Newspapers / Carteret County News-Times (Morehead … / Oct. 11, 1955, edition 3 / Page 28
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Herring Fishery Figures Importantly In Economy of Albemarle Sound Area By JOHN WAFF Kdcnlon, N. C. On a hundred farm* lying close by the Albemarle Sound and its tributaries, the farmer-fisherman in a little while will be hauling out his nets to prepare them for tha coming herring season. It is his tradition and his heritage. Former ly every farm near these waters had its nets; and many I of them ha:l their shore seines, for the herring was an im porlant item to the dwellers of the< j Albemarle country, and far inland on the river bottom farms. Man depended upon the herring as a ; part meat supply for the year. The fish was eaten fresh when the run was on. Salted, they provided food ( for the long winter months. Today the farmer does not seek them for his own table' so much as he does for the packing houses which largely depend upon him for their supply. The first herring appearing in the waters of the Albemarle are : strays which come in scattered numbers during February and ear ly March. The real run starts in fate March and consists of what the fishermen call "branch," or 1 "goggle eye" herring and what the scientists call by the jaw-breaking name of Pomolobus pseudoharen gus. i These "forerunners," so called because they come just before the shad run, come in large numbers but remain only a short time. They are followed by the so-called "glut," "blueback," or "school her ring." This fish is really the back bone of the fishery and accounts for the larger percentage of the annual six and a half million pound catch. While herring appear in num bers in most of the coastal rivers of the state, there is no regularly established fishery for them ex cept in the Albemarle Sound and the rivers which empty into it. Formerly the Roanoke River con tributed heavily to the annual catch, but in late years the fish eries on this river, except near the mouth, have supplied little of the commercial catch Only one large seine at Jamesville now op erates on this river. Albemarle Sound and the Chowan River sup ply the bulk of the commercial eatch. Before the turn of the century the Albemarle Sound and its riv ers were the most important fish ing waters of North Carolina. This well-earned reputation was due to the great shad and herring fish eries which have always existed there. Historian Reports The earliest written records of the state speak of the herring of the Chowan region. Heriot, our earliest chronicler, tells of the great hordes of herring and their huge size, reporting some of them ' to be 2 feet long. While it is likely that he con fused the herring with the shad, there is no question about the enormous numbers of herring which he found. Then, as now, they came in February, March, I April and May. The herring fishery is of short . duration. While a few of the mil ' lions make their appearance in ' February, the real run does not , start until March. By the middle J of May, after great and feverish 1 activity, the fishery is finished for I another year. The herring spends most of its life in the salt waters of the At lantic ocean. In the spring, how ever, this beautiful little flah comes into brackish and fresh wa ter in great hordes. First into the brackish waters and then on up into the fresh waters of the river*. Inland to Spawn This mass movement of millions Of fish is the spawning migration. > , for the herring is seeking out the fresher waters in which to lay its eggs. It is on the upstream route when the choicest herrinf are tak en. At that time they are plulnp and fat, the roe full, and fisher men by the hundreds seek ttym out. The supply of herring seems limitless. While from time to time we hear fears expressed that the herring will be exterminated by the fishery, these tears are not ordinarily expressed by those who know the herring. It is true that the herring catch ; varies from year to year, but or dinarily we find these variations more or less proportional to the fishing effort. There is no record to show that the lean years of the herring take were the result of the absence of the herring. On the contrary we have seen many yeA*s when the price of the fiah dropped to such a point where it was no longer profitable to catch them; and the nets were tak4n Hi and dried foe the next season. At other times when there has been a shortage of herrings for the packing houses, the shortage was the result of storms which tore up the nets and not to the absence of the herring. From a poundage point of view the herring constitutes one of the most important fisheries of the state. In 1952 6,510,200 pounds of fish were taken valued at (81,221. The statistical records show thit among edible fin fish the herring has always held first place in landings; and while there has been fluctuation from year to year, the pounds landed have always ex ceeded the pounds landed of any other edible fin fish. The total dollar value has fluctuated great ly, but with the exception of a few years here and there, dollars received for this