FISHERIES OF THE GREAT LAKES IN 1885. 283 



was equally illegal with the pound-netting, and both factions being 

 now on the same footing joined forces, and in the spring of 1885 se- 

 cured an amendment which removed all restrictions from the fisheries 

 on the lake shore of the state except in Erie Bay, where net fishing of 

 all kinds is still prohibited. 



The pound-net grounds are limited to about 15 miles of coast, most of 

 which is included in the peninsula by which Erie Bay is formed. West- 

 ward to Fairport, and eastward for 15 miles or more, the bottom is of 

 smooth rock, and hence not well adapted to pound-netting. 



All the pound-nets now in operation are set near the outer end of 

 Presque Isle along 5 miles of coast-line. They are from 19 to 40 feet 

 deep and have a mesh of 6 inches in the leader, 4 inches in the funnel 

 and hearts, and 2 inches in the crib. 



Catfish hooking, — From Erie to Elk Creek, inclusive, about twenty-five 

 persons fish for catfish with set-lines for two or three months every 

 summer, selling their catch chiefly to the Erie dealers. 



Trade. — There are six firms which control the entire fish trade of 

 Erie, owning all the pound-nets, seven or eight of the steamers, and 

 more than half of the other gill-net boats. They handle nearly all of the 

 fish caught at Erie, and several hundred thousand pounds of fresh and 

 frozen fish, mostly trout and whitefish, from Lakes Superior and Huron. 

 All of the firms salt considerable quantities of their whitefish, herring, 

 and blue pike, and four of them have freezers. One of the warehouses 

 has a freezing capacity of 150 tons, and two of the others 60 and 50 tons 

 respectively. 



Most of the sturgeon caught here, after being butchered, are sent to 

 Toledo or Sandusky for salting or smoking. Three of the Erie firms 

 have begun to manufacture caviare extensively and one of them smoked 

 large quantities of sturgeon and herring for the first time in 1885. 



From ten to fifteen men retail fish through the streets of Erie with 

 hand-carts, and about a dozen country peddlers also are supplied by 

 the Erie dealers. 



About four-fifths of the fish shipped fresh from Erie are packed in 

 100 or 200 pound barrels, mostly the latter. The manufacture of these 

 barrels forms about three-fourths of the business of three cooperage 

 firms, with a capital of nearly $10,000, who employ about twelve men 

 for the nine months in the year when the fisheries are actively prose- 

 cuted. The fish dealers use from 400 to 500 barrels a week during this 

 period, for which they pay 30 cents each. 



Two fertilizer factories with a capital of $12,000, employing eighteen 

 men during the fishing season, are located just outside the city limits. 

 They prepare about 250 tons of fertilizer annually, worth $30 a ton. 

 Nearly all of this is manufactured from fish refuse, sheepshead, and 

 unsalable fish. 



Fisheries of Erie County east of the city. — The 18 miles of coast-line be- 

 tween Erie and the boundary of New York State are almost entirely 



