Animaterra,

If you can't find the CD "See You When the Sun Goes Down" by the Northern Neck Chantey Singers, I can get it locally and mail it to you. The Menhaden fishery had a different style of work than most chanteyment and therefore different music. The primary singing occasion was "raising the net". That would be a "purse net" that surrounded the school of fish and was then closed at the bottom. The men stood in small boats around the bowl shaped circular net and pulled in unison to raise the net, confining the menhaden a step at a time until the fish could be scooped out of the net. Men would get a good grip on the net and pull up together, then hold the net up while getting a new grip further down and then hauling again. Less rhythmic then more familiar chanteys.

Reedville, Virginia, the home of the modern menhaden fishery is the second largest fishing town in the world based on the weight of fish taken from the waters. The fishermans physical work has been largely replaced by machinery.


Roger in Baltimore (well, living in Virginia, now)