Democratic Sentinel, Volume 19, Number 25, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 28 June 1895 — THE SARDINE FISHERS. [ARTICLE]

THE SARDINE FISHERS.

A LEADING INDUSTRY ON THE COAST OF BRITTANY. Catching tha Little Fish in Nats 1,000 Fast Long - - Work of tha Curing Faotorias. Early in April the sardine fishers along the coast of Brittany begin their prepar&tßHls for the season’s work. The boats are turned to the warm spring sun and calked, the nets which have been stored away all winter long are spread out on the sand, and white haired grandfathers, who are no longer capable of going to sea, bend over them with balls of bright new twine and mend the holes in the meshes. In the last of the month, when the cherry trees are in full bloom, the fishers begin to Thatch for the bubbling of the sardines, far out on the waters of the sea, for they know that vast shoals of the little fish are on their way from the coast of Africa, up through the Bay of Biscay to the north, like a flock of migratory birds, and that they must be caught, if at all. as they pass. Presently some old fisher thinks he sees the water ruffling as if the waves played on a bar of sand. The word spreads rapidly and the boats put out from the shore and race to the shoal. Sometimes in order to be on hand at the first catch fishers leave in the evening and anchor at sea. As the bubbling area approaches the boats spread out with the nets, which are about 1,000 feet long and four feet wide, between them. The lower edge of each is held down with lead weights and floated at the tops with corks. When the net is extended the water is “baited” by throwing balls of “roque” into it. As the bait dissolves and sinks the sardines rise and remain long enough to nibble it, and their doom is sealed. For this reason “roque” is a most important part of the sardine fisher’s outfit. It is made of the eggs of mackerel and codfish mixed with clay and is rather expensive, costing from $7 to sl7 a barrel, As the shoal of fish reaches the region of the nets they are carefully inclosed and drawn to the boats. At nightfall the fleet returns to shore, each boat full of fish—lf the day’s catch has been ordinarily good—and the load is taken in baskets by the men, women and children, in a long procession, up to the cannery. Sales are made by the thousand, and the prices vary according to the size aud freshness of the catch. Inside the curing (aetpyiesor canneries everything is bustle and confusion, for there must not be a moment’s deluy in cleaning the fish. All night long the work is carried on by the light of blazing oil wicks. For the most part the wives and children of the fisherman are employed at wages almost inconceiveably small. The sardines are spread on long benches or tables, where salt is dusted over them. Then the women go along and snip off the heads with great rapidity. When the cleaning is finished a man gathers up the sardines and throws them into a big vat of brine, where they remain aDOut half an hour. They are next washed in clear water and then laid out on screens to dry. As soon as their sides assume a peculiar parched appearance they are gathered up into a wire basket and dipped into boiling oil, after which they are passed along to the packers. The little flat boxes so well known to commerce are taken one by one and filled from the glistening pile of fish, after which pure olive oil from the province of Bari, Itavy, is poured over them and the tops soldered on. All of this work is done with a deftness and rapidity that is astonishing. In the meantime a great caldron of hot water has been raised to the boiling point ready for the real operation of cooking the fish. The sealed boxes are thrown into it and left for two or three hours. If any oil appears on the top of the water the master workman knows that some can has not been properly soldered, and the loss is charged up to the man who did the work. A good workman will not lose more than two or three boxes in a hundred. When the boxes are taken out the labels are put on and they are then ready for the market. Boneless sardines are especially prepared for the New York trade by several of the factories and they command a high price. Sardines are also canned with tomatoes, and in this form they are very largely exported to Mexico. Sometimes the oil in the cans is replaced by vinegar and sometimes by butter, but the sardines in these forms are never as good. The market price of sardines per case of one hundred boxes is about $lO, delivered free of charge at Havre or Bordeaux. The total exportation to the United States reaches a half a million dollars a year. The sardine season in Brittany lasts about five months and 2.500 boats manned by 15,000 sailors are engaged in the work. The employes in the factories number about 10,000 women and several thousand men and children. The industry originated in Nantes, France, in 1884, and the best brands in the world still come from there. Spain and Portugal send out a cheaper grade. Of late years a great many sardines are being caught and canned along the Pacific coast in this country. Japan and New Zealand catch and pack a good many sardines.