Fish Factory Workers in Southwest Harbor with Horse Mackerel and Halibut

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Fish Factory Workers in Southwest Harbor with Horse Mackerel and Halibut

"The catch. probably tuna (called horse mackerel locally), has arrived at the packing house, having been dressed on board vessel. Now it is up to this hardy packing crew to wash these monstrous fish before packing them for shipment to Boston. Except for Asian markets, which existed mostly in large cities, there were few buyers for this product. At other times this packing house was filled with the more predominant fish of the day: hake, cod, haddock, and mackerel. Crews would wash the fish, lather them with salt, and pack them in ice in the tall barrels shown at rear for shipment to Gloucester or Boston. Only a few dealers in Manset, such as the Parkers, specialized in halibut, as it had to be shipped fresh on ice. Mackerel was the only product that had to be inspected once it arrived in Gloucester. As this list suggests, local fisheries processed a variety of fish. The local fishermen would head out, from spring through fall, following the schools, returning with whatever the sea would offer, and putting extra change in their pockets." – Text accompanying this photograph in “Mount Desert Island - Somesville, Southwest Harbor, and Northeast Harbor” by Earle G. Shettleworth Jr. and Lydia B. Vandenbergh - Images of America Series, 2001. p. 43.

Worth

Southwest Harbor

ME

USA

1891

NOAA's Historic Fisheries Collection