USA > Massachusetts > Essex County > The story of Essex County, Volume I > Part 25
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"After a few years of depression in the mackerel fishery, ending with the year 1845, the business became prosperous again and there arose a demand for larger and swifter schoon- ers. In 1847 an attempt was made to produce a clipper schooner at Essex when the schooner 'Romp' was built. This vessel had easier lines than her predecessors, her stern was narrower, and she was provided with a longer head. In her day the 'Romp' was regarded as a very sharp craft; but meas- ured by present day standards the new type represented merely a natural step towards the models of the present time.
"For a decade after the appearance of the 'Romp' there was a revolution in the building of schooners of this class. Rivalry was keen among the fishermen to procure models of schooners that would be both seaworthy and speedy. The tendency at the time was to build them on the 'cod's head and mackerel tail' principle. The clipper schooner as evolved at the time had leaner bodies and sharper lines under water ; their bows were longer and cleaner, with a long pointed cut-water; the angle of entrance forward was reduced from the old style of 85° to an angle of 45°; the spars were lengthened; the schooners were rather straight on top, they had little draught forward, with a greater draught aft. The hull was painted green under the water and black above, with one or two white stripes. Most schooners had gilded figure-heads for- ward, and carved and gilded moldings on the trailboards along the sides.32
31. Collins, pp. 341-42.
32. Hall: "Report on the Ship-building Industry of the U. S.," p. 22.
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"From 1860 to 1885 changes were made in the clipper schooners, but they were undesirable or unimportant modifi- cations in most cases. The schooners were constructed longer and wider, with little change made in their depth. The ballast consisted of stone carried in the hold; consequently the center of gravity was high and the righting power of the vessel reduced almost to a minimum. In the matter of tonnage there was a decided change from 1845 to 1885, which represents the first stage of the development of the clipper type of schooner. Previous to 1850 the vessels employed in the New England fisheries seldom exceeded 45 or 50 tons, old meas- urement, representing about 25 or 30 tons of the present system of rating. In the mackerel fishery there arose a demand for larger vessels, and this demand was increased when the trade in frozen herring with Newfoundland began to assume a place of importance between the fifties and the sixties, as vessels that were employed in the mackerel fishery in the summer would be engaged in the frozen herring trade in winter. Thus the average size of the offshore vessels increased gradually, so that by 1880 they were of 75 tons burden, new measurement, or 100 to 110 tons by the old measurement.
"The final stages in the development of the clipper schooner was inaugurated with the building of the 'Grampus,' a schooner made for deep-sea work of the United States Fish Commission, in 1886. The work of designing the new schooner was placed in the hands of Capt. J. W. Collins, a man of wide experience and thorough knowledge in all matters pertaining to the fisheries, who describes his new model as follows :
"'The "Grampus," as the schooner was named, was a radi- cal departure from the prevailing form and was in reality a new type of American fishing vessel. She was about two feet deeper than the ordinary schooner of the same length ; the after section was more v-shaped, with easier horizontal lines ; the stern was not so wide and had a much stronger rake; while the stem was nearly perpendicular above water, though curved strongly below. Many other new features were intro- duced in her construction to insure greater strength or adapta-
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bility. Among these the most noticeable were the rig. The foremast was made considerably shorter than the mainmast, and the foretopmast, instead of being of the same length as the maintopmast, as had previously been the custom, was not so long by several feet. The schooner was also rigged to carry a forestaysail-the forestay coming down to the stem head- and comparatively small jib, this arrangement of head sails being considered preferable to the large jib until then in almost universal use. Wire rigging was used instead of hemp.'33
"The appearance of the 'Grampus' among the fishing ves- sels easily demonstrated the superiority of the new type over the old. Immediately other vessels were constructed along the new lines and rig, so that within a decade the appearance of the fleet had undergone a revolution. The deep-sea fishing fleet of New England today represents grace of outline com- bined most efficiently with the requirements of speed and the demands of stability and capacity. The modern schooner is immeasurably swifter than the clipper of the early eighties, besides being safer in heavy weather. Many instances are on record in recent years where the new type has been able to beat to windward and escape shipwreck when caught on a lee shore in the face of a raging gale, when schooners of the old type could hope for no escape.
