270 NEW ENGLAND FISHERIES 



one of the most interesting discussions ever heard in our 

 national halls concerning the fishing industry. Every 

 possible phase of the subject was discussed during the 

 progress of the debates. The principal arguments of the 

 promoters of the bill were that the southern spring mack- 

 erel fishery is extremely uncertain and has usually been 

 carried on at a loss; that the continued catching of the 

 fish on a large scale before the period of spawning would 

 exhaust the supply of fish and destroy the mackerel fishery ; 

 that the continued harassing of mackerel during their 

 migration breaks up the schools and drives the fish from 

 the New England shores into the Gulf of Saint Lawrence ; 

 that the fish of the early season are inferior in quality; 

 that this fishery interferes with the trade of salt mackerel 

 and reduces the price of that kind of fish. 



The opponents of the measure, those who wished the 

 spring mackerel fishery to continue, claimed that for Con- 

 gress to interfere with the ocean fisheries was establishing 

 a dangerous precedent; that there was no indisputable 

 evidence that the general abundance of mackerel was af- 

 fected by the spring catch; that the use of purse-seines 

 in taking the fish did not necessarily drive them from our 

 shores to the Gulf of Saint Lawrence; that a sincere de- 

 mand for protection would place the time limit as late as 

 July, when the spawning season is over; that these fish 

 furnish a cheap and wholesome food for thousands of peo- 

 ple who cannot afford fish of a higher grade ; that the pro- 

 posed law would be severe and sectional as it would pre- 

 vent the capture of mackerel when they appeared off the 

 coast of the southern states and would allow their capture 

 when the fish had reached the New England shores. 



The act was approved by the President in February, 

 1887. Congress sought to give protection to the mackerel 

 industry by passing a law that forbade the importation 

 of the fish during certain seasons of the year. No action 



