Menhaden Fishing Industry Focus of New History Book

Fishing for bunker, or Menhaden, is a lost way of life on the East End of Long Island. But the trade flourished from the late 18th century all the way through the 1960s. And members of the Southold Historical Society have captured this era in a new book entitled "Munnawhatteaug – The Last Days of the Menhaden Industry on Eastern Long Island."

The society’s director Geoffrey K. Fleming and collection manager Amy Kasuga Folk worked on the book, a detailed history of the industry and 200 images of a typical bunker expedition of the 1960s, taken by local photographer and antiquarian book dealer Peter Stevens.

“The images capture the industry in its waning days and provide a glimpse of a lost way of life,” said Folk.

Bunker were used primarily as fertilizer.  Their decomposition helped to replenish the soil, allowing for a better growing season and improved yields.  During the 1800s, anglers could capture over a million fish in a single day using hand-pulled seine nets along the shore.

By the time of the Industrial Revolution, bunker were also being solely sought for their oil. Factories were built on the bayside of the North Fork, where fisherman began using steam powered vessels to capture huge amounts of the fish for processing. Fish would be squeezed for their oil, which had uses as varied as lighting fuel, machine lubricant and as an ingredient in the cosmetics industry. 

“The factories made it impossible to live or enjoy the bay,” said Fleming. “The smell during the summer precluded recreational uses until the late 19th century, when the factories were closed and moved to Napeague, near Montauk.”

In the late 1960s, large-scale operators left eastern Long Island for the mid-Atlantic region of the United States, where it continues to operate today.

Photographs taken by Stevens will be on display at the Floyd Memorial Library in Greenport beginning in mid-May.  The book is available both at the society and at other book retailers. For information contact the society at (631) 765-5500 or online at www.southoldhistoricalsociety.org