"All vessels engaged in foreign commerce or domestic business under the American flag are listed and documented by the Government. Those that are engaged in foreign com- merce are 'registered,' while those employed for domestic purposes are 'enrolled'; if under twenty tons measurement they are 'licensed.' The tonnage of a vessel may be of three kinds: displacement, gross register, and net register. Dis- placement tonnage is the weight of the vessel, and it may be found by multiplying by 62.4 the number of cubic feet of water displaced by the vessel when afloat; it corresponds to the old carpenter's measurement. In 1854 the English method of tonnage measurement was adopted by the United States in order that our vessels would not be at a disadvantage in comparison with those of foreign measurement. This method
33. Collins, pp. 347-48.
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of measurement corresponds to the gross register, which is found by dividing the number of cubic feet in the capacity of the vessel by 100. In 1882 the Government established a net tonnage which was 5% off the gross tonnage for sailing ves- sels. In 1895 there was a further reduction made by taking out all space for officers and crew, so that the net register now corresponds to the cargo capacity of the vessel. 'The net register tonnage is obtained by dividing by 100 the capacity in cubic feet of the space available for cargo and passengers. From the entire capacity of the ship are deducted the spaces occupied by machinery, crew accommodations, and certain other housings, carefully designated by law; and then the number of cubic feet in the remaining capacity is divided by 100 to obtain the net register.'34
"The deep-sea fishing schooners of New England are so nearly uniform today in their build, rig and equipment that data concerning one of them may apply easily to most of the others, provided allowance is made as the different vessels vary in size. The data given has been furnished by Capt. J. W. McFarland, owner of the schooner 'Victor,' of Glouces- ter. The 'Victor' is an average sized mackerel schooner of the auxiliary type, with a gross tonnage of 122, or net tonnage of 75. She is 10 feet deep, 25 feet beam, and 112 feet over all. The mainmast is 85 feet in length, the mainboom, 70 feet, and the topmast 45 feet. The sail area is of 2,000 square yards, made up of a mainsail, foresail, forestaysail or 'jumbo,' jib, balloon jib, maintopsail, foretopsail, and main- staysail. There are 75 tons of ballast, mostly of pig iron, and the vessel has a capacity of 400 barrels outside of the store rooms. The present-time cost of the hull, sails and rigging is $12,000. The engine is of 85 horse power, valued at $6,000. The cost of gasoline averages about $170 per month for the season."
But the schooner was not the ultimate word in efficiency. For generations the conservative fisherfolk had clung to the old method of wind propulsion, while on shore all vehicles were being propelled by steam, gasoline, and electricity. The new type of vessel which was
34. E. R. Johnson : "Ocean and Inland Water Transportation," Chap. I.
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to work a revolution in the fishing industry is described by Gerald A. Fitzgerald in his chapter on "The Fisheries of New England. Eco- nomic Factors," in "New England's Prospect, 1933":
"Until early in the second decade of the present century the evolution in fishing vessels was slow and for the most part had consisted of changes in design to produce a fast sailing craft of the schooner type. Very few of the sailing vessels had installed auxiliary gasoline engines at this time. However, a type radically new to American waters was introduced in 1905 by the Bay State Fishing Company of Boston with the steam trawler 'Spray.' Although built at Quincy, Mass., the 'Spray' was patterned after the English trawlers, some 1,400 of which were plying their trade in the North Sea at that time. At once a great hue and cry was heard from fishermen along the New England coast. Heretofore only baited hooks had been used to catch haddock and cod on Georges Bank, New England's own fishing grounds. These fishermen claimed that the large otter trawls or bagshaped nets which the steam vessels dragged along the sandy bottom scared away the fish so they would not bite and that their tremendous catches would soon deplete the Georges Bank fisheries and deprive the fish- ermen of their livelihood. Such sentiment waxed so strong that in 1914 the Bureau of Fisheries took a hand in the mat- ter. Investigators went along with the steam trawlers and studied their catches to determine if they were killing off a large proportion of undersized fish, as this would certainly deplete the fisheries if allowed to continue. After receiving a clean bill of health from the Bureau of Fisheries, the trawl- ing industry obtained a new lease of life. By 1918 there were fourteen steam trawlers out of New England ports and one from Canada, but until the introduction of filleting their value was not fully realized. A steam trawler represents an invest- ment of at least $150,000, which precludes its use by the ordi- nary fishermen.
