| Show 7 the fishing industry of new england founded by basques in 1500 Is oldest and one of most colorful in U S today toda by E ELMO SCOTT WATSON released by western newspaper union THEY HEY say that in m this machine age there is JL little roma romance nce and adventure in modern business yet amid many of the nations great industries which have lost much of their color through mechanization there is one that is still largely hand operated and in which the individuality of those who follow that trade remains intact that is the great new en england 9 land fishing industry it is probably the oldest continuously operated industry in the united states today for it goes back nearly years to that summer day about the year 1500 1600 when a small group of basque fishermen set out from a little coastal town in in france in m their small fishing boat they had little luck on their usual fishing grounds and BS as the days went by ventured farther and farther away from waters they knew however even in new waters lines and nets were still drawn up empty this was their livelihood and it was necessary that they find a fishing ground which would yield them a full boatload before they returned home they continued their search for more lucrative fishing waters and after many weeks they came to a strange coast where trees were green and flowers were blooming they set their nets and cast their lines and in an almost unbelievably short time the boat was filled they set sail for home and upon their arrival regaled their fellow fishermen with stories of their astounding luck in waters on the other side of the sea thus was born an industry which was to play its important role in m the colonization and development of the new world and to provide the archives of new england with many historic sea sagas As an indication of the potential wealth of the early new england fishing industry gosnold first navigator on the coast caught so many cod that one voyage of six months yielded him 2 2100 pounds in money whereupon he marked le d what sport doth yield a more mor e pleasing content and less hurt or charge than angling with a hook crossing the sweet air from isle to isle over the silent of a calm sea doughty capt john smith of V virginia irginia paid tribute to the industry with these words let not the meanness of the word fish distaste you for it will afford as good gold as the wines of guiana and Po tassie with less hazard and charge and more certainty and facility by 1504 the basques were fishing regularly along the new england coast As word spread among other fishermen of the old world of this fabulous bishin fishing 9 ground the adventurous basques were joined by men of other nations when the explorer verra zano landed south of the piscataqua river near boston he foun found d fisheries carried on by french basques and portuguese historic records of massachusetts show that by 1615 there were french and portuguese and english sails along the coast of new england in 1623 a fishing vessel attempting to land at a settlement on the maine coast was unable to complete the landing and the master thought I 1 it t good to pass into massachusetts bay he left 14 men and returned to his home port in spam spain next year the same vessel returned and left 32 men thus was established the village of gloucester where much of the early history of the massachusetts fishing industry was to be written by 1639 fish had become a medium of exchange and were being used as money it was also due to fishing that all the arts of navigation flourished in this same year the general court of massachusetts recognized the contributions its fishermen were making to the development of the ne new w world by relieving them of military duty 1 in n 1643 the citizens of the then small village of boston held a celebration and the whole citizen ship turned out to pay honor t to 0 the launching of the trial 11 firs first t vessel to be built in that city Ie designed signed to carry on trade between theold the old and new worlds the trial was forerunner of a long dong line of 0 cupper clipper ships which roade made colorful history for another century or so loaded with a cartoof car cargo goOf of salted and smoked fish the trial set sail for balboa and malaga on her return trip she brought brough twine wine fruit oil iron and wool atthe at the beginning ng of the eighteenth century New england was Ie beginning ginning ilg trade with the west 7 7 7 77 7 77 fa 7 7 77 A typical scene on the piers it at gloucester mass at the turn tum of the century showing mackerel ready tor for shipment indies clipper ships took cargoes of fish to the indies and there exchanged them for sugar molasses or rum these products in turn were taken to africa and exchanged for slaves which were sold to the southern colonies or exchanged for tobacco fish for appeasement meanwhile massachusetts was branching out in other directions the first state in the colonies to miss reba has the distinction of being the only woman an fish commission merchant in the world she operates at t the j boston fish pier have a mint it corned coined what became known as the pine tree shilling pieces in 1652 whereupon charles II 11 of england became displeased because he was not given a share of the profits massachusetts promptly sent appeasement pea in the form of ten barrels of cranberries two hogs heads of samp and codfish at the beginning of the eighteenth