546 , HISTORY AND METHODS OF THE FISHERIES. 
vicinity of Barnegat Inlet, and the menhaden fishermen of Tuckerton occasionally catch them in 
their purse-seines. 
The commercial fishery is of recent origin, and it is only within the past few years that any 
considerable quantities have been taken for market. The fishery practically began off the New 
Jersey coast in 1873, and the mackerel were first extensively taken in Chesapeake Bay in 1875. 
This fact has little or no significance in its bearing upon the abundance of the fish, for the increased 
catch is almost wholly accounted for in both localities by the change in the methods of fishing. 
2. APPARATUS AND METHODS OF CAPTURE. 
Three kinds of apparatus are used in the Spanish mackerel fishery, namely, the troll-line, the 
gill-net, and the pound-net. The troll-line is more extensively employed off the Long Island coast 
and along the shores of Northern New Jersey than in any other locality. It was introduced into 
the region at an early date, and for some time was the most important method in the fishery. It 
has been less extensively used during the past ten years, and is now chiefly employed by parties 
fishing several miles from the shore. Large open boats and small sloops, carrying from two to five 
men each, are used for trolling. The trolling-hooks, or ‘‘squids,” as they are frequently called, 
differ greatly. Some are made of bright metals in the form of a fish, while others more nearly 
resemble the body of a squid, these being usually painted in brilliant colors. The number of hooks 
varies from one to three according to the kind of squid used. In the absence of a manufactured 
squid the fishermen frequently improvise Vgry good ones by attaching a piece of red or white cloth 
to ordinary fish-hooks. In fishing, the hooks are attached to lines several fathoms in length, four 
or five of these being towed behind the boat, which spreads enough canvas to drag them through 
the water at a speed of two to four miles per hour. The fishermen are often successful in catching 
large numbers of mackerel in this way. 
At Sandy Hook gill-nets were first employed in the capture of mackerel in 1866, but being 
“set taut,” they were not very successful, the fish usually detecting their presence and refusing to 
enter them. When it was found that, although abundant, the fish did not gill readily, schools of 
them were often surrounded by the nets, after which the fishermen attempted to frighten them 
into the meshes by splashing with oars in the center of the circle. The majority, however, would 
pass under the lead-lines, or jump over the cork-lines, and escape, so that comparatively few were 
taken. Still the nets continued to be used with varying success, though the bulk of the catch was 
taken by trolling. About 1872 or 1873 it was accidentally discovered that the mackerel would gill 
more readily in nets set in such a way as to present sharp angles, quite a number having been 
secured in a net that had become twisted and tangled by the currents. This fact suggested a 
change in the manner of setting, and various experiments were made by the fishermen of Seabright 
with good results. The first “‘sets” were somewhat crude, but experience enabled the fishermen to 
improve upon them from year to year. 
The figures in the accompanying illustration represent the principal methods of setting the 
gill-nets for the capture of Spanish mackerel off Sandy Hook from 1866 to the present time. Fig. 
1 shows the first method, locally known as the “straight-set.” The other figures represent, in their 
order, the more important methods that have since been introduced. At the present time the nets 
are set in pairs, and the three “sets” shown in Figs. 6, 7, and 8 are most commonly employed. 
These are locally known as the ‘“‘square-set,” “T-set,” and “‘harpoon-set,” the names describing, 
to a certain extent, the shape of the nets as they appear in the water. In the square-set, Fig. 6, 
one of the nets is placed perpendicular to the shore to form a leader, while the other is set in 
the form of a square at the outer end, openings of 3 or 4 feet being left on either side of the 
