BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 19 



THE FISHERIES OF TJUK GULF OF MEXICO. 



By M. L. WOOD, U. S. N. 



It is my impression that when fully developed, as they doubtless will 

 be some day iu the near future, the fishing interests of the Gulf will com- 

 pare favorably with those of the fishing banks of Newfoundland. At 

 present, however, there is no comparison. 



Another thing that will tend to make Gulf fishing" a financial success 

 is the apparently insatiable appetite of the Cubans for fish, either fresh 

 or salted. Even now the shipments of fish, alive, on ice, and salted, each 

 week from Key West, are surprising. 



Now, of course, only small sailing vessels, badly equipped and with 

 no means of keeping ice, and no facilities for obtaining it, go on the fish- 

 ing banks, and in two days' time fill their wells with all the live fish pos- 

 sible, and load with salt fish. If there happens to be a favorable wind, 

 some of the fish are alive, and some that have died are still in good 

 enough order to be either sent north from Pensacola or Cedar Keys, or 

 shipped to Havana from Key West. One of the most delicious fishes 

 of the Gulf, the red snapper, does not live well in captivity, and does not 

 take salt very readily. As for myself, I prefer the red snapper to almost 

 any other fish, excepting the pompano, when fresh. 



The "snapper banks," where the fish are caught, and several kinds 

 besides snappers are caught together, are quite common in the Gulf; 

 their location is always a difficult subject, excepting for a few of the 

 well-known ones close to ports. 



The number of "banks" is much larger than is generally supposed, 

 even by the fishermen themselves, as each skipper always holds in re-, 

 serve some favorite spot, and if necessary to prevent intrusion, will fish 

 for hours with unbaited hooks when a supposed rival approaches. 



Again, as there has been no supply, there is but little demand, and 

 the fish caught near the northern Gulf coast bring very low prices. 

 When a successful fishing vessel comes in the market is glutted, and at 

 other times fish are scarce and the prices high. 



At Pensacola some steps are being taken to handle the fish economi- 

 cally, but as yet nine-tenths of the fish — the best ones — are sent to New 

 Orleans. 



I believe the places for catching fish in the Gulf are very numerous, 

 and the quantities offish practically inexhaustible. 



I also believe there is a sort of migration from one sort of bottom to 

 another, depending upon causes which at present, owing to the lack of in- 

 vestigation, are involved in obscurity. This investigation, I very much 

 fear, will not be undertaken or carried out successfully until the gov- 

 ernment takes it in hand. No private individual or corporation could 

 afford to devote the time necessary to hunting up the rumored banks, 



