The mackarel fishery is entirely confined to the sup ply of the home market. They are principally caught between Yarmouth on the east and north, and the coast of Hampshire on the south and west, being seldom found in any abundance to the north of Yarmouth, and to the west of the Hampshire coast, being in a great measure neglected for the pilchard fishery. The principal mar ket for mackarel is London, where, on an average, up wards of 1,000,000 arc sold annually.
The chief pilchard fishery is along the coasts of Dor setshire, Devonshire, and Cornwall, especially the last. Fowey, Falmouth, Pensance, and St Ives, during the flourishing state of this fishery, having exported a far greater quantity than all the other ports of these coun ties. But this trade, depending for its prosperity on the same causes as the export trade in herrings, has declin ed very much latterly. The annual export on an ave rage of 10 years, from 1747 to 1756, was about 30,000 hogsheads from the four ports just mentioned ; whereas, in the year 1782, it had fallen to about 12,000 hogsheads. Even in this declined state, it afforded employment to 30,000 fishermen, besides the seamen employed in carry ing the fish to foreign markets, and 4000 or 5000 people connected with the shore business of the fishery. At one period, the Cornwall pilchards were so much in request in the Italian States, that the orders from them for lead, tin, copper, &c. were often conditional, that if such a quantity of pilchards could not be sent, the other articles would not he received. At present, the pilchard fishery is in a much worse state than it was even in the year l782. Dartmouth and Falmouth are now its prin cipal seats. In the former, the number of vessels em ployed in catching the fish, and conveying them to mar ket, is upwar6 of 300. At Falmouth, the number is rather greater.
The oyster fishery is principally carried on at Col chester in Essex, Wells, Faversham, Milton, the Swales of the Medway, Queenborough, Rochester, Sea Salter, Poole, Tenby in Pembrokeshire, and Port Inon in Gla morganshire. The Colchester oysters are the most fa mous. Most of these are brought from the little creeks between Southampton and Chichester, and arc only fat tened at Colchester. The oyster fishery at Poole is very considerable, supplying the London market for two months every season ; about 40 sloops and boats being employed in this traffic, the receipts generally averag ing between 70001. and 80001. The Bristol, Bath, and Gloucester markets, are supplied chiefly from Port Inon ; 200 fishermen, and five or six sloops, being en gaged on the oyster fishery there. It is calculated, that
about 10,000 people are employed in this fishery along the coast of England.
The other fisheries on the coast are comparatively of little importance ; they consist principally of turbot, cod, lobsters, &c. The fisheries for the two latter are chiefly on the east and north coasts, while the most extensive and valuable turbot fisheries are along the coasts of Nor folk, Suffolk, Essex, and in the English Channel.
We are not in possession of any complete and authen tic documents, by means of which we can lay before our readers an accotint of the total number of vessels and men employed in the fishing trade of England at the present time ; but, in the year 1785, there was laid be fore the Treasury, by the commissioners of the customs, an account of the total number of ships and vessels, their tonnage, and number of men, belonging to each respec tive port in South Britain, that traded to or from foreign parts, coastwise, or were employed as fishing vessels, .including each vessel, her tonnage, and men, but once, from which we shall extract what relates to the fishing vessels.
The Newfoundland fishery seems first to have been attempted about the year 1556 ; but no English colony was settled on the island till the year 1533. The details respecting it are either not very important, or not well ascertained, till the year 1731, at which time we found, from a judicious tract, entitled 66 The Importance of the British Plantations in America," that the English made, one year with another, there, about 200,000 quin tals of fish, which, at twelve shillings the quintal, amounted to 120,0001. This was deemed all clear gain, as the oil procured from the fish paid for salt, &c. In the year 1763, there were employed in this fishery 177 ships, of the burden of 17,263 tons, navigated by 2531 men, besides 116 ships, which brought out salt, or came in ballast to purchase the fish. In this year there were carried to foreign markets 493,654 quintals of cod, be sides 1172 tierces of salmon. Towards the commence ment of the American war, the Newfoundland fishery seems to have been on the decline, there having been in the year 1769, 354 fishing vessels ; in 1770, 368; in 1771, 369 ; in the year 1772, 306 ; in 1773, 262 ; and in 1774, only 254. After the termination of the American war, and till nearly the commencement of the first French revolutionary war, the fishery revived ; there having been in 1784, 236 fishing vessels ; in 1785, 292 ; in 1786, 280 ; in 1787, 306; in 1788, 389 ; in 1789, 304 ; in 1790, 259 ; in 1791, 245 ; and in 1792, 276.