"The latter were not slow in adapting the new gear to their smaller boats. After several abortive attempts to adapt ordinary fishing vessels to otter-trawling, the first success was obtained in 1919, when Captain Daniel F. Mullins of New
GLOUCESTER-THATCHER'S ISLAND Only twin lighthouse towers along the Atlantic coast today
Courtesy of the Gloucester Chamber of Commerce
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Bedford built the 'Mary' especially for trawling gear. The 'Mary' towed a net having a hundred-foot sweep, about three- fourths the size of that towed by the larger steam trawler. This vessel was really a large flounder dragger with certain improvements in mechanical equipment to fit her for dragging in deeper waters. The 'Mary' was the first vessel of this type to fish successfully on the Georges Bank. She was also the first of the smaller vessels to make the gasoline engine the main driving power and sail the auxiliary. Today this class of ves- sels is the fastest-growing group on the Atlantic seaboard. As a class they are called draggers. Although many improve- ments have been made, they were successful from the start, and their numbers have increased from the single dragger of 1919 to 198 in 1929. The reasons for this really phenomenal development are clear when we consider that a dragger costs about one-third as much as a steam trawler, operating expenses are about one-fourth as great, the crew only one-half as large, the catch fully two-thirds as much, and, finally, as a conse- quence, the net profit is considerably more.
"The larger interests have not been slow to grasp the sig- nificance of this. Until about 1928 investments in steam trawl- ers and other large steel-hulled fishing vessels were few. These vessels, to be sure, had many points in their favor. The most important was seaworthiness, the ability to fish in all kinds of weather throughout the whole year. It was only natural that strong efforts should be made to increase their efficiency. In 1928 there were 41 trawlers of over 100 net tons fishing out of New England ports. Only a year later 19 more had been added, and during 1930 there was a similar gain. The adop- tion of the Diesel engine is the outstanding reason for this rapid growth. It was suddenly realized that 6,000 gallons of fuel oil can be made to take far less space and give far greater cruising radius than the bulky coal that occupies so much room in the usual steam trawler. The vessel could be made much smaller and still have the same fish-carrying capacity. The ordinary steam trawler, however, rarely catches more than 50 per cent. of the hold capacity, since it must return to port after a few days' fishing to assure a product of high quality. Hence, by reducing the capacity of the hold one-third or more, an
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additional reduction in the size of the whole vessel is made possible. In the building of the last few steel trawlers, there- fore, this has been taken into consideration. From 125- to 165-foot vessels, this class is gradually assuming a 110- to 125- foot length with corresponding reductions in other dimensions. Accordingly, their original and operating costs have been greatly reduced and their net profits increased to such an extent as to make them even more desired than the dragger class of vessels.
"Although the older forms of fishing still exist, the strictly sailing vessel is a thing of the past. Vessels are still built with sails, but all are now powered with auxiliary engines. During the last few years there has been a tendency greatly to increase the power by using larger engines and thus to insure greater speed in returning to market with the catch. As power increases, sails become useless. However, in certain forms of fishing where dories are used the mother boat usually tacks back and forth along the line of dories during fishing. The use of sails in this case is economical, and this type of fishing will probably be the last in which they are given up.
"Modern comforts unknown even ten years ago are now built into fishing vessels. Electric lighting, radio for enter- tainment, housed-in steering wheel, and well-designed sanitary sleeping quarters are regarded as necessities. The larger ves- sels carry an experienced radio operator who informs the own- ers of their position, of the amount of fish caught, and of the approximate arrival time. The owners can also control the vessels' movements by this means. If the market is glutted at one point they can order the vessel to another port where they will find more favorable market conditions. In the case of sickness or accident to vessel or crew, medical or other advice can be received over the radio while assistance is being sent from shore or near-by vessels. A fisherman's life today is much safer and infinitely more comfortable than a few years ago."
