FISHERIES OF SOUTHERN DELAWARE. 538 



5. FINANCIAL PROFITS AND SHARE. 



As a rule, large seines are owned by the merchants of the different towns and by the wealthy 

 farmers, but in some cases belong to the captains of the fishing gangs. The crews are shipped 

 to manage these seines and receive a certain share of the profits, which vary considerably in the 

 different localities, and also with the size of the seine. Mr. Van Burkalow tells us that the largest 

 seines used at Kitt's Hammock and Bowers' Beach draw 40 per cent, of the gross proceeds. Accord- 

 ing to Messrs. Samuel Bethards and J. W. Sparry, of Frederica, one-half of the proceeds of the catch 

 goes to the boat, seine, and captain of the seine gang, while the remainder is divided among the rest 

 of the men, who, from the amount thus received, provide themselves with food. The average share 

 of a man engaged in seine-fishing for trout for the four weeks between the middle of May and the 

 15th of June is $32. The average stock of one of the large seines at Kitt's Hammock and Bowers' 

 Beach, during the trout season, is about $500, according to Mr. Van Burkalow ; though we are told 

 by Mr. Wyatt, who is engaged in fishing with a seine at Bowers' Beach, that the average stock of a 

 seine is $800, of which the net draws two-fifths, and the remainder is divided among the captain 

 and crew, who "find" themselves. There is usually no rule for the division of the catch of the 

 smaller nets, since the men fishing with them share the proceeds equally, though in most cases a 

 certain percentage is paid for the use of the net. At Milton the seine draws an equal share with 

 the men; that is, if there is a crew of four men, the usual number fishing with a net, the owner 

 of the la-tter, who is usually the captain of the gang, receives for its use one-fifth of the proceeds 

 of the catch. Mr. A. Hill, at Milford Neck, informs us that the fishermen rarely make more than 

 $18 in the four weeks during which they are employed in trout fishing, and thinks they have not 

 exceeded that for the past ten years. This estimate, however, is so much smaller thau that of the 

 men actually employed in the" fisheries that it is altogether probable it is far below the actual facts. 



2. THE SPOT FISHERY. 



The second sea fishery in importance in Delaware is that for the capture of spot (Liostomus 

 xanthums), which are found along the entire coast-line from Dover to the southern b'niit of the 

 State, though in some localities they are rarely taken. Mr. Van Burkalow, of Magnolia, 

 states that spot have occasionally been caught as high up Delaware Bay as Kitt's Hammock, 

 though never do they appear there in abundance, nor are they found at all plenty anywhere 

 in the waters bordering the bay shore above Slaughter Beach. The fishermen of Milford, 

 Milton, and Lewes engage in this fishery to a considerable extent from the first of August 

 until the last of September, and, in some instances, we are assured that small numbers of this fish 

 have been caught at Lewes even as late as the 10th of November. Farther south the spot are, as 

 a, rule, taken incidentally in the apparatus which is set in those waters for other species. An 

 exception, however, may be made of the spot fishery of Ocean View, which, next to Lewes and 

 Milton, has the largest catch of any town in the State. This place is favorably situated for the 

 capture of this fish, which appears to be quite abundant from July to November in the lower part 

 of Indian River. Though no systematic fishing is carried on at tliis season, there are still a inun 

 ber of men who go out with haul-seines once or twice a week, and nearly all the residents of the 

 town find time for more or less fishing. 



