Herring
is fished in mid-April, as soon as the ice has melted. At the beginning
of the century, herring was fished using traps, and it was brought back
to the wharf with a large, floating wooden cage. In plentiful years,
the catch could reach as much as 15 million pounds of herring each spring.
These days, lobster fishermen are the ones to put the herring nets in
the water and trasport the herring caught to the smoke houses. They
also use herring to make bait for their lobster traps.
In the
50's, approximately 1200 people worked in the smoked herring industry
in the Magdalen Islands. In 'Pointe-Basse', 100 seasonal employees were
hired annually to produce the smoked herring.
The
smoking process used today is the same one used 20 years ago. The first
step is the salting of the herring for a 48 hour period. The fish is
then skewered on wooden sticks and brought to the smoke house on 'boyards'
where it is suspended on support beams. Fires are lit on the ground
underneath, using hardwood (maple along with its sawdust). These fires
are kept constantly burning for a 60 - 90 day period. This preservation
technique results in complete dehydration of the herring, giving it
a golden colour and exceptional flavour.
In the
old days, the herring was shipped to markets in the West Indies, mainly
Haiti and the Dominican Republic. During this time, approximately 175
000 cases of smoked herring were produced annually. At the present time,
not as much is produced, however herring is making a comeback.
