THE SARDINE INDUSTRY. 505 
“turned out” during the early part of the season, and frequent lots of larger ones were liberated at 
intervals during the summer, when the catch was greater than the demand. The best part of the 
fishing season still remained, and it was thought that the weir would stock as much more before ~ 
the end of the year. ° 
The instances already cited are, of course, exceptional, and the average catch is very much 
less. It depends largely upon the location of the weir and the character of the surrounding bot- 
tom. Some weirs may be very successful, while others within a few rods of them will take almost 
nothing. There are, however, certain places that herring seem to frequent in large numbers, and 
in such localities most of the weirs, if properly constructed, are fairly successful. At Lubec, accord- 
ing to Mr. Jacob McGregor, the catch averaged fully 300 hogsheads yearly for each weir prior to 
1865. At the present time the largest quantities are taken at Grand Manan Island, where, accord- 
ing to Mr. J. W. Fisher, the catch in 1879 averaged about 225 hogsheads, and in 1880 it was fully 
as large. Deer Island, New Brunswick, ranks next to Grand Manan in the quantity of fish taken, 
and according to Mr. J. K. Wetmore the catch at that place was about 100 hogsheads to the weir in 
1879, and a trifle larger in 1880. The American fishermen seem to have been less successful, and 
from a careful examination of the subject it seems probable that the average weirs along the 
American shore will not secure more than 75 hogsheads, and at Lubec, where the herring were 
formerly so abundant, only 60 to 65 hogsheads will be captured. 
DIFFERENT WAYS IN WHICH THE WEIR CATOH IS UTILIZED.—Until 1855 a larger part of 
the catch was “turned out,” and most of those saved were smoked for shipment to the principal 
markets of the United States and to the West Indies. From that date to 1876 about half of the 
fish were pressed for the oil and pomace, and thousands of barrels were smoked annually. Since 
1876 a large percentage of the herring taken have been sent to Eastport to be put up as sardines. 
Before the practice of pressing the fish for the oil was adopted the greater part of the catch, 
as has just been mentioned, was turned out; but as soon as it was found profitable to utilize the 
herring in this way, the majority, especially of those taken in.the summer and fall, were saved for 
this purpose. The business was found to be a very remunerative one, as with oil at $9 per barrel 
the fish would pay an average of $3 per hogshead after deducting the cost of labor in pressing. 
During the spring months, according to Mr. Green, it requires 5 hogsheads of fish to make a barrel 
of oil; but in the fall the fish are much fatter, and 24 or even 2 hogsheads will yield an equal 
quantity. It is said that during a single season Mr. U. 8. Treat, of Treat’s Island, near Eastport, 
made $24,000 worth of oil and pomace from herring taken in his weirs. About that time nearly 
all of the more thrifty fishermen owned screw presses and made a regular business of cooking 
their fish, and not less than 10,000 pounds of pomace were marketed in Eastport yearly. 
ARE THE SARDINE-HERRING BEING EXTERMINATED?—For a number of years prior to the 
establishment of sardine canneries the weir-fishing was less important than formerly. This was 
by some thought to be due to the scarcity of fish, but it seems more probable that it was owing to 
the low price both of oil and smoked herring, which made the prosecution of the fishery unprofit- 
able. Many fishermen claim that the herring are tapidly decreasin g, and they cite the large 
quantities taken in former times, and the present small catches at Lubec, as proving their theory. 
The tish are undoubtedly less abundant in the vicinity of Lubec and in the waters of Cobscook 
Bay than formerly ; but this seems to be explained by the peculiar method of fishing at that place. 
Though the weir-fishing had been extensively prosecuted for many years, the catch had not per- 
ceptibly diminished up to 1865, when the building of deep-water weirs, which extended so far out 
into the channel as to nearly meet from the opposite shores, effectually shut out the herring from 
their usual entypnce to Cobscook Bay, which seems to have been a spawning ground. The herring, 
