Report on the Condition of the Sea Fisheries of the South Coast of New England

1. In the first report of the Commissioner of Fish and Fisheries,* was commenced the publication of a series of memoirs upon the important fishes of the United States. Professor Baird inaugurated the work with two treatises from his own pen with the following titles:

I. THE SCUP. Stenotomus argyrops, (Linn.) Gill.t

II. THE BLUEFISH. Pomatomus saltatrix, (Linn.) Gill.‡

The present memoir is the third of this series. The work of preparing it was assigned to me in September, 1874. I have tried to make it exhaustive, including everything known about the subject, and statistics up to January 1, 1878. There are still, however, many questions which need further study, for the subject is not at all well understood. I send the manuscript to the printer with reluctance, hoping at some time to resume the study of the many unsolved problems.

The commercial importance of the menhaden.

2. The menhaden has grown greatly in favor within a comparatively short time. Twenty-five years ago, and before, it was thought to be of very small value. A few millions were taken every year in Massachusetts Bay, Long Island Sound, and the bays of New Jersey. A small. portion of these were used for bait; a few barrels were occasionally salted in Massachusetts to be exported to the West Indies. Large quantities were plowed into the soil of the farms along the shores, stimu lating the crops for a time, but in the end filling the soil with oil, parching it, and making it unfit for tillage. Since that time manifold uses have been discovered. As a bait-fish, this is found to excel all others. For many years much the greater share of all our mackerel have been caught by its aid, while our cod and halibut fleet use it, rather than *United States Commission of Fish and Fisheries. | | Part 1. | - Report | on the Condition of the Sea Fisheries | of the | South Coast of New England | in | 1871 and 1872. | By | Spencer F. Baird, | Commissioner. | | With supplementary papers. Washington: | Government Printing Office. | 1873. 8vo., pp. xlvii, 852,

40 plates, 2 maps.
Op. cit., pp. 223–235.

Op. cit., pp. 235-252.

any other fish, when it can be procured. The Dominion mackerel fleet buy it in quantity, and its value has been thought an important element in framing treaties between our government and that of Great Britain. As a food resource it is found to have great possibilities. Many hundreds of barrels are sold, salted, in the West Indies, while thousands of barrels are salted down every year for domestic use by families living near the shore. In many sections the fresh fish are sold in the market. Within five years has sprung up an important new industry, which consists in packing these fish in oil, after the manner of sardines, for home and foreign consumption. The discovery made by Mr. Goodale, that from these fish may be extracted, for the cost of carefully boiling them, a substance possessing all the properties of Liebig's "extract of beef," opens up a vast field for future development. As a food for domestic animals, in the shape of "fish meal," there seems also to be a broad opening. As a source of oil the menhaden is more important than any other marine animal: its annual yield usually exceeds that of the whale (from American fisheries) by about 200,000 gallons, in 1874 not falling far short of the aggregate of all the whale, seal, and cod oil made in America. The refuse of the oil-factories supplies a material of much value for manures: as a base for nitrogen it enters largely into the composition of most of the manufactured fertilizers. The amount of "ammonia" derived from this source in 1875 was estimated to be equivalent to that contained in 60,000,000 pounds of guano from Peru, the gold value of which would not be far from $1,920,000. In 1876 the yield of the menhaden fishery was more than twice that of any other carried on by the fishermen of the United States. In the value of its products it was surpassed only by the cod and mackerel fisheries.*

Imperfect information regarding the species.

3. At the time of beginning the investigation, the results of which are partially detailed in this memoir, comparatively little was known about the menhaden. The species had been described or referred to in most of the books on the ichthyology of North America, and in *The following table of estimates shows in a general way the relative values of the fisheries in 1876:

some of the general ichthyological treatises. Mitchill, Storer, and Dekay had given imperfect figures. Allusions were made to its economical value by some of the books mentioned, and in agricultural and statistical works occasional reference had been made to its importance as a manure. Up to the present day the reports of the Commissioner of Agriculture have barely referred to the existence of this source of fertilizing material. Many persons engaged in fishing or manufacturing had a comprehensive knowledge of some parts of its history, but these had never been written or printed. There was no adequate account of this fish accessible to the student. Recognizing the necessity of supply. ing this need, the Commissioner of Fisheries chose this species as the next to be studied.

2.-MEANS USED TO GATHER INFORMATION.

4. A circular was issued, December 20, 1873, requesting information upon many points in the history of the menhaden, and propounding fifty-eight questions for the guidance of those disposed to aid in the investigation.* This was distributed to manufacturers, fishermen, and all known to be interested in the fisheries. Through the courtesy of the Secretary of the Treasury and the Chairman of the Light-House Board it was also sent to all collectors of customs and light-house keepers on the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico. A second edition of this circular was issued in 1874.

5. Personal letters have been addressed to nearly all the intelligent respondents to the circular, and to many others, asking information upon uncertain points.

6. The attention of the marine branch of the Fish Commission has for four seasons been especially directed to the menhaden, especially with a view to learning about its food and its habits of spawning.

3.-SOURCES OF INFORMATION.

7. At the beginning of this work Professor Baird gave me five or six pages of closely-written manuscript containing his own observations made during five or six summers on the coast of New England. These have been of the greatest importance, and my own work has been little more than that of expanding and carrying out the suggestions there made. I have also made use of notes made by Professors Smith and Verrill, and by Mr. Vinal N. Edwards, and the testimony taken by Professor Baird, in 1872.

Personal observations and aid of individuals.

8. While with the Commission at Eastport, Me., in 1872; Portland, Me., in 1873; at Noank, Conn., in 1874; at Wood's Holl, Mass., in 1875; and at Salem, Mass., and Halifax, Nova Scotia, in 1877, I used every opportunity to study this fish. I have also had opportunities of observing it at the mouth of the Saint John's River, Florida; in the Potomac, at sev*This circular is reproduced in Appendix A.

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Report on the Condition of the Sea Fisheries of the South Coast of ..., Part 5