Evening Republican, Volume 16, Number 123, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 22 May 1912 — FISH SUPPORT `TOWN [ARTICLE]

FISH SUPPORT `TOWN

Anchovy Found In Large Quantities in Holland. Fact Is Not Widely Known—Supposition That Mediterranean Sea Haa x Monopoly of Industry Is Erroneous. The Hague, Holland. —The coat of arms of Enkhulzeu. one of the dead cities of the Zuyder zee, bears three silver fishes, which, it is explained, are anchovies; for Enkhuizen* owed a great part of Its prosperity to the anchovy fisheries. It is generally supposed that the anchovy is caught exclusively in the Mediterranean sea, so it comes as a surprise to most people to hear that it is so largely caught off the coasts of Holland. Dutch fishermen have been familiar for ages with the fact that the anchovy comes up In great shoals ats certain times <of the year and enters the Zuyder zee to spawn. There have, however, been considerable lapses of time when no anchovies at all appeared, and when it was feared that the Dutch fisher folk had lost their .means of earning a livelihood, then, suddenly, without any apparent reason, the shoals of fish again became regular visitors. These last rew years the anchovy has been particularly plentiful. Many a Zuyder zee fisherman has made his living for the whole year during the anchovy season, which lasts from six to eight weeks, and as much as 1,000 florins ($400) worth have been known to be taken in a single day. Formerly the method of capturing s shoal of anchovy consisted In stretching an enormous net with small meshes between (wo boats. This net touched the sea bottom. Then the boats hoisted sail and the more wind there was the better pleased were the fishermen. They sailed bn for a. while and then when the net was lifted it contained thousands of silvery fishes. Later on they preferred to fish withstationary nets, because more fish could be caught in that way. Each fisherman places his own nets in a certain past of the sea, and after a while comes to see whether they have been filled-with fish. l__ The anchovy brings plenty of work for many another category of persons than the regular fishermen. For the fish have to be cleaned, salted and packed into casks. The cleaning Is done almost exclusively by women and children, the salting occupies the “salter” and the making of the many basks employs a littld army of coopers. Then the packing Is also done by experienced hands in such a way that the anchovy can be kept for many years without spoiling. The herring fishers also often secure millions of anchovy near the coasts of Holland. For as soon as they perceive a shoal coming their way they will fix anchovy netting Into their herring nets, and so often secure almost miraculous hauls. The anchovy is a small fish, the full grown specimen being only fifteen centimeters (5.9 Inches) long. The backof this fish is bluish and the under parts are white, glistening like silver in the sunshine.