3.-REP0RT ON THE COAST FISHERIES OF TEXAS. 



By Charles II. Stevenson. 



INTRODUCTORY. 



The published information recfardiiig the fisheries of Texas is very- 

 meager, aud consists ahnost entirely of the accounts contained in two 

 reports* of the U. S. Fish Commission, one relating- to the year 1880, 

 the other being a condensed statement based on an inquiry made in 

 January and February, 1891. Outsidji of the localities in which the 

 fisheries are prosecuted little knowledge exists as to their extent, 

 methods, and importance; and in considering the natural resources of 

 t]u> State, the vastness of its other branches is apt to completely over- 

 shadow the fisheries. In the investigation of 1801 the coastal regions 

 of Texas were canvassed by the writer, in the capacity of a field agent 

 of the Division of Fisheries, and the lU'esent report represents the re- 

 sults of personal observations made at that time. All the important 

 fishing" centers w^ere visited, and the principal fishermen, fisli-dealers, 

 etc., were interviewed. Owing* to the increasing- prominence of the 

 oyster industry, special attention was given to a study of its methods 

 and conditions in the difierent localities. 



Some difficulty was experienced in obtaining correct data regarding 

 the quantity of the various species of fish taken. As a rule no books 

 are kept by the fishermen or marketmen in such manner as to be of 

 valne in determining the quantity of products handled; and the state- 

 ments made regarding- these data differed greatly, even as to the fish- 

 cries of particular localities. Consequently, for information as to the 

 quantity of products, it was necessary to depend largely on the records 

 in tlie offices of the various transportation companies. This was quite 

 satisfactory as regards the total quantity of fish obtained, but of little 

 value in determining the quantities of the various species taken from 

 the water. Hence the figures given in this rei)ort for the different 

 species offish taken nnist be a(;c(q)tc(l as only approximately correct. 



*Tlio Fisheries and Fislicry Industries of the United States, 4to, 7 volumes, 

 Wasliinjjton, 188I-S7. 



A Statistical Kepoit on tlu^ I'islKuies of the (iulf States. I^ulletia U. S. Fish Com- 

 mission, 1891. Wasiiingtoii, 18(»2. 



373 



