PACIFIC COAST: CALIFORNIA. 619 



220. THE FISHERIES OF THE SEA-BORDERING COUNTIES BETWEEN SAN FRAN- 

 CISCO AND THE NORTHERN BOUNDARY OF THE STATE. 



ALAMEDA COUNTY. This county lies along the east shore of the Bay of San Francisco. The 

 shore is for the most part a mud-flat, bare at low tide, and no profitable fishing is there possible. 

 The markets of the principal towns Oakland, Alameda. &c. are supplied from the wholesale mar- 

 kets in San Francisco. There have been Chinese fishing colonies in the neighborhood of Oakland,* 

 but there are none now in the county, and the total catch of fishermen residing in the county will 

 not exceed 2,000 pounds per year. 



The salt works in Alameda County are the most extensive on the Pacific coast. They are 

 discussed in another section of this report. 



CONTRA COSTA AND SOLANO COUNTIES. The counties of Contra Costa, on the south, and 

 Solano, on the north, are separated by the Sacramento River. The fisheries of both counties are 

 considerable, comprising most of the salmon fishing of the Sacramento, both for the canneries and 

 for the city markets. Most of the sturgeon sent to the San Francisco market also come from this 

 region. As most of the fishing of the lower Sacramento is done by fishermen who move from place 

 to place and have no permanent residence in either county, it will be convenient to consider these 

 two counties together. 



Both fishing towns and fisheries of these two counties will be discussed under the head of the 

 " Salmon fishery of the Sacramento River." 



SONOMA COUNTY The coast of Sonoma County has no bays especially suitable for fishing, 

 and there are, so far as we know, no persons who make their entire living by this means. At Fort 

 Ross and at Duncan's Mills are several men who fish during the summer, and who occasionally send 

 boxes of fresh fish by rail to the San Francisco market. In the fall, salmon run in Russian River 

 and are taken in some numbers. The total annual catch of Sonoma County cannot exceed 10,000 

 pounds. In the interior of the county are many carp ponds, some of which have proven very 

 profitable. 



MARIN COUNTY. The proximity of Marin County to San Francisco affords a steady market 

 for its fisheries, which are, therefore, of considerable importance. Nearly all the fish taken are 

 shipped directly to San Francisco. They are placed in long wooden boxes, head up. These 

 boxes are a foot deep, and are capable of holding from 100 to 150 pounds of fish; the average 

 capacity is 125 pounds. Over the fish are placed large wet cloths or sacks; the object of these is 

 to keep the fish moist. The fish are shipped to dealers in the Clay-street market. They are sold 

 on commission, either retail or to the smaller dealers in Oakland, San Jose", Alameda, or other 

 markets. Most of the fish are taken in Tomales Bay, a long and narrow inlet extending length- 

 wise through the county. The fish taken in this bay are chiefly the different embiotocoids and 

 the flounders and smelt, with some black rockfish. 



In this county there are seven active fishing towns, San Rafael, San Pedro, Angel Island, 

 Boliuas, Point Reyes, Marshall's, and Hamlet. 



The fisheries of San Rafael, the largest town in the county, are of but little importance, the 



* How THE CHINAMEN FISH. Nearly any day Chinese fishermen may bo seen catching young smelt and herring 

 in the old ferry slips at Alameda wharf. They have very fine square nets, through which the smallest minnows can- 

 not escape, and at each corner of the net ropes are fastened and passed through pulleys on the wharf. The nets are 

 dropped about every twenty minutes. When hauled up, the boat is pushed out under the trap in the center of the 

 net, which is opened and the fish dumped into the boat. Thousands of young fish are caught daily, taken away, dried, 

 and are then ready for Celestial consumers. Alameda Enoinal, January, 1870. 