METHODS OF CATCHING FISH-The methods of taking the fish have changed in the last few decades no less than the vessels from which the fish are caught. We have seen how John Cabot made a
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catch by lowering a basket weighted with stones into the midst of the incredibly numerous fish. The harbors and rivers of Salem once swarmed with cod and bass in such quantities that they were used for manure until the practice was forbidden by the General Court in 1639. Under conditions of such plenty the ancient method of hand- lining for cod from the vessel's deck was developed and continued in use until the Civil War. Stories are told of "high-liners" who fished twenty hours a day, lashed to the rigging lest they fall overboard when they dozed off.35 These men, fishing each "on his own hook," were paid according to the number of cod's tongues they had accumu- lated at the end of the day.
"The universal method of catching mackerel was 'jig- ging.' A mackerel 'jig,' invented about 1812,36 was simply a hook around the shank of which was cast a plummet of lead or pewter. For bait, herring or small mackerel, or menhaden ('po'gies') were 'slivered' (sliced), and then ground up by the night watch in a bait-mill like a farmer's feed-cutter. A favorite Cape Cod joke was the fisherman whose wife had to grind a bait-mill at home to make him sleep ..
"A school of mackerel was 'tolled' or attracted to the sur- face by throwing this chopped bait broadcast while the vessel slowly drifted, hove to. The fish were caught on sliver- baited jigs, each member of the crew handling two or three short lines, and dexterously snapping his mackerel into a barrel with the same motion that jerked him from the water. It was an exciting moment when flashes of silver and drumming living fish in empty barrels announced that a 'spurt' had struck the edge of the fleet; and each master, with hair's-breadth han- dling that a yachtsman would envy, endeavored to dribble his schooner under the lee bow of some vessel with a 'fishy' skip- per, like 'Osceola Dick' Rich, of Truro, or John Pew, of Gloucester. The sight of such a fleet, two hundred sail, per- haps, engaged in these nervous evolutions; or (as Thoreau saw them) 'pouring around the Cape'; or, winging it for home with a full fare was one of the many beautiful maritime spec- tacles of sailing days."37
35. Morison, p. 306.
36. Hawes and Hornby, in "Gloucester. by Land and Sea," p. 181, says the jig was invented by Abraham Lurvey, of Pigeon Cove.
37. Morison, pp. 306-07.
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But these primitive and picturesque methods in time gave place to wholesale captures accomplished by the seine and the trawl. These methods of fishing have been vividly described by McFarland :
"So frequently does the work of the day extend far into the night-sometimes to the dawn of another day-that it is difficult to mark the beginning of the fisherman's day. By two in the morning the cook must be astir, preparing the break- fast of the crew. At three or three-thirty the first 'gang' is called to eat their breakfast-for the accommodations of the forecastle allow only half of the crew to be seated at the table at a time. By four o'clock breakfast is over for the whole crew and everything is in readiness for fishing, providing there are fish to be caught. The most favorable times for catching mackerel are at dawn and at sundown, a condition of affairs that necessitates the three meals of the day at three in the morning, at nine o'clock, and at three in the afternoon, respectively.
"While on passage to the fishing grounds the seine boat38 is taken aboard the schooner on the port side; this is also done during heavy weather when there is danger of the boat careening over in the rough seas and spilling out the seine, or of capsizing. On reaching the fishing grounds, whether off Virginia, on George's Bank, or in the Gulf of Saint Law- rence, the seine boat is put overboard and the seine carefully stowed in the after part ready for immediate use. When a body of mackerel is seen schooling the lookout at masthead cries out, 'School O!' and causes the helmsman to change the course of the vessel to the direction of the fish. At the cry of the lookout the crew below decks rush fourth with their oil clothes in hand ready for instant action. The seine boat is hauled alongside and at a word from the captain all get aboard. The captain and lookout stay on the schooner till the last moment watching the fish to discover in what direction
38. Seine boats that are used with mackerel schooners are from 35 to 38 feet in length, 71/2 feet in width, and 3 feet deep. Their cost is from $350 to $400, besides fit- tings, such as oars, rowlocks, purse-weights, oar cranes, davits, etc. The life of a seine boat is from four to six years. Seines are made 1,000 to 1,200 meshes deep and 900 yards in length, which reduces nearly one-half in tarring and hanging. The mesh is 21/4 inches, and the average seine is 240 fathoms long when hung. Its cost varies from $400 to $900, depending upon the length and depth. A seine lasts about three years.