fish placed her ring among the first five species of edible finfish Unded. While the price paid the fisher man for herring Is small and Is based largely on the old law of supply and demand, the money paid them constitutes an important factor in their economy. The aver age small herring fisherman will make during the three months $250 to $300. The catching of her ring is not his full time occupa tion. There are few professional fish ermen who seek the herring. Most of them are taken by the farmer* of the countryside and the casual labor of the nearby towaa. A man may be a carpenter, but during the herring season, on good days, he may lay down his hammer and a4w and take to the water. The carpen ter job will be there when he re turns. The herring will not stay beyond May. The mill worker, the carpenter, the day laborer depend upon the herring fishery for a definite part of their livelihood. Money derived therefrom often means an extra luxury or two. perhaps an extra pair at ahoca, a suit of clothes, or a de?rn payment on an automobile. The farmer-fisherman who really makes a business of fishing does better. He has invested In seines and pound nets, motor bpats and subetantial boats without motors. While he is at it, he's at it in a bit way Since his nets take other more costly fish , such as (had and rock, he may avenge (3,500 a year when -the combined product! of his spring herring flattery and fall fishery are considered Some make autre by fishing than by farming. (The fisheries of the Albemarle, somewhat shrunken in value so far as the stale at Urge la concerned, are of great importance to the economy ?f those counties border ing the Albemarle and its feeder streams). ' There are two principal methods for catching herring, the seine and the pound net. About M per cent are taken by pound nets, the remainder by seines, (ill nets, stake and fyke nets. Formerly, practically all herriog were taken by seine, skim net^ or gill nets, the seine being most im portant. Seines of today are pyg mies compared to the seines of yesterday. Today the law limits a seine to 1.000 yards, but it was nothing un usual even in the early days of this century to find huny seines operating in the Albemarle region which were a mile or more long and the famous Capehart seine is reputed to have been five miles long. Only two hauls a day could b* made with this seine, since it re quired so much time to set and haul It. The seine would be set at night and about 4 o'clock in the morning hauling would be started. By 6 o'clock that night the seine had been hauled, set and hauled again. The Greenfield seine, was another famous seine of the At be marie section. Demand Great There was a great demand (or herring in the day? of these huge seines. Some fish were sold fresh bitf most of the catch was salted. Wagon trains came in numbers to the Albemarle, taking loads of herring back into the interior to sell, to feed labor crews, planta tion slaves an<lto supply the morn ing delicacy on a weli-to-do table. Large quantities were used on the farm and plantations which owned the seines, some were used for fertilizer as well as food for the slaves and the master's table. All classes of people ate herring in some form during the season. Today there is very little Indepen dent wiling by the pound natter and small seine operator. The pro duct is sold to the five or lix pack ing plants on shore who processed herring for distribution to the markets. The plants also have their own nets and boats. It is a hectic time for the farm ers, since the herring run comes at the season of the year when farmland has to be prepared and seed has to be sown. It is double time for them. Early in the morn ing they fish their nets and take their catch to the packing house and then back for them to the farms for tilling the toil. Herring, in good tradition, are paid for by number of fish, not by pounds, and a packing house will buy any number from one herring to 100,000. Herring i* a small fish, averaging roughly a third of a pound, and naturally a good catch is too numerous to permit count ing the uidividual fish 10 the num ber of fish is determnied' by the volume! A standard measure or tub is filled to the brim with the herring to be sampled. The number of fish in the tub ia counted. The tub is then repeatedly flllM and emptied until a given fisherman's catch ia measured. The number of tuba ia then multiplied (>y the number of fleh it was determined the tub would hold and the fisherman is paid off by number of fish. Since herring vary in sice from day to day and ftom catch to Son of Marshallberg Boat Builder Operates Seafood Firm in Morehead It wu entirely natural that young Gordon C. Willis, ion of Marahallberg boat builder Benja min Tyler Willii, should find soma aort of work connected with Um aea. The owner and manager of tha Gordon C. Willis Co., Morehead City, attended public school and Graham's academy in Marshallberg. Later he waa a student at the Waahington Collegiate institute, Washington. N. C. Having com pleted his stadiea there, he began work with the Norfolk-Southern railway in Norfolk. Then came his period of Naval service. Mr. Willis came to Morehead City aa a young man after seining with the Navy during World War L He first worked with the Wood land Company, wholesale teafoad Coolers, aa a bookkeeper. In ltM, when that firm ceaaed operation,! Mr. Willis opened his own busi aeaa on the same spot at the foot ?f 8. 