NEW JERSEY: SOUTHERN COAST. 395 



any otber city in the State. It is the only port on tlie entire coast south of New York wliere a 

 vessel is licensed for the fisheries. 



Cape May, at the southern extremity of New Jersey, is also a favorite resort, and it is said that 

 not less than 10,000 people, spend their summers there. There is a large demand for fish at this 

 season, and many fishermen, for miles on either side of the eape, are engaged in fishing for this 

 market with seines, pounds, and hand-lines. According to Mr. J. H. Farrow, who is one of the 

 principal dealers in the place, not less than $12,000 to 15,000 worth of fish are consumed yearly, 

 a majority of them being taken withiu 15 miles of the city. 



146. DESCRIPTION OF THE MORE IMPORTANT FISHERIES. 



THE HAND-LINE FISHERY. More fish arc taken with hook and line than by any other 

 method. The summer line fishing begins about the 1st of June and continues till late in October. 

 At this season the water of the shoaler bays and flats becomes very warm, and the fish are often 

 driven into the deeper channels beyond the reach of the seines; while in some portions of the dis- 

 trict seining is prohibited by law during certain months, so that the hand-line is necessarily 

 employed. In addition to those who fish for local supply only, many of the professional net-fisher- 

 men, oystermen, and clammers, together with a number of farmers and mechanics, engage in the line- 

 fishing during the summer mouths, selling their fish to the numerous hotels along the shore, or 

 shipping them to the larger markets. The average fisherman makes from $1 to $1.50 daily in this 

 way. The catch is composed largely of weakfish and sheepshead, the former representing fully 

 three-fourths of the money value. 



Weakfish are very abundant in all of the bays and creeks on both the ocean and bay sides 

 from May till October, and the catch is governed wholly by the demand. These fish are quite small, 

 averaging only one-half to 1 pound each, and many of the smallest are thrown away as unfit for 

 market. In the fall, schools of larger individuals, varying from 2 to 8 pounds each, are found along 

 the outer shore, and a few fishermen from the vicinity of the inlets are now beginning to engage 

 in their capture. This fishery promises to be a very important one, for, while the fishing is at 

 present very limited, and the catch is used almost exclusively for local supply and for salting, the 

 large size and abundance of the fish will make their capture very profitable. 



Sheepshead weighing from 3 to 10 pounds are very abundant about the principal inlets on the 

 ocean side, and, according to Mr. J. E. Otis, of Tuckerton, one hundred and sixteen boats have 

 been counted at one time fishing for them at the inlet opposite that city. At Atlantic City three 

 men fishing from one boat have made $40 ill a single day. In Cape May County sheepshead are 

 taken iii considerable numbers in the larger creeks and channels some distance from the inlets. 

 They are seldom seen on the bay side. 



THE HAUL-SEINE FISHERY. Haul-seines from 30 to 80 fathoms in length arc extensively 

 fished in this district for weakfish during the spring and fall. The seines are owned at various 

 points along the shore, and fished with more or less regularity, but the more important seine fish- 

 eries are confined to the vicinity of Atlantic City and to Cape May County. On the ocean side 

 the fishery is confined to the inner bays, while on the bay side the seines are usually hauled on the. 

 outer beach. 



A seine with a crew of four men, fished regularly during the spring and fall, will stock from 

 $300 to $500 net, two-thirds of this sum being for weakfish, and the remainder chielly for Capo 

 May goodies (Liofitomus xanthurus), and rock (Roccits lineatutt). 



PLEASURE-FISHING. The pleasure-fishing from the many summer resorts of the district comes 

 next in importance wheu the quantity of fish taken is considered. 



