. The ton- 

 nage of the vessels engaged in the codfishery was 95,617 

 tons, in the mackerel fishery, 50,539 tons. The average cod- 

 tonnage for the ten years previous to 1851 was 79,251 tons; 

 nine quintals of codfish were taken per ton, worth $2.60 a 

 quintal. There were 11,321 men in the codfishery for the 

 ten years. 



The status of the cod and mackerel fisheries of New Eng- 

 land for the year 1859 is given on the following page, 

 which shows the vessels, men and tonnage in the fisheries 

 belonging to each State. Outside of the New England 

 states, the deep-sea fisheries were unimportant and need 

 not be considered in making the totals for the country's 

 fisheries. 3 



The value of the products of the New England deep-sea 



1 Statistics compiled from Sabine's Report, Hunt's Merchant's 

 Magazine, U. S. Fish Commission Report for 1881, Boston Fish 

 Bureau Reports. 



2 From a careful estimate of both the cod and mackerel fisheries 

 of Massachusetts for 1837 it is learned that in that year the catch 

 of cod amounted to 510,554 quintals, valued at $1,569,517; and of 

 mackerel, 234,059 barrels, valued at $1,639,049. The total value of 

 the fisheries products of the State was $3,208,866. The number of 

 fishermen was 11,146, with about as many more employe's on land 

 engaged in curing the fish. (32nd Cong., 1st Sess., Vol. 29, p. 904.) 



s 36th Cong., 1st Session, Sen. Docs., Vol. I, No. 41. 