10th Street The Gordon C. Willis Co., ? Urge, red trame Mtdlng. has become a landmark oa Morehoad'a waterfront. id Gordon is not the of the family to can pleasure craft but building some fishing boats, Mildon's father built aaiting skiffs in bis day. Another brother. Darcy, Is the skipper of ? partyboat. Joy II. TIm fresh SEA-LECT aeafoods shipped by the Willis firm are caught in the water* of eastern Carolina, la the bays, sounds, and the ocean. The company operate* beach fisheries in season and has its own boats which bring^k fresh supply of food from the deep di rect to its docks. Also the company buys from many Independent fish ermen and dealers. The seafoods, which include fish, soft crabs, shrimp, clams, and scallop*, are shipped to customers by truck aad railway express. Shipping point* include the eatire Atlantic seaboard and placea as far west a* Chicago. Special order* for such delicacies as soft crabs have been filled by air express to place* a* far away aa California. Auociated with the firm la an eaacatlve capacity la Ethan Davis Jr . who ha* been with the com staee IMS except for three aervjoe with the Army dur M war. WUIIs married the former Mia* Fannie Wade. Their only child, (tardea Caryl Jr., eatared the Uatoeratty e< North Careiia* Mr. Willi* b a member of the Firat Methodist church, where he hat served u ? member ot the offidal hoard (or aeveral years. Ha is alio general aecretary of the church achool. Mr*. Willi! and young Gordon ard^membera of the Fint Baptist church. Gordon Jr. is an Eagle ?eout and it the only Scout in the county who hat won the God and Country Award. Hit dad it active in Scout work, serving on the organitation and ex tentlon committee of the Carteret District and on the executive board of the East Carolina council, which covert 21 counties. Active la many community or ganisation*. Mr. Willia Is a mem her and put president of the Morahead City Rotary dub. and a member of the Maaonlc order and the American Legion. He serve* on the hoard of trustees of the Morehead City hoapital and on the tranaportation and communi cation! committee of the Morehead City Chamber of Commerce. Twice he waa appointed to aerve two year terms on the advisory board of the institute of Fisheries Ra the North Carolina search. His Una hoMs ! rl||Hon catch, thii proceu is repeated uv ?ral time* a day. It seems an in volvad method but it i( long estab lish^ in tradition, and neither the (ikhernian nor the dealer would have it any other way. Herring are one of the few pro duct! of the waters of North Caro lina ; which are processed before beinl sent on to the ultimate con sumer, and the proper processing of barring ia a tricky business. Al though apparently simple, It is not engaged in by one who does not have the know-how. From the boats the herring are taken in to a combination washer and scaler. This is ordinarily a re volving drum made of wire. The herring are ihen dressed for salt ing. The dressed herring are transported to larre vats contain ing saturated sail solution, and are immersed for about eight days. After this curing, the herring are put in cold brine at about 38 to 40 degrees. They are held in this refrigerated brine until time to sell them. Salted In Baskets Removed from the brine, they are loose-salted in apple baskets, tubs and barrels and more recent ly tin cans, the interior of which is coated with a salt resistant ena mel. lately, cured herrings have been put up in three-pound glass jars, four Jars to the case. The containers In which the herrings are packed for market vary in size. There are, for in stance, 50-pound containers con taining 250 fish. A 20-pound pack contains 120 fish. A 10-pound con tainer carries 60 fish. The tin cans hold 250 fish, and the baskets hold the same number. The basket be ing the cheapest container of all, is the one which sells in greatest quantity. From January to April almost one hundred per cent of the her ring put on the market are sold in baskets In the warmer months the cloaad container! such as kegs, barrela and giaas jars gain favor. Aa the processor buys hit fish in numbers, ao the grocerman sell* his cured product in num bers. Rarely does he sell cured herring by the pound, but by the place, by the dozen or the Iplf dozen lot. Seventy five per cent of the cured herring produced in North Carolina are sold in North Caro lina with about 25 per cent going into Virginia around the Danville area and into South Carolina. The heaviest aalea are within. 