THE MACKEREL GILL-NET FISHERY. 295 
the large mackerel on its return. On one occasion Captain Atwood had twelve nets out, 5 miles 
from land. On the last night of November he had taken nothing, but on visiting the nets the next 
day he found they had sunk to the bottom filled with mackerel. He, however, succeeded in getting 
up eight, and the nets as they came to the surface looked like a sheet of silver. Three thousand 
three hundred and sixty mackerel were taken from these eight nets by nightfall. The next day 
the remaining nets were dragged in and 1,700 more taken, making 5,000 fish netted at a single 
catch. On another occasion a catch lasted three nights, when he alone caught mackerel enough 
of the best quality to make 16 barrels when packed.* 
In Gloucester Harbor and at other points ou the coast of Massachusetts and Maine they are 
set in shallow water, one or both ends being anchored and their position marked by buoys on each 
end of the gang. When set thus in protected harbors they are ordinarily placed across the direc- 
tion of the tide, usually in a cove or bight of the harbor where the mackerel are known to occur, 
and where they are out of the track of vessels. 
The most extensive “drag-net fishery” is carried on by the vessels of Portland and Friend- 
ship, Me. The method employed by these fishermen six years ago was somewhat as follows: The 
vessels are small schooners of 15 to 25 tons. They usually run out from the harbor near the close 
of the day, timing their departure so that they will be upon the fishing grounds about sunset, 
except when it is necessary to go a long distance out to sea, in which case, of course, the time of 
starting is earlier. Reaching a locality where mackerel are supposed to be abundant the vessel is 
hove to, and a gang of ten to twenty nets is paid out. The nets are fastened together at top and 
bdttom, and the outer end is marked by a buoy, other buoys being distributed along the gang at 
intervals, the junction between each pair of nets being generally marked by a keg or spar. To 
the last net is fastened a rope called a ‘‘net swing,” corresponding to the “fleeth-rope” used by 
the herring fishermen of Europe. This is a rope of 3 inches in circumference and 60 to 70 fathoms 
long. Itis paid out to its full length and made fast at the bow of the vessel. The foresail is then 
lowered and furled, and the vessel lies head to the wind, drifting to leeward and dragging the 
nets as she goes. If the wind is moderate the whole mainsail is kept up, but if the breeze is 
fresh, or what is called a mackerel breeze, it is reefed. Under favorable circumstances the nets 
are allowed to remain out all night, but the fishermen in the two dories row constantly along the 
nets back and forth noticing the movements of the fish, and especially looking out for the approach 
of dogfish. When a school of dogfish approaches the nets after any number of mackerel have been 
gilled it is at once necessary to take them in less the dogfish should devour the mackerel, tear 
innumerable holes in the twine, and roll themselves up in it until it is so twisted and tangled that 
it takes the labor of days to get it in proper condition for setting again. If the fishermen are not 
annoyed by dogfish the nets are allowed to remain down, as has been stated, all night long, and the 
men in the duries constantly pick out the fish, frequently carrying their catch back to the vessel. 
When the dogfish attack the nets they haul them in with the utmost expedition and bundle them 
as hurriedly as possible into the bottom of the dory, and after they have lifted them to the deck of 
the vessel take out the fish from among the meshes. 
It is part of the duty of the men in the dories to keep a vigilant lookout for approaching 
‘vessels. The gang of nets may be more than half a mile in length, and the keel of a large vessel 
passing over it would be almost certain to cut it in two. When it is still weather they row toward 
any vessel which they may see coming and ask the men on watch to steer clear of the nets; other- 
wise they are obliged to stand by the nets and repair the damages as best they may. Sometimes 
the approaching vessels are induced to steer clear of the ncts by the dorymen, who hold up a lan- 
* Captain Atwood, Proc. Bos. Soc. Nat. Hist., x, 186566. 
