4 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 



I also proposed to collect as much information as possible relative to the 

 fishery. 



Upon arriving at Hatteras I discovered that the village was located 

 on the sound side of the banks (as the outlying ridge of sand-hills is 

 called), while the fishery station was on the ocean side. The labor of 

 a walk of 4 miles through the sand was amply repaid, however, by 

 the discovery of scores of skulls and fragmentary skeletons scattered 

 along the beach in the neighborhood of the station, although they were 

 not of the species which I hoped to find. Au examination of these re- 

 mains furnished conclusive proof that the only species captured is the 

 common bottle-nosed dolphin, Tursiops tursio. Not a single fragment of 

 any species of Lageyiorhyncliusw&s to be found, and the fishermen did not 

 recognize my drawings. This seems to me somewhat remarkable since 

 a large series of skulls of L. perspicillatus was sent to the Museum a 

 number years ago by Drs. Coues and Yarrow, from Fort Macon, which 

 is not very far distant from Hatteras. I can only suppose that the 

 latter species is a rare visitant in this region. 



The bottle-nose dolphins captured are of all ages and of both sexes. 

 The largest skeleton which I found measured 8 feet 7 inches in length. 

 The animal was evidently aged, for the teeth were worn down nearly 

 to the base of the crowns. The largest skulls measured 20 inches in 

 length. 



I neglected to mention above that the fishermen recognize a Spring 

 "run" of dolphins which they term "tassel-fins," for the reason that 

 they have long filaments attached to their fins. The animals are said 

 to be very thin. I suspect that these " tassel-fins" are simply speci- 

 mens of T. tursio, to which some leruean parasite attaches itself. 



I collected, and have sent to Washington, about a dozen skulls and 

 a large number of scapulas, pelvic bones, and cervical vertebras, includ- 

 ing two abnormal specimens. All the skeletous were defective, and as 

 we already have specimens in the Museum, I did not regard it worth 

 while to collect any. 



THE HISTORY AND METHODS OF THE FISHERY. 



Porpoise-fishing has been carried on at Hatteras for at least a hun- 

 dred years. The methods employed are quite simple, but show a knowl- 

 edge of the habits of the prey. The season opens in November or De- 

 cember, when the porpoises are very fat. A station has been established 

 at a convenient point on the beach, and signal poles are erected at a 

 distance of 2 miles in either direction. The apparatus employed con- 

 sists of four or six boats (resembling whale-boats), four or six nets of 18- 

 inch mesh, and 100 to 200 yards long, and two or more fine-meshed 

 sweep-seines. 



When the preparations for the fishery are completed, a man is sta- 

 tioned on each signal pole and the boats, each carrying a single net, are 

 placed as represented in the accompanying figure. (Fig, 1.) 



