THE SOUTHERN SPRING MACKEREL FISHERY. 
213 
Professor Huxley says: 
Siijijiose that every mature female lierring lays 10,000 eggs, that the fish are not interfered with hy man, and that 
tludr nnmhers remain approximately tlie same year after year, it follows that 0,908 of the i)rogeny of every female must he 
destroyed before they reach maturity. For, if more than two out of the 10,000 escape destruction, the iiuml)er of herrings 
will he proportionately increased. Or, in other words, if the average strength of the shoals which visit a given locality is 
to remain the same year by year, many thousand times the number contained in those shoals must he annually destroyed. 
And how this enormous amount of destruction is eifecteil will ho obvious to any one wdio considers the operations of the 
fill-whales, the porpoises, the gannots, the gulls, the codfish, and the dogfish, which accomiiany the shoals and perennially 
feast upon them; to say nothing of the tlatfish, which prey upon the newly deposited spawn, or of the m.aidcerel, and the 
inniimerablo smaller enemies which devour the fry in all stages of their development. It is no uncommon thing to find live 
or si.x — nay, oven ten or twelve — herrings in the stomach of a codlisli, .and in 1808 we calculated that the whole take of the 
great Scotch herring fisheries is less than the number of herrings wdiicli w'ould in all probability have heen consumed by 
the codfish captured in the same w.aters if they had heen left in the sea. 
Man, in fact, is hut one of a vast cooperative society of herring-catchers, .and the larger 1 ho share betakes, the less 
there is for the rest of the company. If man took none, the other shareholders -would have a Larger dividend, and would 
thrive and miiltiiily in proportion ; but it wmuld come to pretty much the same thing to the herrings. 
And the fact is the same in regard to the mackerel. Finally, Professor Huxley says in conclusion : 
I do not think that any one who looks carefully into the subject will arrive at any other conclusion than that reached 
by my colle.agues and myself; namely, that the best thing for governments to do in relation to the herring lisheries is to 
let them alone, except in so far as the’ police of the sea is concerned. With this proviso, let people fish how they like, as 
they like, and when they like. At present I must repeat the conviction wo expressed so many years ago, that there is not 
a partiido of evidence that anything man does has an .appreci.ahle iulliience on the stock of herrings. It will be time to 
meddle when any satisfactory evidence th.at mischief is being done is iiroduced. 
Now, I think I have shown that there is a “plentiful lack” of knowledge on this suhjcct; and 
in the presence of this lack of knowledge we arc asked to ])a.ss a liill which it is admitted, if passed 
now, is too late to have any effect this year, either good or had. We are asked to pass now a measure 
which can not take effect until next year, though hy referring the whole subject to the Fish Commis- 
sion we can get their delilierate opinion in time for action in Decemlier next. That is the wise and 
sensible thing to do. I think the Fish Commission will probably know something more on this (|ues- 
tioii than they do now, but I do not expect they will over get any knowledge which will serve to 
show that the fisheries can by any possibility be affected by any quantity of ti.sh that man, with all 
his contrivances, can take out of the ocean in any period of two or three months; for after all this 
fishing is over, these vast schools of mackerel are found passing up the coasts of Massachusetts and 
Maine to Canada; so all that we do not take go to (lauada IVir her protected tishermeii because our 
lieople, as the law now stands, can not go there and take any of those fish. If then this bill p.asses, it 
will have but one effect. It will entirely prevent mackerel tishing below the coast of Massachusetts; 
it will contiue it for a brief period to Massachusetts and Maine; and these fish will then pass to 
Canada, out of the reach of our lishermen. 
In the face of these facts, which can not be controverted, the gentleman from Maine says, “If 
you will pass this bill, we shall be able to supply you with big mackerel.” That is not what my con- 
stituents or the people of this country want, for the big Tiiackerel fetch a big price per pound. 
Twenty-five cents per pound is often charged for large mackerel, while little mackerel sell for 1 cent 
a pound. The only effect of the bill advocated by the gentleman from Maine will be to take away' 
mackerel as the cheap food of the common people and give it as a luxury to the tables of the rich. 
Mr. Speaker, the catch of mackerel in one year, according to the figures cited by the gentleman 
from Maine, was about 11,000 barrels, of which 00 per cent, he said, were large mackerel, which would 
he 8,000 or 9,000 barrels. Sir, in four days in the city of New York half that number — 4, .500 barrels — 
were sold and distributed as cheap food to our people. 8o that if you ]i<ass this bill you merely prevent 
a great industry from being carried on in order that you may have a few barrels of v ery fine lisli. 
The gentleman also said that all the fishermen are in favor of this measure. Well, sir, I went 
upon a fishing boat, the captain being a Gloucester man, having a crew of eight fishermen. When I 
asked him whether he wanted this fishery stopped he said he did not; that it gave them employment 
at a time when they had no other. “Hut,” said he, “we will settle this business.” So he sent me 
down a series of petitions, which are signed by these rude fishermen. 
These petitioners say : 
The iinderaigncd, ni.ickerel fishermen, heiug ai;grieved at the iiiti'odiictioii in the Hou.se of Represeiitative.j of the 
hill (H. R. 3538) entitled "A hill rehating to the iniiiorting and landing of mackerel caught during the spawning season, " 
and whereby the catching and landing of mackerel from March to .June 1, inclusive, are prohibited, herehy protest against 
the same. 
First. It is an experimental and unnecessary hill. 
Second. During the mouths mentioned very few mackerel spawn. 
