FISHERY INDUSTRIES OF THE UNITED STATES. 185 
cent of the red shells are suitable for commercial purposes. They 
are sold for manufacture into novelties and various kinds of ornaments. 
As very few red abalones are exposed at low tide, and as they are 
not found in water deeper than will permit of the penetration of 
sufficient sunlight to support the vegetable growth on which the 
abalone depends for subsistence, they are mostly taken by divers, 
who use a regular diving outfit such as is employed by wreckers and 
other workers under water. A diving outfit, including the helmet, 
suit, air pumps, etc., costs about $800. The divers are all Japanese, 
and they require that the pumps and life lines be operated by men 
of their own selection, who are generally some of their own people. 
The depth of the water in which they operate does not often exceed 125 
feet, but they have worked at a depth of 150 feet. The greater the 
depth the more difficult it is to furnish air to the men, and it is not 
necessary to take risks, as there seems to be a sufficient supply of aba- 
lone at less depth. The divers rarely get out of sight of fant work 
only when the water is smooth, and frequently go out and return 
without making a descent or with only a part of a day’s work done be- 
cause ofroughseas. A diver usually remains under water 24 to3 hours 
and uses a short pointed iron, similar to a crowbar, to pry the abalone 
from the rocks. If one is expert enough to get the iron under the 
shell before the abalone has been disturbed and has had an oppor- 
tunity to take hold of the rock, it is comparatively easy to capture it; 
otherwise it can take such a firm grip that it is very difficult to get 
it up with the iron and impossible to break the hold with the hands 
alone. The abalone are hauled up to the boat in carriers made with 
manila rope of about one-fourth inch diameter, one of which is 
attached to each end of a line suspended from the boat; as one carrier 
is raised the other is lowered. From one to two dozen are placed in 
a carrier, the weight averaging 45 pounds to a dozen. 
For shoal-water fishing the fishermen use a small boat and hooked 
pole. ‘To aid in locating the abalone they have a wooden box avera- 
ging about 8 by 11 inches at the top, widening toward the bottom to 
about 16 by 19 inches, and about 19 to 20 inches deep, the top being 
open and the bottom fitted with a glass. This box is attached to the 
side of the boat by strings, so that it may be easily removed when 
returning to port, with the bottom immersed so that the fisherman 
can get a good view of the ocean bottom as he peers through the 
glass. The poles vary in length from 1 to about 4 fathoms, as that is 
about the maximum depth of water fished in this way. The lower 
end is fitted with an iron hook, and the fisherman holding the pole in 
his hand can by a quick movement insert the hook under the edge 
of the shell and jerk it loose from the rock. 
The law permits abalone fishing in this county at any time except 
during the month of February, when the abalone are protected because 
of spawning. The spawning period, however, is said to extend from 
about the middle of January until about the middle of March. It 
is estimated that an adult female will produce upward of one million 
eggs during the season. When liberated and fertilized, the eggs 
are said to float about for a time and then settle on the bottom for 
reproduction, and there is no doubt that many of them settle on 
sandy or soft bottom and are lost. 
One hundred pounds of abalone in the shell will yield about 60 
pounds of meat. When preparing for canning only about 30 per 
cent of the meat is used, the remainder being discarded as unfit for 
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