3 l8 
AMERICAN FISHES. 
Pounds. 
Weirs on north side of Cape Cod. 436 
Weirs on south side of Cape Cod... 3,600 
Weirs in Vineyard Sound. 326,620 
Weirs in Buzzard’s Bay..... 15,749 
Weirs on Block Island, (estimated). 94,500 
Weirs in Fisher’s Island Sound, (estimated). 4,000 
Weirs on eastern end of Long Island... 14,000 
Weirs on Rhode Island...... 172,250 
66 3»5S5 
From other localities...... 50,000 
713.555 
Estimated annual catch of Flat Fish... 600,000 
I .3 I 3>555 
Value of the above, at four cents a pound, $52,542.00. 
These statistics of the catch in pound-nets include Plaice and Flat Fish, 
and in the statement of the total catch no distinction will be made 
between these two species. 
Immense numbers of them are sometimes taken in large seines hauled 
up on the beach. In 1876, E. Cleveland seined 128,000 pounds at 
Menemsha Bight, Mass. By far the greater quantity, however, is taken 
by small fishing smacks belonging to and hailing from Noank, Mystic, and 
New London, which pursue this special business from May until October. 
These vessels are usually absent from port four or five days, and spend two 
days in fishing. The fish are shipped in ice from Noank and New London 
principally to New York, and also to inland cities in the vicinity. A single 
smack, with a crew of a man and two boys, usually will obtain and ship to 
New York, on an average, about 12 barrels a week, about 160 barrels a 
year, or 25,000 to 28,000 pounds. Capt. Palmer, of Noank, in 1873, 
caught on one trip of two days about 1,000 fish, weighing, perhaps, 2,000 
pounds. On this trip he used four lines. A good fisherman is able to 
manage two lines, each carrying two hooks. Menhaden bait is always 
used by professional fishermen, though I have caught Plaice to good advan¬ 
tage with lobster bait. A vessel usually consumes one barrel of menhaden 
on each trip. The fish strike the hook sharply as soon as it approaches 
