MARINE FISHERIES OF TEXAS 169 



by hard oyster reefs. These inside waters are connected with the 

 Gulf of Mexico by the following passes: 



1. Galveston Channel, connecting Galveston Bay with the Gulf. 



2. San Luis Pass, connecting Galveston West Bay with the Gulf. 



3. Pass Cavallo, connecting Matagorda Bay with the Gulf. 



4. Cedar Bayou, connecting Mesquite Bay with the Gulf. 



5. Aransas Pass, connecting Aransas Bay with the Gulf. 



■ 6. Corpus Christi Pass, connecting Corpus Christi Bay with the Gulf. 



7. Brazos Santiago Pass, connecting lower Laguna Madre with the 

 Gulf. 



The shallow water in these lagoons cools or warms rapidly as the 

 air temperature changes Thus, cold snaps in winter often "numb" 

 great quantities of fish, and an exceptional cold spell with freezing 

 temperature will kill them outright, as happened in December, 1924. 

 High summer temperatures increase the evaporation, and in places 

 where the waters are not sweetened to any great extent by inflow 

 from rivers, the Gulf, or, in periods of drought, from rain, the sa- 

 linity becomes very great. It has been reported that in Laguna 

 Madre and Baffin Bay quantities of fish succumb every summer to 

 the cumulative effects of an excessive salt content. At periods of 

 flood, however, the inflow of streams is sometimes so great that it 

 is said the water can be used for drinking purposes at the very places 

 where summer evaporation caused the highest salinity. This has 

 been true of Baffin Bay. Despite the great fluctuations in the nature 

 of the water at various times of the year, the bays and lagoons 

 abound with young fish, quantities of mullet (which the piscivorous 

 species prey upon), shrimp, and other food organisms, and therefore 

 are considered to be feeding grounds for great schools of fish that- 

 come in through the passes. 



Of the passes mentioned, Brazos, Cavallo, and San Luis are reported 

 to be the most favorable for the entrance of fish. These are spoken 

 of by the fishermen as "natural passes" and are distinguished from 

 the "jettied passes," such as the Galveston Channel and Aransas. 

 It is claimed that jetties, especially long ones like those at Galveston, 

 obstruct the movements of the schools along the beaches and cause 

 the fish to mill in the angles of the jetties, thus preventing them from 

 entering the inside fishing grounds. There are natural obstructions, 

 also, such as in Corpus Christi Pass, which, although free from any 

 artificial blockade, has filled gradually until now at low tide the 

 water is only a few inches deep where it flows over the bar. . It has 

 been said by Corpus Christi fishermen that whenever the pass was 

 opened by a storm and heavy sea the fishing inside was excellent. 

 The condition of the various passes, then, apparently affects the 

 fishing in the waters immediately adjacent to a marked extent. 



METHODS OF FISHING 



The Texas fisheries can be classified generally as vessel and shore. 

 The first needs only brief mention, as it is confined largely to boats 

 engaged in fishing with hook and line for red snappers on banks in 

 the Gulf of Mexico. Most of the fish sold in market are caught in 

 the bays and lagoons by the shore fishermen. 



Seines. — The name "baj^-seine fishery" was applied early to the 

 shore fisheries as descriptive of the method generally employed. All 



