FISHERIES OF THE GREAT LAKES IN 1885. 185 



men of Frankfort in the capture of wkitefisli and trout with gill-uets. 

 Fish in this vicinity are more or less abundant at all seasons, and the 

 small steamers that run daily to Manistee and another line of boats 

 direct to Chicago afford facilities for shipping fresh fish to market. The 

 first of the St. Joseph steamers came in 1883, and the next year there 

 were five of them fishing for a greater or less period from the harbor, 

 with one or two additional sail-boats. 



Fishermen. — The fishermen are chiefly foreign-born — natives of north- 

 ern Europe. Sometimes a number of them own a fishing rig in com- 

 mon, although a majority of the rigs are owned by the captain of the 

 crew, who hires his fishermen at from $30 to $50 per month. 



The fishing season.— Owing to the early breaking up of the ice along 

 this portion of the coast, the gill-net fishing often begins as soon as the 

 first or middle of March and continues without interruption till late- in 

 December. The pound-net season, however, is of short duration, be- 

 ginning about the middle or last of June and ending the latter part of 

 September. 



Species. — The yield of the gill-nets is about two-thirds whitefish and 

 one-third trout for the steamers, though perhaps the percentage of trout 

 for the small boats fishing nearer shore would be somewhat larger. 

 The pound-net catch averages about 90 per cent, white fish, with about 

 7 or 8 per cent, trout and 2 or 3 per cent, sturgeon, in addition to the suck- 

 ers and other fish which are thrown away, amounting to about 20 tons in 

 1885. 



Statistics. — In 1885 there were two St. Joseph steamers fishing in 

 Frankfort throughout the entire season, with one other from the same 

 place fishing here for about one mouth, and one from Manistee fishing 

 from the 20th of June to the 1st of November engaging in the fisheries 

 of her home port both before and after fishing at Frankfort. The last 

 two steamers will be included in the fisheries of their respective ports, 

 but the first two having fished at Frankfort throughout the entire sea- 

 son should be credited to that place. These, with eleven sail-boats em- 

 ploying a total of 44 men, constitute the gill-net fleet, there being in 

 addition seven pound-nets valued at $2,800, furnishing employment to 10 

 additional fishermen, three others from the gill-net fleet giving a por- 

 tion of their time to the pound fisheries. The total amount of capital 

 invested in the fishery industries, including the boats, nets, and shore and 

 other property, amounted to $41,750. The catch reached 885,504 pounds 

 of whitefish and 344,042 pounds of trout, the whole valued at $51,585. 

 Of the whitefish, 504 packages of No. 1, 599 of No. 2, and 111 of No. 

 3 were salted, in addition to 424 packages of trout, the remainder of 



the catch being sold fresh. 1 



_— _ _ — _ — _ — ^ 1, , 



1 The word packages as used here or elsewhere is synonymous with half-barrels and 

 barrels. The favorite fish package of the lake region is a half-barrel generally hold- 

 ing 100 pounds. This is, however, called a barrel or simply a package as frequently 

 as by its definitive name, and the vernacular of the trade has been adopted here. 