100 to 200 miles of the coast, which prob ably represents the distribution range established seventy five or a hundred years ago. Much Canned Much of the herring caught in North Carolina is canned. The pro cess of canning is identical with that for curing up to the brining state. Inatead, however, of being brined eight days in 100 per cent salt solution, the herring for can ning are brined only for one hour in a one-half saturated salt solu tion. Removed from the brine, the herring are cut in lengths (by ma chinery) to fit the cans. They are put in round 15-ounce cans to which is added a salt so lution to (ill up the can. They are then run through a steam exhaust box with live steam playing on them and on through a capping machine which automatically seals the can. This operation is followed by the sterilization process in the re tort. They are held under 15 pounds pressure at about 248 de grees for one hour. The roe is also canned. All of the canned herring products com mand a market and are easily dis posed of. Beaufort Laboratory (Continued from Page 1, Section 7) fishery laboratory in a rented building in Beaufort. In 1900 Con gress authorized the erection of a biological station. The land for the present station was donated to the Government by Alonzo and Nannie F. Thomas, parents of Alonzo F. Thomas, whs until he retired in 1963, was an employee of the sta tion. On May 26, 1902, the new labora tory building .was thrown open for research. Ample space was afford ed for offices, laboratories, libra ry, and dormatory rooms. A mu seum occupied most of the first floor and was open to the public. Thousands of fascinated eyes viewed the fish, reptiles, and fish ing equipment on display during the span of the museum's exis tence. It remained intact until 1990 when the present shad re search investigation became head quartered here and additional of fice and library space became necessary. After the station was opened in 1902 the "resort" atmosphere be gan to change. Academic problems were still being pursued in some measure and they will always have their place, but the primary endeavor of employees of the Bu reau of Fisheries was, and is even more so at this time, to precede fishery conservation and develop ment practices with scientific re search and then to apply the re sulting knowledge toward the pro per management of our fishery resources. One of the earliest reports issued concerning investigations designed to promote the oyster industry of North Carolina. Attention was cal led to the ways in which?natural oyster reefs were formed under the conditions prevailing in this region; to the factors which one engaging in "oyster gardening" must consider: to the misfortunes and success of some who had at tempted oyster farming; and by experimental oyster planting, to the fitness or unfitness of certain bottoms to oyster culture. Waned with Terra pin A few years ago there was a hearty demand for the meat of dlamondback terrapin and it be es me % increasingly difficult to maintain a natural supply. Work was done at the station to deter mine efficient methods of cultiva tion of the species so that the com mercial culturist could increaae the supply and thereby reduce the cost of the product to the consumer. Some of the most renowned bi ologists and fishery technicians in the world have visited, studied, and written technical reports at Pivers Island. The old building which bad served as a temporary home and laboratory (or so many eminent scientists was torn down early this year after the completion of the new laboratory. It had a life span of S3 years, not a particularly long period aa buildings go, yet because of ita tremendoua weight and the some what Inadequate foundation yield ing to the sandy sod upon which It rested, it had become warped, rickety, and costly to maintain. A survey of scientific date aad publications turned out by the men who hate worked here shows that the building's life was pecked Ml of weithwhllo ecMvtty and that tta coat to the taxpayer has been r* turned manyfold through increased biological knowledge and its ap plication toward the advancement of conservation measures. Through use of modern methods and the newly-acquired facilities of the U. S. Fishery Laboratory we may look forward to a great deal of productive research whKh will loud an invaluable wrvtn to , our filhing industry during' Hi years to cone. General Assemblyman Looks I After Fisheries Interests T. J. Collier is neither a fisher man, a seafood wholesaler, nor a boat-owner, yet he may be classi fied as one of the best friends the industry can claim. A man who has spent 15 years in the field of education, serving as both classroom teacher and prin cipal, Mr. Collier is now engaged in the buildirtg supply business in Bayboro. His closeness to and interest in the problems of the fishing indus try result from his first-hand knowledge of its economic impor tance to his section and his state. Jn virtually all of coastal Carolina, including Mr. Collier's Pamlico County, fishing ranks second only to agriculture. Mr. Collier has represented Pam lico, the second-largest fish pro ducing county in the state, in the last four sessions of the North Carolina General Assembly. The 1965 assembly passed a bill au thorizing the governor to appoint a seven-man advisory board to gnide the policies of the Board of Conserva*ion and Development in matters concerning commercial fishing. Introduces Bill