FISHEEIES OF KEY WEST. 37 



and at the slightest opportunity an entire school will evade capture 

 or escape from a seine. 



A large part of the fishing is done at night, fishermen selecting 

 certain localities where the m'ullets are known to occur and where the 

 water is free of snags. On moonlight nights the fish can be seen 

 appi'oaching, and on very dark nights they are located by their noisy 

 splashes. Sometimes, also, a large net is set on a chance of sur- 

 rounding a school that may be swimming deep, as they do on certain 

 occasions. The fishery is rather uncertain, and sometimes the fisher- 

 men return without a fish. On the other hand, large catches are 

 frequently made. 



The greater part of the catch of striped mullets brought into Key 

 West is taken at or near Cape Sable. During the fall of 1919 from 

 10 to 20 sloops and power boats operated in this vicinity. A run 

 boat collected and iced the combined catch and made trips back 

 and forth to Key West. Sometimes as many as 30,000 pounds of 

 striped mullets are landed on one day in this locality, but generally 

 the quantity is less. 



In order to protect the mullet during the principal part of its 

 spawning season, the State of Florida has enacted a law prohibiting 

 the catching of striped mullet {Mugil cephalus) within the waters 

 of the State fi"om November 20 to January 20. During this closed 

 season some of tlie fishermen resort to fishing for kingfish and 

 Spanish mackerel. 



Both fresh and salted mullets are shipped from Key West. Fresh 

 mullets are packed in barrels, similarly to other species of fish, and 

 the greater j)art of the catch is sent to points in this country. In 

 dr^'-salting mullets the fish are split and several incisions made in 

 the flesh in order that the salt may " take " better. They are placed 

 in piles until part of the liquid drains off and are then packed in 

 slack barrels topped with burlap. The greater part of the salted 

 fish is shipped to Cuba. 



Market fish generally range from 12 to 22 inches in length, with 

 16 inches as a fair average. The females, or roe fish, usually average 

 about 2 inches longer than the males. It is not unusual to find large 

 numbers of fish weighing 3 or 4 pounds each. 



The silver mullet {M. curema) is abundant at Key West and 

 throughout the Florida keys. It is common on both coasts of 

 Florida. As the average length of this species is about 10^ inches, 

 it is less sought after and of considerably less importance than the 

 striped mullet. It is a good food fish, however. 



On almost any day of the year schools of silver mullets can be 

 found about Key West. Tliey seem to prefer shallow water, 2 to 

 12 feet in depth, and as they move along the bottom is stirred up, 

 probably in their search for food. An area of cloudy water sur- 

 rounded bv clear water invariably betrays the presence of silver 

 mullets. 'They are captured in the same manner as the striped mullet, 

 excepting that it requires a net of l|-inch bar mesh. 



The fishermen distinguish the two species of mullet in the water 

 by the way they jump, for, as a rule, the striped mullet jumps clear 

 of the surface, while the silver mullet merely flips its tail out of the 

 water. There are exceptions, however, when most or all of a school 

 of silver mullets will jump out of the water simultaneously. This 



