374 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 



IMPORTANCE OP THE FISHERIES. 



Tlie iiivestigatious by the IT. S. Fisli Commission in 1880 showed that 

 the niiiiiber of men ein])h)ye<l in the fisheries of Texas "vvas GOl ; the 

 cai)ital invested, §41i,4()(); and the weight of the fisli taken, 3,8r)8,87r) 

 pounds, valued at $128,300. In 1800 the number of men engaged in the 

 fishery industries of tlie State was 1,277; tlie value of projjerty em- 

 ployed, $315,427, and the weight of the products Avas 7,9Gi,400 i)ounds, 

 for which the fishermen received $313,912. 



On account of the incomi)lete transportation facilities, the difficulty 

 of preserving fish in a warm climate for a considerable length of time, 

 and the geneially undeveloped condition of aftairs on the coast, the 

 fisheries of this State ha\'e not heretofore attracted great attention. 

 Tliey have been controlled and prosecuted mainly by Mexicans and 

 natives of Southern Europe, Avho were usually unfamiliar with the 

 methods in use at other fishing localities in this country. But with tlie 

 improvement and extension of the railroad system of the Southwest, 

 the cheapening of ice by manufacture, and the extensive immigration 

 which this section of the country is now attracting, the fisheries give 

 promise of being at some time classed among the important industries 

 of the State. The entire State, together with I^ew Mexico, Colorado, 

 Kansas, and a large i)art of IMexico will be thus benelited by receiving a 

 ready and fresh su])ply of salt- water fish. 



At i)resent "bay seining" is the most important fishery in Texas. 

 The oj\ster industry is second in extent, but will doubtless rank first 

 within a few years. These two fisheries are prosecuted extensively all 

 along the coast. Each locality also has its own minor fisheries, such 

 as the turtle, the shrimp, the crab, the fi(mnder^ the surf-seine, the 

 cast-net, and the hook-and-line. 



Aside from the surf seines in use on Galveston Island, some hook-and- 

 line fishing at different i)laces, and an occasional trip of a harbor boat 

 from (lalveston to the red-snapper banks, all the fisheries of Texas 

 are conlined to the bays and their estuaries along the coast. Of the 

 7,t)(»l,400 j)ounds of marine i)r()ducts obtained by the fishermen of 

 Texas in 1S!I0, the <piantity taken from the Gulf ]>roper is estimated at 

 less than .'>()0,000 pounds. 



Since 1880 all the Texas fisheries have increa.sed in extent excepting 

 for shrimi)s, which ai-e rei)orted as less abundant than they were ten 

 years ago. The catch in 1880 was O.'>7,500 ])ounds, while in 1800 

 the quantity taken in both the seines and cast nets amounted to only 

 170,800 ])ounds. Tlie oyster and bay-seine fisheries exhibit the great- 

 est actinil incnsise in the value of i)roducts. 



The growtli of the fisheries is due principally to the development of 

 the methods of marketing the catch. Th<^ ship]»ing facilities along the 

 coast, exce]>t at one or two phices, have been greatly increased during 



