32 FISHERIES OF THE COASTAL WATERS OF FLORIDA. 



FISHERIES OF LAKE WORTH. 



Origin and development. — Although turtle fishing has been prose- 

 cuted in this so-called lake for a number of years, the fisheries owe 

 their origin to the extension of the railroad to this section from the 

 Indian Eiver in 1891 and the opening of large hotels in the winter of 

 189-1-95. Lake Worth is a shallow arm of the sea, 22 miles long and 

 from \ to \\ miles wide; 4i miles from its northern end it is connected 

 with the ocean by a narrow inlet. The lake has been a somewhat 

 important fishing-ground for net and seine fishermen, and the adjacent 

 ocean has also been resorted to byline fishermen. Fish are very abun- 

 dant throughout the lake at times, but it is not yet known whether the 

 supply in such a shallow and narrow body of water will permit the 

 expansion of the industry or even continue to support the fisheries in 

 their present extent. 



Fishery resources. — Among the principal fish which enter Lake 

 Worth and which are taken by the fishermen are sheepshead, bluefish, 

 pompano, Spanish mackerel, mangrove snapper, groupers, red fish, 

 spotted squeteague, sailors choice, and croaker. The tarpon and 

 many species having no commercial value at present also frequent the 

 lake. The pompano, bluefish, and Spanish mackerel are the most 

 highly prized of the fishes. These come in from the ocean in December 

 and remain three or four mouths; by April most of them have returned 

 to the ocean. Since the building of a railroad bridge across Lake 

 Worth at West Palmbeach (at about the middle of the length of the 

 lake), it is reported that the pompano is not found in the southern 

 part, which formerly had some of the best fishing-grounds. The other 

 fishes are in the lake in more or less abundance at all seasons. The 

 green turtle is found in limited numbers and of small size, 25 pounds 

 being the average weight. 



The principal fishes obtained in ocean fishing off Lake Worth are 

 sheepshead, Spanish mackerel, kingfish, red fish, groupers, bluefish, red 

 snapper, and mutton-fish, all of which are comparatively abundant. 



"Fishing apparatus, methods, and season. — Within the lake the appa- 

 ratus used consists of gill nets and haul seines for fish and nets for 

 turtles; in the ocean only hand lines are employed. A small vessel 

 belonging in this section fished for turtles off the Biscayne Bay region 

 in 1895. 



The gill-net fishing is mostly done at the northern end of the lake. 

 The nets are about 400 yards long and 30 meshes deep, the size of the 

 mesh being o} to 6 inches. The 4 nets used in 1894 took 24,900 pounds 

 of fish, valued at $857, and the 7 nets in 1895 secured 45,173 pounds, 

 valued at $1,423. The fish taken in largest quantities is the sheeps- 

 head, but the most valuable species is the pompano. 



The principal seining is done near the ends of the lake and in the 

 small coves that exist along the lake shores, the same fishermen who 

 use seines also operating gill nets. The seines are about 500 yards 



