42 U. S. BUilEAlt OF FISHERIES. 



the fishing is done between sunset and sunrise, owing to the fact that 

 many more mackerel gill themselves in the darkness than in the day- 

 light, when they are able to see the net. 



Gill netting appears to be an elective method of fishing, as a crew 

 of two men often makes large catches. Some of the fishermen work 

 independently, owning their own equipment, while others are at- 

 tached to an individual or company and are supplied with the neces- 

 sary boats and nets. At least one company that employs a small 

 fleet of boats has a houseboat, which is anchored in a protected local- 

 ity near the scene of operations and on w^liich the men eat and sleep. 

 Racks for drying the nets are built on the roof of the houseboat. 



The schools of fish are found at night by searchlight. Wlien 

 located, the mackerel are surrounded as rapidly as possible, and the 

 direction of the net is indicated by lanterns mounted on cork floats 

 placed at convenient intervals along the cork line. After the fish 

 have been trapped the dories encircle the net, splashing the water to 

 frighten the lish into gilling themselves. Sometimes the boats enter 

 the inclosure to agitate the fish. As the bottom of the net is entirely 

 open the fish comd easily escape by sounding, but apparently the 

 greater part of them remain at the surface, where they either gill 

 themselves in the net or succeed in jumping over the top. 



During the 1919-20 season Key West had only one purse-seine 

 boat, but several vessels came down from the mainland to operate in 

 the vicinity of the keys. The local vessel was 90 feet in length with 

 a 20-foot beam, and carried a crew of about 15 men. It was formerly 

 schooner rigged, but it had recently been overhauled by having its 

 topmasts removed and an auxiliary engine installed. The mackerel 

 purse seine is about 600 yards in length. The upper part of the seine 

 near the cork line is made of 3§ to 3f inch stretched mesh, while the 

 bunt is of 3-inch mesh. 



Purse seining. is an effective method of fishing for Spanish mack- 

 erel, and large catches are often made. However, during the 1919-20 

 season the gill netters, because of their greater number, took the 

 major part of the catch. 



The advantages of gill netting over purse seining, especially to 

 fishermen with small capital, are: (a) The gill netters can operate 

 wdth a small power boat and with a crew of two or three men, 

 whereas the purse seiners require a larger boat and more men. If one 

 company owns a number of gill-netting boats, these can operate in 

 several localities at the same time, and thus cover more territory with 

 the reasonable assurance that one or more of the boats will make a 

 good catch, (h) The cost of equipment and operating expenses is 

 smaller for the gill netters than for the purse seiners. t^Hien fishing 

 some distance from Key West, the catch of the gill netters is col- 

 lected by a run boat, which brings the fish to the city and saves the 

 fishermen much valuable time, and in addition the nm boat trans- 



Eorts necessary supplies and food. The purse-seine boats generally 

 ring their own fish to market and restock for the next trip. On 

 the other hand, the purse seiners sometimes make large catches that 

 prove very profitable. 



In packing mackerel for shipment the fish are iced in barrels con- 

 taining 200 pounds net, and in shipping they are removed from the 

 market as quickly as possible to make room for subsequent receipts. 

 The fish are delivered by the fishermen with the entrails removed, and 



