68 EEPORT OF COMMISSIONER OP FISH AND FISHERIES. 



nets; sturgeon are caught in tbe sea; and scaly fish in the Tcherkalskoe 

 Mortso. Fishing in the river is prohibited from the middle of Juue till 

 the middle of August. The sturgeon appear in great numbers in the 

 Ural in the month of July to seek refuge in the " yatoves," (deep places,) 

 to which they, however, do not retire till October. The autumn-fish- 

 eries commence about the middle of August, first with stationary nets, 

 then with floating nets and seines, and last till November. As soon as 

 the Ural is frozen, they begin to catch the sturgeon under the ice by 

 means of hooks and fish-gigs, (" bagrenie ;") and scaly fish with seines in 

 the river, and with stationary nets in the sea. Hook-fishing lasts till 

 the middle of January, while nets are used till the first of March. 



In order to allow the fish to enter freely into the Ural, fishing in the 

 sea just at the mouths of the river is prohibited over an area eighty 

 " versts" (about forty-sis miles) long, and forty " versts" (about twenty, 

 three miles) broad. Outside of this area it is allowed to place " pa- 

 langres " perpendicularly on the shore for catching sturgeou. The num- 

 ber of " palangres" is fixed beforehand, and the most favorable locations 

 are distributed by casting the lot. 



In autumn, they fish in the lower part of the Ural over an extent of 

 two hundred and eighty " versts," (about one hundred and sixty-one 

 miles;) and 8,000 Cossacks, with 3,000 boats, are engaged in this occu- 

 pation. The whole stretch is marked off into fifteen divisions. There 

 is always one seine, with wings, to every two boats. The boats at first 

 go slowly down the river iu regular order, then, as they approach the 

 "yatoves," (deep places,) wliere the fish congregate, all the boats use the 

 oars to their utmost capacity, in order to arrive first. 



After the "yatoves" of one division have been exhausted, they pass 

 to another division, and so on in order. While the Cossacks go down 

 the river in their boats, the merchants follow them along the shore, 

 accompanied by wagons, on which the fish, which have been bought by 

 them, are placed. Salting is carried on on the spot, as well as the man- 

 ufacture of fish-glue (isinglass) and of caviar. 



From the city of Uralsk to the Cossack village of Antonov, people 

 fish in the Ural under the ice with hooks and fish-gigs. This fishery is 

 also carried on by divisions appointed for every fishing-day. The hook, 

 called " bagor," is a fish-gig with a pointed steel hook attached to a 

 wooden handle. Fishing with hooks is the favorite occupation of the 

 Cossacks. Even the poorest among them can take a part iu it; for the 

 whole outlay consists of a hook, a sleigh drawn by a horse, and the 

 necessary food and fodder for one day. At this season of the year, the 

 price of fish is high, so that fishing becomes a very profitable occupa- 

 tion. Chance, however, has a good deal to do with success in this mode 

 of fishing. 



The fishermen form associations (" artelles ") of from six to fifteen 

 members, and divide the fish among them. 



