FISHERIES AND MARKET FOR FISHERY PRODUCTS IN MEXICO, ETC. 11 



dried fish, shrimp, and shark fins that are being exported at the 

 present time are purchased from local fishermen at different points 

 in this district in small quantities by various houses, principally 

 Chinese concerns. 



Straight nets and cast nets are used for catching fish in shallow 

 water. The cast net is also occasionally used for shrimp, but the 

 majority of shrimp are caught in an oblong trap called a cacaiste. 

 This is similar in appearance to the oblong wire traps used for catch- 

 ing rats and is made of sticks and twigs, braided and interlaced. 

 It is baited with decayed meat, bones, fish, and similar matter, 

 weighted with stones, and dropped into the water from the side of 

 the canoe. Fishing for both fish and shrimp is always done at night 

 and only in inland waters. Sea fishing on a commercial scale is not 

 followed at the present time, as no one in this district has the neces- 

 sary apparatus. Oysters are obtained by diving, very few being 

 secured in any other manner. 



Fish and snrimp are cured both by Chinese and native methods. 

 In curing fish by the Chinese method they are packed in large boxes, 

 thoroughly salted, and allowed to remam packed for from four to 

 eight days, according to the size of the fish. They are then taken 

 out, thoroughly washed and scrubbed with a small brush, and put 

 out in the sun to dry. Fish cured by local methods are split open 

 from the back to the belly. The side to which the backbone is 

 attached is again split and the backbone removed. They are then 

 scored with a very sharp knife, on both sides in squares J inch to 

 1 inch wide, then thoroughly salted, and placed in the sun to dry. 



Shrimp cured after the Chinese method are cooked from 15 to 20 

 minutes with a very little salt in the cooking water. After being 

 taken out of the cooking kettle they are placed in a sack and beaten 

 against a wall or board. By usin^ very little salt in the cooking the 

 shell separates from the body without difficulty in the process of 

 beating. As the select trade demands a perfectly clean shrimp, 

 with no particles of shell adhering to the meat, after this beating 

 process the shrimp are placed in a conical basket of special construc- 

 tion. This is about 2^ feet high, 2 feet across the top, and from 12 

 to 14 inches across the bottom. It is filled to about one-third its 

 capacity, and the contents are churned with a three or four pronged 

 stick, which removes any particles of shell or legs still remaining. 

 Curing by local methods, shrimp are cooked for the same length of 

 time but with a great deal of salt. Upon being removed from the 

 cooking kettle the shell or skin is shriveled and hard and can only 

 be removed by picking it off with the hands. This is caused by 

 using so much salt in the cooking in contrast with the Chinese method. 



Oysters are cured almost wholly for local consumption, only one 

 small shipment having been exported to the United States from this 

 district in the last two years. They are opened by toasting over a 

 light fire, removed from the shell, placed in a large tin container, 

 thoroughly salted, and shipped to the local markets. They will 

 keep indefinitely by this method, but the oyster gets very tough 

 and unpalatable. According to consular invoices certified to at 

 this consulate the quantities and values of fishery products exported 

 to the United States from this district for the fiscal year ending 

 December 31, 1920, and from January 1 to August 31, 1921, were as 

 foUows: 



