NORTH CAROLINA: THE MOEE IMPORTANT DISTRICTS. 493 



above described. The spring fishing begins about the 1st of March, and a greater part of the 

 small seines engage in the capture of trout (C. maculatum and C. regale), skip-jacks (P. saltatrix), 

 thorny-backs, mullet (M. albula and M. Iraziliensis), croakers (Micropogon undulatus), jimmies 

 (Liostomus xanthurus), and fat-backs (B. tijrannus), till June, when the water becomes so warm 

 that most of the fish leave the sounds. In June and July there is little fishing in the bays. 

 About the middle of August the mullet make their appearance, remaining in considerable numbers 

 till December. During this seasou the fishiug is at its height, aud all of the small seines, with one 

 hundred and fifty additional gill-nets, are employed iu their capture in the bays and sounds, while 

 larger seines are fished aloug the outer shore. Salmon-trout are also abundant at this season, and 

 many are taken by the mullet fishermen. la some localities the trout remain longer than the 

 mullet, aud many, especially those living at New River, engage regularly in their capture. Next 

 to the mullet the trout is the principal food-fish of the district. 



ARRANGEMENTS FOE MARKETING THE CATCH. The absence of water communication between > 

 Wilmington and the sounds renders it necessary to cart the fish overland. Accordingly, each crew 

 of seiners must have a "marketman," who will be ready with his horse and cart at any time to 

 carry the fish to Wilmington and to sell them to the best advantage, either at wholesale or retail, 

 as he may think proper. For his services he generally receives from 20 to 25 per cent, of the gross 

 sales. There are no less than seventy carts and drivers employed in this way during a greater 

 part of the year, and when the fishing is at its height one hundred and twenty-five fish-carts may 

 often be seen in market at one time. The captain of the u gang " sometimes owns a horse and 

 cart, in which case he usually acts as marketman ; but he must furnish a driver, as all of the crew 

 are expected to hold themselves in readiness to haul the seine at any moment; and while one lot 

 i^ being marketed they are frequently catching another. 



THE SUMMER LINE FISHERY ALONG THE OUTER SHORE. During the summer season, when 

 the seines are laid up, quite a number of the fishermen go to the blackfish banks, several miles 

 from the shore, and fish for blackfish (Serranus atrarius), grunts (Diabasis clirysopterus and D. 

 formosus), and pig-fish (Pomadasys fulvomaculatus), for two or three months. It seems from their 

 statements that the fishing banks lying along the South Carolina coast are prolonged as irregular 

 patches and small ridges as far north as New River, and fish are reported all along the southern 

 portion of the State. From three to six men go in a boat, starting at or before daylight, and 

 going 1 to 13 miles from the shore. On reaching the ground, one man is employed in holding the 

 boat in place with the oars, while the others fish, as it is a common belief among these fishermen 

 that they would frighten the fish away by anchoring. On account of this peculiar notion the catch 

 is considerably less than it would otherwise be, for the time of one man must be taken in steadying 

 the boat against the wind and tide. 



THE VESSEL FISHERY OF WILMINGTON. Prior to 1860, Captain Watson, of Wilmington, 

 owned a small smack, and visited the various fishing banks along the outer shore, selling his catch 

 in Wilmington. From that date there were no vessels fishing for this market till the fall of 1879, 

 when the schooner William Tell, of Atlantic City, N. J., came to Smithville, a small settlement at 

 the mouth of the river, and began fishing on the outlying banks for blackfish and trout. She 

 landed her fish at Smithville, aud shipped them to Wilmington by steamer. The captain reports 

 fish very plenty as far north as New River, and thinks the business could be made profitable if 

 well followed. 



THE LOCAL AND SHIPPING TRADE IN FRESH FISH. All of the fish taken by the fishermen of 

 the district, with the exception of a few that are salted for family use, are sold in Wilmington. No 

 license is required of the producer for the privilege of retailing his catch. As a result, each market- 



