THE CARIBBEAN AREA 



bottom. This tj'pe of gear, also, is most successfixL when fished at night. Italian seines 

 and tuck seines are fairly efficient and they may catch up to a ton of fish per day. They, 

 however, are more expensive to acquire and keep up than the simpler types of gear. Ten or 

 more Italian seines were reported to be operating out of Port of Spain more or less regular- 

 ly. They are, fished usually from May through Augxist, The value of these nets is around 

 $500 each and a suitable boat would cost about $150 with the engine extra. 



Hooks and Lines ; — ^Hook and line gear is used extensively throughout the Caribbean area. 

 It is the cheapest type of gear available during normal times and it lends itself to use by 

 individual fishermen and small boats. Hooks and lines and other fittings are usually im- 

 ported and made up by the individual fisherman, and for this reason there is infinite 

 variation in the arrangement of the apparatus. In general, there are four types of hook 

 and line fishing — trolling, still fishing (surface down to the bottom), line trawls, and 

 rod fishing, ' 



Trolling or "Towing" (a la carrera) (trolling linesscurricanes). — This type of fishing 

 is conducted throughout the area. In this style of fishing, a lure or bait is dragged be- 

 hind a sail or motor boat. When a fish strikes the bait and becanes hooked, it is hauled 

 to the boat. In many instances this mode of fishing is carried on while running to and 

 from the fishing grounds. Usually only one or two lines are dragged. In Venezuela, however, 

 outriggers are placed on the boat which enables the fishermen to use 4- or 5 lines simultane- 

 ously. Usually heavy cotton line which may or may not be tarred is used. The hook is 

 usually a large single hook. Sometimes leader wire of copper, bronze, galvanized iron, or 

 stainless steel ie used. In some areas Trtiere deep trolling is carried on for kingfish, this 

 leader may be 30 or 4^0 feet long. Lures may be piec-^s of rag, frayed out ropes, a commerc- 

 ial spinner, a piece of cactus pulp, the inner part of an aloe leaf, a small fish or a piece 

 of silvery fish skin. Swivels and other relatively costly and complicated fittings are not 

 used to any great extent and the lines are hauled in by hand. 



At Trinidad, trolling is extensively practiced and it accounts for the capture of a 

 large proportion of the catch of Spanish mackerel and kingfish. The usual length of the 

 leader, here, is about 16 fathoms of bronze wire or stainless steel wire. The bronze wire 

 is usually No. 20 and 21 for Kingfish and 23 or 24- for Spanish mackerel although all sizes 

 from 18 to 2A are used. A short manila line (No. 15 to 48) is used at the inbojird end. 

 Wilson trolling spoons Nos. 4, 5 or 6 are commonly used, but more often a No. 4 or 5 Kirby 

 bend hook is employed with a herring or piece of skin from the flank of a Spanish mackerel 

 as bait. When, as in August, the kingfish runs deep, up to 30 fathoms of bronze wire may 

 be used, probably fishing down to 10 fathoms deep. The fishermen report that the long 

 leader wires are necessary since the fish strike at the line and often sever it. It has 

 been shown by experience that white cotton line actually catches less fish than colored 

 lines or wire. liVhile trolling is developed in Venezuela and in Trinidad, it is not usually 

 used as a basic type of gear elsewhere. 



Still Fishing t — This reaches its highest development in the fishery for groupers and 

 snappers on certain banks. Small boats are used in inshore fishing and large schooners 

 for the offshore vrork. In the Trinidad inshore fisheries. No. 21 line is used, equipped 

 with a light sJJiker and 4, No. 4 or No. 5 hooks. Bait can be almost any type of fish or 

 shellfish flesh. Some of the fishermen use a type of spreader called a trap stick. This 

 is a stick about 2 feet in length, bent in one end like a crook or cane. A weight is 

 attached to the bent end. The other unbent end of the stick carries a 6-foot line to 

 which is attached 5 or 6 g.'ingions, each 1 foot in length. Nos. 3, 4 or 5 Kirby bend 

 hooks are attached to the gangion lines. In the Spanish-speaking countries, lines are 

 known as "cordeles" and hooks are "anzuelos". In Puerto fiico, the lines are of heavy seine 

 twine. A leader of strong wire is sometimes used and the hook or hooks fastened to this. 

 Leads weighing up to 3 pounds are fastened to the 'line just above the hook. The "cala" is 

 a type of hand line which carries a bow-shaped spreader of heavy wire. To each end of the 

 spreader is fastened a gangion carrying up to 4 hooks each. 



In the offshore bank fisheries the gear is much heavier and stronger. Each line may 

 carry up to 21 hooks and a 10- to 15-pound weight at the bottom. The hooks are No. 3 size 

 and they are attached to gangions of 10-pound hemp line, each 3 feet long. The handline is 

 of 18-pound hemp. Bait is any type of fish available. As many as 10 to 15 of these lines 



46 



