38(t report of commissioner of fish and fisheries. 



are .said to remain a .short distance otishore from tlie beac-li and await 

 the return of the females; here they are talten bv gill nets. 



The nets are from 10 to 12 yards in length and of 10-inch scjuare 

 mesh, each having a wooden decoy turtle attached. Turtles taken 

 weigh from 30 to 100 pounds, occasionally more. The average weight 

 of shell that is saved is 5i pounds, for which the men received |3 a 

 pound during 1902. The total amount of shells taken in this vicinity 

 is reported as follows: By fishermen of Fajardo, 400 pounds; Culebra 

 Island, 800 pounds; Vieques Island, 80 pounds; a total of 1,380 

 pounds, most of which was disposed of at Fajardo. Turtles are 

 reported not very plentiful, and the fishermen pursue them with little 

 energ}^; having talcen and sold a few pounds, they are content to 

 remain ashore and rest so long as any money is left. 



Fajardo River is to a small extent fished for the first 6 or 7 miles 

 up from its mouth by the citizens of the vicinity. The catch is chieflj'' 

 a small-sized fish known as "dajao" {A(/(mo.stomus mofiticola) that is 

 taken in small seines. Land crabs are quite plentiful along and in the 

 banks bordering the river. The natives living along the river banks 

 take the crabs from their holes in the bank during the dry season by 

 digging them out. During the wet season the crabs are found above 

 ground and are then caught by hand, a torch being used. 



The proportion of the catch b}^ fishing apparatus at Fajardo is 

 approximately five-eighths by seine, one-eighth by hook and line, and 

 one-fourth by fish pots, but a small amount is also taken b}' cast nets. 

 All l)oats and nets are made by the fishermen. Seines are 125 to 150 

 fathoms long, with a bag in the center; mesh one-half inch in the 

 center and li to 2 inches in the wings. Pots are not baited, but 

 anchored in 2 to 12 fathoms in the harbor and around the neighboring 

 islands. The boats are small, rough, and strong, without wells; none 

 large enough to have custom-house register. Those with sails have 

 cat or sloop rig. The apparatus employed, with the species taken, 

 given somewhat in the order of their importance, are as follows: 



Fish pots: Candil; red goat, ])lentiful; yellow goat, scarce; runner or jurel, 5 to 10 

 pounds (in large schools duiing February, March, and April); cabra mora; 

 Nassau grouper; red hind; red grouper; toro; pargoprieto; dog snapper; school- 

 master; red snapper; mutton-fish; lane snajiper; yellow-tail; margate; porgy; 

 pluma; loro Colorado; oldwife; blue parrot; spade-fish; mariposa, one-fourth 

 pound; rock beauty, 1 to 2 pounds; blue angel, 2 pounds; medico, 1 pound; 

 trunk-fish, 1 to 4 pounds; file-fish, 3 pounds; chopa amarilla, 1 pound. 



IJaul seives: Mullet, red goat, Spanish mackerel of small size, king-fish, zapatero, 

 scad, runner, bony-fish, pompano, Nassau grouper, pargo prieto, dog snapper, 

 schoolmaster, red snapper, mutton-fish, tarpon, lane snapper, yellow-tail, mar- 

 gate, porgy, pluma, chopa amarilla, balaju, and hound-fish. 



Hand lines: Candil; red goat; Spanish mackerel, 2 to 10 pounds; king-fish, 10 to 40 

 pounds; runner; cal)ra mora; Nassau grouper; red hind; toro; red grouper, 5 to 

 100 povmds; pargo prieto, 5 to 30 pounds; dog snapper, 5 to 20 pounds; school- 

 master; red snapper; mutton-fish; lane snapper; margate; yellow-tail; pluma, 



2 to 8 pounds; chopa amarilla, 1 pound; red goat, 5 to 8 pounds; 1ilue parrot, 



3 to 8; trunk-fish, 1 to 4; robalo, 5 to 25 pounds; and balaju, J to | pound. 

 Trolling hook and lines: Bonito; hound-fish; frigate mackerel; tarpon; Spanish 



mackerel, 2 to 10 pounds; king-fish, 10 to 40 pounds; barracuda, 5 to 40 pounds. 

 Cast nets: Zapatero; scad; robalo; pompano; sardines, I to 1 pound; banana-fish, 

 5 to 15 pounds; mullet; big-eyed herring. 



