MULLET IN EASTERN FLORIDA. 453 



upon the eggs. They are caught chiefly on the Hood-tides with gill-nets and seines. A gill net 

 seventy-five fathoms long will take ten thousand in a season. They are eaten fresh, commanding 

 a price of one to five cents a pound, and are salted largely. About seventy-five boats and one 

 hundred and fifty men are employed in the Lower Saint John's." 



IN THE SAINT MARY'S RIVER. " At the mouth of the Saint Mary's, " according to Mr. W. E. 

 Myers, "the Mullet is resident and more abundant than any other fish, especially in August, Septem- 

 ber, October, and November. The general abundance is not apparently changed, though the supply 

 varies. The average "Finger Mullet" is about four and a half inches long, while the "Sea Mullet '' 

 ranges from eight to eighteen inches, weighing from eight ounces to two pounds. They never leave this 

 region, but spend the whole time in the salt- water bayous along the coast. They frequently run up 

 into brackish or almost fresh water, probably for the purpose of feeding. Fishes of all sizes and 

 ages mingle together in the schools. Their favorite haunts are on the shallow mud-Hats and up 

 little creeks or "rivers." At high water they feed among the black rushes or marsh grass. The 

 shallows which they frequent are warmer than the off-shore water. After spawning they are 

 generally found in small schools. They are preyed upon by porpoises, sharks, fish-hawks, cranes, 

 and gulls. They feed on bottom mud and floating scum, also on shrimps. They spawn around 

 their feeding- grounds in August and September, and young Mullets are always found in abundance 

 in company with the old.' Fish-lice are found in their gills. At Saint Mary's they are caught exclu- 

 sively in cast-nets the Spanish and American kinds at all seasons, but chiefly in August and 

 the fall months. They are usually caught in the last quarter of the ebb and first quarter of the 

 flood tide. They are caught only in small quantities for home consumption, and are more in 

 demand than any other fish, selling for about eight cents per pound. Very few are salted." 



IN SOUTHEASTERN FLORIDA. At Saint Augustine, according to Mr. Peter Masters, Mullet 

 are resident, but most abundant in September and October. They are thought to have dimin- 

 ished, "owing," says Mr. Masters, "to the gill-nets on the Saint John's." They move in and 

 out of the harbor, over the Saint John's and Smyrna Bars. They run into fresh water three months 

 in the year. They spawn in deep water in November and December. Thirty or forty men with 

 small boats are engaged in the fishery, using gill and cast nets. The Mullet is the favorite food- 

 fish, commanding a price of three or four cents per pound. Very few are salted. 



About New Smyrna, says Mr. S. C. Clarke, the "Silver or Big-eyed Mullet," though resident, 

 are most plenty in November, December, and January, and have for years retained their abundance, 

 which is much greater than that of any other fish. The average size is three pounds, though they 

 sometimes weigh four or five ; the female is the larger. They are always to be found in shoal water 

 with muddy bottoms, spending the winter in the creeks and bays. They run into fresh water to 

 feed. They swim in schools, assorted in uniform sizes, rippling the surface and thus attracting 

 predatory birds of all kinds, and followed by predatory fishes. The schools break up after the 

 spawning season. They feed upon mud and floating scum. They spawn iu large schools, in strong 

 currents, in January and February; the eggs, which are yellow and about the size of mustard seed, 

 floating at the surface in the currents and hatching within ten days. They prefer warm water for 

 spawning. The roe often runs from the fish when caught. They spawn at the age of three 

 years, and after spawning are thin and unfit for food. Young fish are seen iu great abundance in 

 shallow water near the shore; they arc preyed upon by every fish and by every predatory bird. 

 Mullet are taken with nets of all kinds, usually at low water. Some hundreds of barrels are put 

 up yearly for shipment, commanding the price of six to eight dollars. They are also used for oil 

 manufacture, and for manure. 



Mr. H. S.Williams states that in the Indian River the Mullet season lasts from May until the 1 



