THE SPINY LOBSTER OF SOUTHERN FLORIDA. 285 



to handle such a net skillfully. Gill nets and seines were hauled for the purpose of 

 catching spiny lobsters which, while engaged in feeding, were scattered over the flats. 

 Gill nets are no longer being used in this fishery, although a few spiny lobsters are 

 often taken accidentally, when nets are operated in the other fisheries. 



The apparatus used today is distinctly different, as the following list and estimates 

 of the percentage of the catch made by each shows : 



Per cent. 



Bully f 50 



Fish traps 20 



Grains 15 



Per cent. 



Hoop nets 5 



Seines 5 



Hooks, and all other means 5 



THE BULLY. 



The "bully "(Fig. 260) is used by the fishermen in general throughout the Florida Reef . 

 It is the best-known device employed in catching the spiny lobsters while they are moving 

 about in the waters where they can be seen. The bully is a small hoop net 15 to 18 

 inches in diameter, 2 feet or more in depth, and with mesh of 1 ) 4 -inch bar measure. The 

 hoop is set at right angles to a pole or handle 8 or 1 2 feet in length. 



In using the bully the bag of the net is pulled through the hoop and allowed to 

 hang over one side of it. This allows the net to open upwards when placed over the 

 lobster. The hoop of the net surrounds the lobster, but the bag of the net has been 

 lowered in such a manner that when the lobster tries to escape from the imminent 

 danger by swimming backward it lands in the net. The fisherman then raises the net, 

 causing the bag of the net with the imprisoned animal to hang over the side of the hoop. 

 The lobster is released by pulling the center of the net upward, allowing the animal 

 to fall through the hoop. 



In some cases, when using the bully, the fishermen work singly in a small boat 

 which is ballasted in the stern. The fisherman stands in the bow, using the handle 

 of the bully to propel the boat. In this way, upon seeing a spiny lobster, the boat 

 can suddenly be brought to a standstill, the bully inverted, and the spiny lobster cap- 

 tured. A good fisherman seldom misses, unless the depth of the water causes the bully 

 to be deflected from its course, or the bottom is rough so that the hoop does not fit 

 snugly on the bottom, which is often the case when working on a rocky ledge. Occa- 

 sionally two men work together, one sculling the boat according to directions of the 

 fisherman in the bow. 



FISH TRAPS. 



The fish traps or pots (Fig. 261) are of galvanized wire construction. They are 

 usually made by the fishermen. The woven wire meshes are about 1% inches square. 

 These traps vary in size, but on the average are 3 feet wide, 2 feet long, and 20 inches 

 high. The side containing the opening to admit the spiny lobster is the longest, being 

 about 3 feet in length. The two parallel sides of the trap at right angles to the former 

 are each about 1 foot long. The trap is closed behind by two sides which meet at an 

 angle directed outward. The floor and top of the trap are parallel to each other. The 

 shape of the trap is roughly cardiform, the entrance lying in the concave side. The 

 longest side is bent inward at the center, forming a conical funnel-shaped passageway 

 which is inclined slightly upward. The lower side of the entrance to the passageway 

 is placed about 2 inches above the bottom of the trap. This entrance is somewhat 



