BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 299 



93 iVOTE-S OIV THE REO-SXAPPER FISHER&% 



By J. W. COLLIIVS. 



The following- notes relative to the past and present of the red-snap- 

 per fishery on the coast of Florida are based on information gathered 

 from Capt. Silas B. Latham, of Noank, Conn., who was one of the 

 pioneers in this indnstry, and who still engages in it during the winter 

 season. 



Fishing for red snappers on the west coast of Florida probably began 

 some fifteen to twenty years previous to the civil war. Capt. James 

 Keeny, a Connecticut fishermen, who used to go to the Gulf each winter 

 in the smack Mississippi, beginning these trips nearly thirtj^ years before 

 the war, often told the following story of the beginning of the red- 

 snapper fishery: 



"On one occasion when I was on my way to Xew Orleans with a cargo 

 of beach fish (pompano, sheepshead, red-fish, &c.), I got becalmed when 

 several miles off shore. We had just finished eating, and the cook came 

 on deck and threw over some refuse from the table. The vessel lay 

 motionless, and very soon many strange looking red fish were seen in 

 the water alongside, eagerly feeding on the material the cook had thrown 

 overboard. We quickly baited some lines and threw them out, and the 

 fish bit as fast as we could haul them in. Xearly two huudreil snap- 

 pers were caught, which we took to JSTew Orleans, where they sold like 

 hot cakes." 



The fishermen knew nothing of the offshore grounds of the Gulf at 

 that time, according to Captain Latham, who says that Captain Keeny 

 and his crew did not even know that they were on soundings — that is. 

 in less than 100 fathoms, where they caught the first red snappers. 

 This lack of knowledge of the soundings in the Gulf delayed the dis- 

 covery of the red-snapper banks, even after this accidental capture by 

 Captain Keeny. But when they were ultimately found, the snapper 

 met with a fair demand in the Southern markets. 



At the start all fish of this species were taken only on welled ves- 

 sels. If the smacks ran to New Orleans, the snappers were kept alive 

 until the vessels entered the Mississippi. A few hours later, with the 

 assistance of a tug, they would arrive at the city. 



Captain Latham says that he was the first to use ice in the Gulf fish- 

 ery for the purpose of preserving fresh fish on board a vessel. In the 

 spring of 1SG8 he purchased 8 tons of ice to use on beach fish caught 

 at Tampa Bay. He paid $25 per ton for the ice. He iced his cargo of 

 fish, including a considerable number of red snappers which he caught 

 on his way from Tampa to Mobile. For this innovation, he was called 

 the " crazy Yankee." 



For several years past, Captain Latham has fished on the east side of 

 Florida, landing his catch chiefly at Savannah for shipment to New 



