BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 147 



all of these places, where the shrimp occur in considerable numbers, they 

 are frequently taken incidentally by the fishermen in their fish seines ; 

 but, finding no market for them, they are generally thrown away. The 

 ordinary fish seines, on account of their coarse mesh, are not adapted 

 to the shrimp fishery, and yet there are numerous accounts of large 

 catches of shrimp, by this means, on the coast of North Carolina. The 

 fishermen of New Berne, who work their large seines along the banks 

 of the Neuse River, are said to often secure from 30 to 40 bushels of 

 shrimp at a single haul ; and again we hear of the capture of from 5 to 

 10 barrels at a time, by the fishermen of Beaufort. In addition to the 

 fish seines being unsuited to the catching of shrimp, the fishermen also 

 generally visit those shores which are less frequented by the shrimp, 

 and might find them more abundant by looking for them elsewhere. 

 According to all accounts, there seems to be every opportunity for the 

 establishment of a successful shrimp fishery at several points on the 

 North Carolina coast ; but whoever engages in it must be provided with 

 the proper nets and the means of preparing his catch for shipment. 

 The fishermen of North Carolina complain that they have no market for 

 shrimp, but New York city derives the most of its supplies from points 

 still farther south, and that market is seldom, if ever, overstocked with 

 shrimp. In the fall of 1879, a small shipment of fresh shrimp, packed 

 in ice, was made to New York. The weather was warm and the shrimp 

 spoiled on the way, but the receivers at Fulton Market state that they 

 were of large size and fine appearance, and could have been readily 

 sold had they been in good condition. The fault consisted in not boil- 

 ing the shrimp in brine and then drying them before shipping, as is the 

 rule elsewhere. The inhabitants along the coast of North Carolina do 

 not appreciate the shrimp as food, and seldom eat them, and, therefore, 

 nearly all that are taken are left on the beaches to decay. The New 

 Berne marketmen have refused to buy them from the fishermen, even 

 at the low rate of fifty cents a bushel, which must certainly have dis- 

 couraged the latter parties. 



The sounds and bays about Wilmington, N. C, abound in shrimp 

 and prawns from the last of May until November. These crustaceans 

 inhabit the brackish as well as the salt waters of this region. They 

 are taken in shrimp seines, which were introduced at this locality in 

 1S72, and also in skim and cast nets, which have been in use for a much 

 longer period. The shrimp seines measure from 30 to 40 yards in length, 

 and from 6 to 10 feet in depth, and have a half-inch mesh. In 1880, 

 four seines, with eight seiners, were employed, while about 50 addi- 

 tional shrimpers used the skim and cast nets. The seines are owned in 

 Wrightsville, or Middle Sound. The season's catch for each seine is 

 about 500 bushels, making a total of 2,000 bushels for the four seines 

 in use. The season's catch for the 50 additional shrimpers amounted to 

 about 3,000 bushels. Not over one-half of this catch was marketed as 

 food or bait, the larger specimens only being selected for these pur- 



