48 U. B. BUREAU OF FISHERIES. 



canned. It is very probable that properly canned crawfish could 

 readily establish itself on the market. 



Because of the large numbers of crawfish used for fish bait it is 

 difficult to estimate the annual catch with mucli exactness. The ap- 

 proximate catches made in previous years are as follows : 1895, 157,- 

 500 pounds; 1897, 161,500 pounds; 1902, 57,604 pounds; 1918, 345,518 

 pounds. During the month of December, 1918, shipments sent out 

 under the trade name of " Florida lobsters " totaled about 500 barrels. 

 This amount established a record up to that time, but this record was 

 exceeded several times during 1919. During the year 1919 about 

 360,000 crawfish, weighing approximately 375,000 pounds, were 

 caught. Of these about 40 per cent were shipped, 40 per cent were 

 consumed locally, and 20 per cent were used as bait by the fishermen. 

 On Sej)tember 10, 1919, a severe hurricane visited Key West, wreck- 

 ing many of the boats and paralyzing the fishing industry for sev- 

 eral weeks; but for this incident the catch of crawfish would have 

 reached 400,000 pounds. 



The crawfish is taken at all seasons of the year, but the period of 

 greatest abundance is from November to June. Most of the spawn- 

 ing occurs during the spring and summer, but occasional eggbearers 

 are found as late as early winter. Unlike the northern lobster 

 {Ilomarus atnencanus), whose eggs are carried for about 10 months 

 before hatching, the incubation period of the eggs of the Florida 

 sf)iny lobster is only about three weeks. 



Large numbers of crawfish congi'egate along the shores during the 

 spring for the purpose of spawning, and tliey are easily captured 

 there. To conserve the supply of crawfish, the State of Florida has 

 enacted a law, approved May 23, 1919, and effective for the first time 

 during 1920, protecting the crawfish during the principal part of its 

 spawning season. The text of this law is as follows : 



Section 1. It shall be unlawful for any person, firm, or corporation, or asso- 

 ciation of persons to take or catcli any salt-water crawfish from the waters 

 of the State of Florida for commercial purposes, or to have in their, or its, 

 possession between the first clay of March and the first day of June of any 

 year : Provided, That salt-water crawfish may be caught or taken at any time 

 for purposes of bait, for catching fish, or for purposes of propagation or re- 

 search by any State or biological station. 



Sec. 2. It shall l)e unlawful for any common carrier, agent, or employee of 

 such carrier to receive for carriage or permit the carriage of any such craw- 

 fish between the first day of March and the first day of June of any year. 



Sec. 3. Any person, persons, firm, or corporation, or association of persons 

 violating any provision of this act shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and 

 upon conviction shall be punished l)y a fine of not more than two hundred and 

 fifty ($250) dollars, or by imprisonment in the county jail for not more than 

 six months, or both. 



The future of the crawfish industry appears to be promising. A 

 large commercial enterprise could liardly be supported by the de- 

 mands of southern Florida, but there is almost unlimited opportunity 

 for expansion by introducing this delicacy into tlie liotel and restau- 

 rant trade and even as a familiar object in the fishmonger's store. 

 The crawfish has already been put to the test and has been accepted 

 by some of the foremost epicures in this country. 



At the present time one of the chief drawbacks to the crawfish 

 industry is the irregularity of the supply owing to weather condi- 

 tions. During windy weather, with its resultant higli seas, it is im- 

 practicable to bully or strike crawfish and the small catch of the 



