MENHADDEN FISH OIL

MENHADDEN FISH OIL

The source of the fish oil and how ite is obtaind.

The first thing you need to do is catch the fish. A large number

of vesels are employed in this part of the business and in the 1870's

small sailing ships are used and are the smartest of yachts, nothing

fancy in rigging or equipment, just the fastest sailers that can be had.

In size, the ships rarely excede 20 to 30 ton vessels, 50 foot long and

18 feet beam. They are built to withstand the coastal gales and can sail

in weather that sends other fancier boats into harbor. Each ship is

manned by 8 to 10 hardy sailors well suited for the job. In the complete

fleet there are two sloops for each fish boat called 'carry offs', smaller

than the fishing boats which can take 70.000 menhadden, or 15 tons.

Fish boats use purse seines, made of string cotton twine, 800 feet

long, up to 100 feet 'deep', with rope lines attached to the bottoms in

order to 'draw' the seins together when full of fish. Cork buoys at\ the top hold it on top of the water. This seine is carried by two boats,

'purse boats' also pasrt of the fishing fleet,

Next the fish boat starts on its cruise in search of a large 'school'

of menhadden. When a school is met with, the purse boats , quickly encircle it, and lay out the seine ahead of them. When the fish are in

the seine, the boats come together to surroud the school of fish. It is

then drawn into the boats and sooner or later loaded to the carry off's.

Carry off's bring the catch to shore to the fish house , unloaded and

dumped in the the cooking vats. The fish is now 'caught'.

Abstract: From the February 1871, “The Manufacturer & Builder”

Volume 3. By Harrison H. November 10, 2018.