270 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 
place them in the hold, retaining them for a number of days, so that 
the catch of a week or more is marketed at the same time. 
The fishing continues until early in March, when the buyers are re- 
luctant to purchase any considerable quantity owing to the uncertainty 
of the weather, which, if it should chance to be warm, might result in 
the loss of the entire shipment ; but as the fish are plenty, the fisher- 
men continue the fishing for from six to eight weeks, selling their catch 
to be smoked as hard herring or bloaters, or to be salted in barrels. The 
best fishing occurs during the mildest weather, for at this time the fish 
play closer inshore, and the nets can be more easily manipulated. Dur- 
ing the coldest weather the fish go out into deeper water, and the fisher- 
men are obliged to go farther for them. It is also claimed that strong 
winds from the north and northwest blows the food of the herring away 
from the shore, and the herring, which naturally follow it, must therefore 
be caught at a greater distance. The height of the fishing usually occurs 
in January, and more fish are perhaps caught during the January thaws 
than at any other period. The fish are sometimes so abundant that the 
nets become too heavily weighted with them to stand the strain, and 
are thus torn to pieces or carried to the bottom, where the fishermen 
are unable to secure them, and they thus prove a total loss. At such 
times the fishermen often visit their nets several times during the night 
to prevent their being overloaded, and enormous catches are frequently 
made. 
Fishermen meeting with exceptional luck have been known to share 
$50 a day for several consecutive days, but the crew that shares $500 
to the man between December 1 and the middle of March is considered I 
to have had excellent success. The average will probably fall below 
$300, and there are usually some fishermen who do not earn enough to 
pay for their gear and living expenses while engaged in the fishery. 
In addition to the vessels employed in fishing, quite a number of larger 
vessels from Gloucester and other New England fishing ports are 
sent to the locality to be loaded with herring, which they carry to mar- 
ket. These remain at Eastport, and the fish brought in by the fisher- 
men and collecting boats are stowed away loose in their holds until they 
are completely filled, when the hatches are put on and they start for 
the market. 
The desire to get the herring to market as quickly as possible has led 
to quite a shipping trade by the regular steamers which ply between 
St. John and Boston. Fish intended to be shipped in this way are 
packed in barrels, and the steamers frequently carry upwards of a 
thousand barrels on a single trip. The average charges for transporta- 
tion by steamer to Boston are from 20 to 30 cents a barrel, and to New 
York it usually costs about twice that amount ; but by sailing vessels 
the charges average only about 12 cents to Boston and Gloucester, with 
3 or 4 cents additional to New York. 
During the season of 1885-’86 it is estimated that there were be- 
