268 



MARINE PRODUCTS OF COMMERCE 



Hand Lines. This form of gear is commercially important in the red snapper 

 fishery of the Gulf of Mexico and in the salmon and tuna fisheries of the West 

 Coast. At one time they were of importance in the New England bank fisheries, 

 but were supplanted by the trawl-line fishery about 1920. 



In the red snapper fishery tarred cotton lines about 60 fathoms in length, with 

 2 hooks at the end and a 2-pound lead sinker placed about 6 feet above, are set 

 from the deck of the fishing schooner. The vessel is hove to and the lines set out 

 when fish are located. 



When the lines are trailed behind the boat without the weight, they are called 

 troll lines. Sometimes poles hold them above deck level. Usually 2 or more poles 

 of different lengths are set in sockets on each side of the boat while 2 lines are 



TUNA POLE FISHING 



Fig. 13-27. Two pole method of haul- 

 ing in heavy tuna in Pacific fishery. 



set from the stern. The lines are forked at the end, providing for 2 hooks, and 

 are held apart by wire spreaders. Nickel spoons are popular although in some 

 instances herring is used for bait. 



In the California tuna and albacore fisheries the fish are sometimes trolled; 

 when a strike is made, quantities of small live fish, such as anchovies or sardines, 

 are thrown overboard to attract and hold the tima near the boat. Short lines with 

 barbless hooks attached to stout bamboo poles are then thrown into the school. 

 The fish bite readily and are lifted straight out of the water by sheer strength and 

 shaken from the hook. Individual fish range from 25 to as much as 300 pounds. 

 There is little sport and much hard work involved in this type of fishing, attested 

 by the fact that a fisherman can catch as much as a half ton of fish per day with 

 such a rig. 



Trawl Lines. Trawl lines were once used almost wholly in fishing for ground fish 

 (i.e., cod, haddock, hake, cusk, halibut, rockfish, etc.). In the New England 

 fisheries this method has been supplanted by otter trawls during the past two 

 decades. These vessels, which used to carry 12 to 16 dories, each supplied with 

 4 to 6 tubs of trawl, a tub representing 500 hooks, or a total of 35,000 hooks, 

 were operated by crews of as many as 24 men. Most of them have now been 

 converted to otter trawling. Although there are a number of small boats still 

 used, the fishing is done from the decks, rather than from dories, and consequently 

 fewer lines and men are engaged. 



In the halibut fishery off the northwest coast this form of fishing continues. 

 Here the hues are set in considerable numbers over the stern of the vessel and 

 are operated with small power gurdies or winches from the deck. These lines, called 

 "skates," were, until recent years, employed in the halibut fishery of New England. 