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they are moving and at what rate. The two men who go in the dory hoist it overboard, throw a bight of the painter around a bitthead, and get into their boat. They are towed along by the vessel until the seine boat leaves the other side of the vessel at the captain's command. Then they can release their own boat by letting go the end of the painter and be in the vicinity of the larger boat when it is making a set of the seine around a school of fish. It is their task to take into their dory the free end of the purse line after the seine has been cast into the water from the larger boat, and to get it in readiness to be taken aboard that boat after it has made the circuit of setting the seine.
"When the seine boat leaves the schooner the cook takes charge, he usually being the only man left aboard the vessel. An efficient man can perform marvels of seamanship aboard one of these vessels when occasion requires. He keeps the vessel in the vicinity of the other boats that no time may be lost in picking them up, if the mackerel disappear from the surface before a set can be made. On auxiliary schooners the cook is assisted greatly by the motive power of the engine and by the aid of the engineer.
"The arrangement aboard the seine boat is for the captain to steer the boat, which he does by standing aft with an oar twenty to twenty-two feet long. Two of the crew stand just forward of the seine, which is piled up across the boat making a heap of seine four feet wide and between five and six feet high. One of the men passes 'bights' of the seine to the other whose business it is to cast the seine as far as possible over the rail into the sea. The latter person is called the seine-heaver, and is usually noted for his strength and endurance. The farther the 'bights' of seine are cast from the boat the less the other part of the seine will draw on the rail and retard the progress of the boat. Another man stands aft of the seine and throws the corks overboard. The other members of the crew are seated at the oars. They row the boat under the captain's direction with great speed, if necessary, to a position near the fish-a little to the left and slightly ahead of the fish if the lat- ter are in motion. If the fish are schooling in a circle, 'cart-
Essex -- 20
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wheeling,' the set may be made from any position, but it is always made around the fish in the direction of the movement of the hands of a watch when held face upwards.
"At the right moment the seine-heaver receives word to cast the twine, the rowers bend to their task for all they are worth, and within a few minutes the circuit has been made about the fish, in many cases without the fish becoming aware that anything unusual is occurring. When the seine boat nears the first end of the seine that was cast off it is met by the dory, the free end of the purse line is passed aboard the larger boat by the dory's crew, and the crew of the seine boat, by pulling in on the purse line, draw together that part of the seine which is lowest in the water, thus closing it below the fish much as an inverted bag would be drawn together by pulling on a pucker- ing string. The crew work rapidly until the seine is "pursed up," after which they can work more leisurely in hauling the surplus seine into the large boat.
"If fish have been caught the seine is gathered in until enough only is left to serve as a commodious bag to keep the fish well in hand until the vessel comes along side. Then the process of bailing the mackerel aboard the vessel takes place. This is accomplished by means of large dip nets guided by one of the crew and hoisted aboard by means of tackle blocks. Two of the crew dump the net as it comes over the rail, the fish are emptied out on deck, and the net is thrust back into the water for another load. About a barrel of mackerel are hoisted aboard at a time.
"When all the fish have been taken out the process of dressing the fish begins. If the mackerel are to be carried to market fresh the process is simple and the labor is com- paratively light; part of the crew chisel ice, another part hoist it on deck and get barrels in readiness for others who pack the ice and fish into the barrels in alternate layers. When such a cargo reaches market the fish are counted out into baskets to be hoisted or carried on to the wharf or to the nearby stand.
"The process of salting mackerel aboard ship requires more work and more handling of the fish. The fish are first scooped by small dip nets from the deck into gibkeelers, square boxes about four feet on a side and eight inches deep, placed
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