tion are to be found many gulfs and bays, the nursery of good harbors; in the other few bays occur, and, consequently, there are few harbors. The polar current washes the northern coasts with its cold waters, while the Gulf Stream sweeps in undisputed sway off the coast of the United States, tempering the adjacent waters and bringing its northern rival to a full check in the Gulf of Maine. More edible fish, and consequently more valuable ones, abound in the colder waters; but a greater variety of species is found on the warmer shores. Immense areas of submarine banks, the spawning and feeding grounds of edible fish, occur between Newfoundland and Nantucket Island, but grounds of a similar kind are small and scattered to the southward. The good harbors of New England and the Provinces have led to a monopoly, in the North, of the shipbuilding of the country, an industry that is of especial value to the successful prosecution of deep-sea fisheries. Nature has designed New England to be the center of the Atlantic fisheries of North America. To the natural influences that have helped to crown her work in this direction with success, one must not fail to add the indirect influences,the barren condition of the soil of New England and the severity of its winters,-which led the early settler upon these shores to go down to the sea in ships to eke out a scanty living. And this tendency to resort to the abundance of the ocean's storehouse for food has become wellnigh an hereditary trait with the coast inhabitant of New England. Along the southern shore of Long Island Sound, good sea bass grounds occur; scup and "snappers" are caught in most of the bays and harbors of the sound. South of the island the principal regions for fish are Shinnicook Ground, Offshore Fire Island Ground, and Dillberry Ground, all visited by New York smacks fishing for cod fish. The same smacks also visit the grounds off the New Jersey coast, principally in search of cod in winter and bluefish in summer. The grounds are Rocky Spots, southeast of Sandy Hook, Shark River Ground, Squan Ground, East of Barnegat Light Ground, Egg Harbor Ground, Absecum Ground and Five Fathom Bank, east of Cape May. From Cape Henlopen to Cape Charles there are few offshore grounds, but inshore seining for menhaden, bluefish and sea mullet is carried on. Fifteen miles southeast of Cape Henlopen is Old Ground, one of the largest and oldest-known grounds on this coast for cod in winter and sea bass in summer. The fish From Cape Charles to southern Florida there are long stretches of sandy beaches. Scattered fishing grounds occur along almost the entire coast, but most of the fish are taken on the sandy shores. An abundance of bluefish is found from Albemarle Sound to Cape Hatteras, although the fish range from Florida to Massachusetts. ing grounds south of Long Island are of interest to New England fishermen almost wholly in connection with the southern spring mackerel catch; the fish are taken offshore from Cape Hatteras north to the Long Island grounds in the months of April and May. The range of fish varies with the species. Chesapeake Bay is the center of the oyster fishery, now one of the most important branches of the fisheries of the country; oysters and squeteague are taken along the entire coast from Cape Cod to the Gulf of Mexico. Clams are taken from Chesapeake Bay to Nova Scotia; lobsters from Delaware Bay to Newfoundland; alewives from Georgia to the Gulf of Saint Lawrence; shad from Florida to Maine; mullet from North Carolina to Mexico; herring from Martha's Vineyard to Newfoundland; mackerel from Cape Hatteras to the Gulf of Saint Lawrence; cod and haddock from New Jersey to Newfoundland. CHAPTER II THE BACKGROUND OF NEW ENGLAND COLONIZATION The fisheries of the North Atlantic have always occupied an important place in the industrial development of New England. They were well established along the coast several years previous to the settlement of Plymouth. During the period of settlement the fisheries were often the only source of food supply for the colonists, and in several instances they were largely instrumental in preventing settlements from being broken up. With the growth of colonial trade and the expansion of commerce the fisheries early became the principal industry of Massachusetts, and their development was so rapid that they were recognized as "the cornerstone of New England prosperity." For two centuries the fisheries were regarded as a prominent factor in her industrial organism. They have been honored and honorable in our national history. Fishermen formed the nucleus of our first navy, and in four of the country's wars, they have furnished officers and men who were leaders in their important calling. For three-quarters of a century, the deep-sea fisheries were benefited by a system of bounties granted by the government, and whenever our fishing rights upon the high-seas have been in peril the country has been a unit in supporting the contentions of the fishermen of New England. Before tracing the development of the fisheries of New England during the periods of colonial and national life, it will be well to inquire into the importance of the fisheries before any English settlements had been made in this region, and to note the influences that these fisheries had, both direct and indirect, in shaping the colonization of New England. The importance of the fisheries carried on by European countries in American waters previous to the settlement at Plymouth is not generally recognized. In 1497, John Cabot announced to Europe the abundance of codfish at Newfoundland. Within seven years, at least, the fishermen of France had taken advantage of Cabot's discovery by sending vessels to the fishing grounds of America, and every year for more than four centuries the flag of France has been carried by French fishermen to the banks of Newfoundland. Nearly a score of years before De Soto first saw the Mississippi River, houses for the accommodation of fishermen had been erected in Newfoundland. The year that Drake sailed from England on his memorable voyage around the world witnessed also the quiet departure from the harbors of Europe of over 300 ships to fish in American waters. Before the pioneer voyages of Gosnold and Pring and De Monts had been made and recorded, the hardy fishermen of western Europe had made thousands of voyages across the Atlantic with scarce a thought of the hardships of their trips, and scarce a word written to chronicle their deeds. The influence of these voyages was felt on both sides of the Atlantic. The Parliament of England passed legislation favorable to the development of the fisheries. In France, the Newfoundland codfishery was placed under the protection of the government. Disputes and bloodshed occurred on the fishing grounds between the fishermen of France and England. Both countries were quickened in their attempts at colonization in America. The coasts of New England were explored, bays and harbors were named, and the severity of the winter climate was tried by Europeans who were eager to develop this in dustry of the sea, many years before the Pilgrims started from Leyden. The Pilgrims settled at a place that had been visited previously by three different European explorers, and as many times given a different name. The welcome accorded to them by the chieftain Samoset was in English that he had learned from fishermen along the coast. When their food supply became exhausted and starvation was near at hand, these men from Leyden secured their living from fishing, as they had intended before leaving the shores of Europe. While Spain was centering her attention, with good returns, on the southern part of the new world, England, France and Portugal were not idle in the northern part. To England and France, in particular, belongs the credit of discovering and exploring the coasts of this country and Canada, of making attempts at settlement, of permanent colonization, of developing the trans-Atlantic trade in fish and furs, and of transplanting an old civilization to a new world. John Cabot, born in Italy, but living in Bristol, England, was the first to lead the way in 1497. Sailing under a commission from Henry VII, he visited the eastern coast of North America, and sailed along the shores of Labrador, Newfoundland, and, possibly, Cape Breton Island. He returned to England in August after an absence of three months.1 Immediately after his return, Cabot made a chart and globe on which he described his voyage. In conversation with a writer of the day he stated that "the sea is covered with fishes, which are caught not only with the net, but in baskets, a stone being tied to them in order that the baskets may sink in the water;" and further, "his comrades say that they will bring so many fishes that this kingdom will no longer have need of Iceland, from which country there comes a great store of fish which are called 1 Calendar of State Papers, Venetian, 1202-1509, p. 262. |