Of purse seines and spotter planes 



Every American school child knows the story of 

 how the Indian Squanto saved the Pilgrims from star- 

 vation by showing them how to fertilize their crops 

 with fish. This fish was probably Munnashatteaug, a 

 word meaning fertilizer. The English pronounced it 

 menhaden. 



Historians have long believed the Indians taught 

 America's colonists how to fertilize fields with fish. 

 But a New York anthropologist raised some doubt in 

 a 1975 article in Science magazine. The 

 anthropologist suggested that Squanto, who had been 

 kidnapped and taken to Europe, may have learned 

 about the value of fish as a manure from the English. 



But whether the practice was European or Indian, 

 it was soon common for New England farmers to 

 manure their fields with menhaden and other fish. As 

 bait, menhaden were used to catch haddock, cod, 

 mackerel and other fish. 



And early American historians say that menhaden 

 were eaten as food. John Lawson's History of North 

 Carolina, written in 1714, called fatbacks (one of the 

 many names for menhaden, see story, page 2) an "ex- 

 cellent sweet food." And Sir Walter Raleigh's 

 Roanoke Island colony is believed to have dined on 

 menhaden. 



During the 1700s and 1800s, menhaden were salted 

 and eaten like herring, says John Reintjes, a fisheries 

 biologist, who spent 25 years with the National 

 Marine Fisheries Service studying menhaden and 

 other fish. Menhaden were considered a poor man's 

 food or famine food in the Carolinas, Reintjes says. 



"It's a bony fish, but it's the best tasting fish in the 

 ocean when it's fresh," says 77-year-old Berkeley 

 Simpson of Beaufort, a man who spent 42 years 

 aboard a menhaden boat. "You split 'em, salt 'em and 

 dry 'em awhile. Then you cook 'em over charcoal." 



Menhaden roe has long been considered a delicacy. 

 Stripped from the large mammy shad, also called roe 

 shad, during the fall runs, the roe is salted and fried. 

 During World War II, E.W. Copeland of Morehead 

 City tried canning the roe, but couldn't meet the de- 

 mand because of erratic availability. 



During the early 1800s, fishermen discovered the 

 value of menhaden oil as a substitute for whale oil in 

 lamps, paints and tanning solutions. At first, the fish 

 were allowed to rot in barrels, and the entire contents 

 were pressed in hogsheads so the oil would rise to the 



surface. Eventually steam cooking replaced the rot- 

 ting process and, during the 1850s, the mechanical 

 screw press was introduced. 



During the Civil War, a greater demand for 

 menhaden oil spurred the fishery to expand rapidly. 

 Before the war, menhaden were caught only in the 

 North. But Union soldiers stationed in North 

 Carolina noticed the abundance of menhaden in in- 

 shore waters. When they returned home with the news 

 of the bounty, several opportunists traveled south to 

 cash in on this oily wealth. 



But all efforts to establish a fishery in North 

 Carolina between 1865 and 1887 failed. George Goode 

 and Howard Clark wrote in an 1887 report that it was 

 doubtful a fishery could be established in this state. 

 They cited problems with spoiling catches, fickle in- 

 lets and shallow sounds. 



But just two years after the Goode and Clark report 

 was published, the menhaden fishery had begun to 

 thrive in this state. By 1889, seven factories were 

 operating near Beaufort. And by the turn of the cen- 

 tury, the fishery had expanded to include plants near 

 the Cape Fear River. During the 1902 season, more 

 than 18 million pounds of menhaden, valued at over 

 $30,000, were caught in North Carolina. 



When the fishery moved south, it brought with it 

 some northern innovations. One of those, the purse 



Continued on next page 



N.C. Division of Archives and History Photo 



An 1889 catch of menhaden from the Albemarle Sound 