century cod fishing was in a prosperous condition the annual production was about quintals quint als and the value of the fish exported was about there being fishing vessels of about 50 tons each in massachusetts alone by 1731 more than men were employed in the new england fisheries A report of the massachusetts fisheries made in 1837 shows what strides the industry was making the total value of the cod and mackerel caught that year amounted to and the number of vessels engaged in fishing was while the number of men employed had risen to today the new england fishing industry has reached such proportions that the annual catches amount to pounds in round figures with a value of products manufactured from the catch amount to an additional center of this great activity is boston where the stock exchange of the new england industry has headquarters and where the great fish plants pack ice and ship millions of fresh fish annually activity at the boston fish pier gets under way officially ht at sev seven in the morning when the auction opens in a huge UT unadorned room with its ceiling run ring ning up the four stories of the building the auctioneers stand on a railed platform in the center around the platform cluster the buyers and it is they who decide the fortunes of the farmers of the sea for the prices they bid tor for the catch determine the earnings of the men manning the fishing boats who operate on shares heroes of the pier many of these men are direct descendants of the basque portuguese and spanish sailors who first made their wai way to td the other side of the sea in the sixteenth century N 1 my still live in the same sturdy houses of wood and stone built by their earlier ancestors there is keen rivalry among them for fishing honors of the year the crew of the boat that chalks up the biggest caich become the glamour boysif boys of the boston fishing world and are accorded the same admiration and popular homage as a big league baseball star or a college football hero they live well these men who take the ever present dangers of the sea in their daily stride and they live with the carefree gaiety of those to whom physical hazards are all in the days work oddly enough they eat little fish steak k is a favorite meat with plenty of vegetables and fruits and woe to the cook whose pies emerge from the oven with other than a crisp flaky crust when auction of the catches has been concluded the work of unloading the boats begins each boat on its trip out takes on a load of shaved ice in which to pack the fish as soon as caught this method brinks brings the catch into port as fresh as it came from the nets unloaded in huge baskets and transferred to carts the fish are rushed into big packing and distribution plants here they are made ready for millions who until modern methods of mass merchandising took fresh fish 1500 miles inland had little opportunity to enjoy seafood except in a smoked spited salted or canned state this method of distribution trib ution has also removed fish from the status of a friday only food item and now many families far away from the seacoast enjoy fresh fish several times a week meet blue eyed reba exploring the activities on the fish pier you may be surprised to find a slender blue eyed woman woma 11 in the thick of the auction or inspecting in spec ting a basket load of fish swinging onto the pier from a boat for in such an atmosphere one hoes does not ordinarily expect to find a woman she is reba who is in her eighth year as the only woman fish commission merchant in the world miss will tell you that she is in a business that stinks however she will add in the next breath that thees romance in the fish business and she would not give it up for the world 11 miss Onig mans daily schedule might dismay a good many less hardy women she is up at five thirty and down on the pier by six from then on she is just one of the men she sells her fish at the auction inspects the catches that come in on consignment sign ment for her and operates in a quietly II 11 I 1 uy businesslike business like fashion thab that has has won her the respect of the weather beaten men with whom she deals winter finds her clad in high rubber boots and a Soul wester in summer she looks as dainty and fresh as though she were just starting off for some purely social feminine activity her blouse is crisply fresh and more likely than not a blue bow is tucked away in curly black hair nightly frosted with premature gray another colorful personality whom you may meet in a mornings round of the fish pier is the commission merchant who started off merely peddling a few packages of fish from door to door then he persuaded a captain or two to let him hindlea handle a days catch today he wone is one of the wealthy men of the industry thus the fish industry goes fortunes are frequently made within the space apace of a few short months themen the men who are its keystones the sturdy simple fishermen who still speak the language of their portuguese french and spanish forefathers still lead lives filled with the color and adventure which are the heritage of those who farm the sea the boats set forth with the early tide and sup slip back ia into to gortat port at sunset or dawn the great industry which served as a foundation for this count rys earliest trading continues to nourish flourish and to provide the nation with one of its most important sources of food |
