Page 22. MAINE COASTAL NEWS June 2010 Maritime History:The Early Sardine Industry Continued from Page 21.


200 barrels of Russian sardines, and made 400 barrels of pomace and fifty casks of oil in 1883. They also smoked and packed 10,000 boxes of herring and 4,500 boxes of bloaters. The Quoddy Packing Company put up 7500 cases of sardines and made 30 tons of fish pomace. They also smoked and packed 20,000 boxes of small herring and 2500 boxes of bloaters. E. W. Brown packed 5000 boxes of sardines, 150 barrels of Russian sardines, smoked and packed 16,000 boxes of herring and made 15 tons of fish pomace. Parker & Pike put up 6200 cases of sardines, 350 barrels of pomace and 25 casks oil. The South Lubec Packing Com- pany put up 2100 cases of sardines during the season. Dodge & Lawrence, put up 8000 cases of sardines and smoked and packed 4000 boxes of herring, and made 500 barrels of fish pomace and 50 casks of oil. Comstock & Company have another factory at North Lubec which produces about the same as their other factory. P. Gillise, a trader at the village, smoked and packed 50,000 boxes of herring last year, and made 40 tons of pomace and 10 casks of oil. A. B. Summer & Company


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smoked and packed 15,000 boxes of herring. Houghton & Driscoll was building a new sardine factory at the village which would be up and running in 1884.


The sardine season was from 15 April to 15 December. In 1884, there were 2,000 men, women and children employed, and about $10,000 paid out in wages weekly. The wages earned by women who pack flake are from $10 to $18 per week. The wharf men earn from $9 to $15; sealers from $15 to $30; can makers $18 to $30; seamers, $10 to $15. When there was plenty of fish the factories ran from 0700 until midnight and packed about 250 cases per day. The “Journal” stated that in 1877, about 1500 cases, of 100 cans each, were packed, while in 1883 about 200,000 cases were packed and put on the market. In 1878, the price of quarter-oils was $10.50, which in December 1883, they were sold for $5.50. The price of packing per case varies each week, and is governed by the price of fish, which may be $5 per hogshead the first of a week and $25 the latter part of the same week. A fair average is from $5.50 to $6.


Nine-tenths of the sardines eaten in the United States came from Maine in the mid- 1880s. It was said in an article published in the “Journal” that the smoked herring fishery had been dwindling when the experimental sardines began being packed. During the early and mid-1880s numerous factories ap- peared and soon the markets were glutted and in some cases with a very inferior prod- uct. With no brand or trade mark those re- sponsible for the inferior product could not be determined. Because of this it was thought that in 1884 there would be a decline in the sale of sardines. The article did add that changes were being made in the industry by the lead- ing packers and that there was a trademark on every one of their cases and that this should


translate into increased sales.


As the sardine industry grew more plants came on line. Factories would be built at Brooklin, Camden, Cutler, Lamoine, Machiasport, Mount Desert Island, Pem- broke before 1890.


There were a lot of issues that affected the business such as the amount of fish. In October 1885 the “Journal” published this article.


THE SARDINE BUSINESS.


Julius Wolff, the extensive packer of Maine sardines, being interviewed by a newspaper reporter, said: “I have no objec- tion to giving my views. I am a business man, a manufacturer, and take perhaps the busi- ness view of the matter. I speak from personal experience, and I have for many years made a thorough study of my line of business. This year, with facilities for packing 25 per cent more sardines than were packed in 1884, we are about 50 per cent behind in our work as compared with 1884. This is caused by the lack of fish. We—I speak for the trade—have sold about 5000 cases ahead. There are em- ployed in the sardine canning business di- rectly about 3000 persons. From 90 to 100 boats are employed, giving work to some 200 fishermen. Girls earn from $3 to $4 per week, sealers from $8 to $18 per week, and laborers from $1.25 to $1.75 per day. We work from April 15 to December 15, with four stop months. We have good business now, be- cause of the formation of the Sardine Ex- change.”


The Exchange disappeared following the 1885 season and this created a huge problem. It was stated, “At that time every factory worked independently of his neigh- bor and the main object was to sell the goods, paying as little as possible for the cost of their production—place the work of two men on


the shoulders of one man, and pay him half wages, so each packer could sell cheaper than the other.” An Eastport writer added that the workers of that town lost $200,000 in wages, but this may be a high estimate. It was also said that following the great fire that leveled almost every sardine factory at Eastport that certain people stepped forward and reformed the American Sardine Ex- change, which was aimed at helping every- one involved in the sardine business. One Eastport packer dropped all the French label- ing and produced his own brand using his name. He also guaranteed the quality and that there would be no more than 12 fish and no less than ten fish per can. He then began selling more fish at a better price. In 1888 eight to ten new sardine factories went into production at Eastport, Perry, Machiasport and Blue Hill Falls. There were also plans for another factory to be built at East Steuben the next season. This meant that there were now 45 factories in the State of Maine. In 1887 these factories produced 450,000 cases and it was expected that they would add another 50,000 cases to this total in 1888. This also meant that the herring- sardine packers will cure and pack about 550,000,000 herring.


The following year, 1889 was also a year that the sardine market was flat due to a decrease in the number of fish caught. How- ever many of the factories did well selling what they were able to pack.


During the 1880s there were a lot of ups and downs in the sardine industry, which continued up until the early 1900s when there was a major collapse of the industry. Since that time there was a slow decline until now there is no factory packing sardines in the State of Maine or any of the other 49 states in America.


Spring is Here: Work Beginning!


SATURN sitting at a dock in Bangor fall 2008.


Spring is coming fast and the crew is getting ready to get back to work. Last year Rob Crone and Jon Johansen got a lot done, namely the bow, some of the main deck and engineering systems. Our major concern this year will be the hull, above and below the waterline, main and boat decks, stack, stern and engineering work. We are now sitting at Kustom Steel in Brewer where work has been progressing very well. SATURN is a 117-foot railroad tug built as the BERN for the Reading Railroad in 1907. She is one of the last railroad tugs in existence and is being saved for future generations to enjoy. For further information : (207) 223-8846 or to join the Friends of SATURN, send a check for $25 or more to P.O. Box 710, Winterport, ME 04496.


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