The bill was introduced by Mr. Collier and is the culmination of extensive effort on his part to in crease representation of the com mercial fisheries in the activities of the Board which so rigidly con trols it. Mr. Collier's concern with the ; fishing industry began back in 1930 when, fresh out of the Uni versity of North Carolina, he went to Arapahoe to teach. It was in the small town on the Neuse River that he met another young teacher, I Mildred Muse of Oriental, who I later became Mrs. Collier. During his three years as teach er and two as principal, the young native of Wayne County came in to close contact with the fisher folk and the fishing industry of Pamlico County. An additional seven years as principal of the school in Oriental served to fur ther indoctrinate him in the needs and problems of the industry. Thqee years as principal at Cres well in Washington County took him to another fishing area of the state for still further learning. Starts Business Leaving the teaching profession in 1945, Mr. Collier returned to Arapahoe to live, establishing him self in the lumber business in Lpearby Qr a lab wo Then in 1040, Llhe same yearxhe was first elected ' to the state legislature, he moved to Bayboro and established a builders' supply business on the nuin street Ai a freshman legislator. Mr. Collier was appointed to the two committees in which he was most interested, education and commer cial fishing. Heads Committee During his second term In the House, serving as chairman of the commercial fisheries committee, he first introduced the bill which was finally passed this year. In its first attempt at passage, the bill passed the House but never was brought up in the Senate. In 1953. when he served as vice chairman of the same committee. T. J. Collier . . . adopted coastland the earnest Pamlico County bus inessman considered introducing a bill to separate the commercial fisheries from the Department of Conservation and Development. Mr. Collier felt then, and still feels, that it is impossible for the 15 conservation board members, however capable and sincere, to be sufficiently informed on all is sues within the jurisdiction of the board those issues include fish ing. Since the only industry regu lated by the board is commercial fishing, Mr. Collier felt that plac ing the industry under a separate department would insure more realistic regulation. Governor Umstead disagreed, but promised the House committee that he would give commercial fMlMriefl at leaat qm jgalified representative on tlw com Brvation board. He farther promised that if relations between the industry and iU governing body did not in- ' prove, he would support legisla tion to separate them. The appointment of Cecil Mor ris of Atlantic and Eric Rodgers, Scotland Neck, to the board ful filled the Governor's promise. Both were recommended by the fisheries industry. According to Mr. Collier, relationships have im proved, both as a result of these appointments and the appointment of Gehrmann Holland as fisheries commissioner. Confidence Improves The men in the industry, says Mr. Collier, seem to have more confidence in the state government and in the regulations governing their industry than they did two years ago. However, the lawmaker goes on. even as he reiterates his confi dence in the executive group of ihe C&D, there is no guarantee that the makeup of the board will continue to be such that it will be able to serve the best interests of '.he industry. Resignation or death of members can change the j*r ionnel quickly. The advisory board, composed as it is of men who are thoroughly familiar with the commercial fish ing interests, could, if it is used correctly, guarantee that the in terests of the industry will be un derstood by the Board. But, says Mr. Collier, unless the advisory group is used to fullest advantage, he would still be in favor of removing the fishing in- , dustry from the jurisdiction of the Board of Conservation and Devel opment. Mr. Collier's wife and two chil dren see little of the busy head of their family during legislative ses sions, and often remark that they believe he works harder for the interests of the fishermen than for himself and his business. Busy as he is, Mr. Collier finds time for varied civic activity. The organizer and first president of the Pamlico County Chamber of Commerce, he is also a member of the Lions Club and a Mason. The Methodist Church has found him a capable member of the board of trustees and treasurer of Camp Don-Lee, the Methodist young peo ple's camp at Arapahoe. However involved he may be in his own business activities or in any other field of interest, it's a safe bet that dynamic T- J. Collier will always find time to try to help the fisherman. CAPT. CHRIS SAYS: For th? best dog-gone NETS So* my folks at Photo by Jerry Schumacher DAVIES NET CO. 1207 ShockUford Street Phon* MJ48 Morahcad City, N. C. NETS ? NETTING ? BOOTS ? BOTE ? CHAIN ?
Carteret County News-Times (Morehead City, N.C.)
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Oct. 11, 1955, edition 3
28
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