THE COAST FISHERIES OF TEXAS. 377 



THE FISHERIES. 

 THE EAY-SEINE FISHERY. 



This is at present tlie most important of the fisheries of Texas. It 

 is prosecuted in the same manner and witli the same formof ai)p;iriitus 

 in all the fishinft- sections ahmg- the coast. In 1890 this fishery ii'ave 

 steady employment to 358 men, using- 110 sailboats valued at $38,7r)0; 

 114 seines valued ati^l5,200,and other apparatus to the value of |4,GI3, 

 The total catch amounted to 3,009,100 pounds, for which the ftshermen 

 received $1.50,592. In 18S0, according to figures reported by the U. S. 

 Fish Commission, 126 men engaged in fishing 42 seines and the catcli 

 amounted to 050,000 pounds, valued at $32,500. 



These seines are hauled in all the bays along the Texas coast; they 

 are not used in the Gulf of Mexico nor in tlie rivers. Ten years ago 

 the greater part of those operated were owned at Galveston ; since then 

 the number used in Aransas Bay has shown the greatest increase, as 

 fish have grown scarcer in Galveston Bay and the railroad facilities at 

 Aransas Bay have improved. 



Each party of seine fishermen, which usually consists of from two to 

 four men, ordinarily has one sailboat, one seine, one or two skiffs, and 

 two or more live-fish cars. The sailboats and skiffs are of the ordinary 

 type used in all the fisheries on this coast. The sailboats never have 

 "wells" in which the fish maybe kept alive, and ice is not us«'d for pre- 

 serving the catch; bnt floating cars are used, in wiiich the fisli are 

 kept alive while being transported to market; these are roughly con- 

 structed, usually of slats in tlie form of and about the same size as a 

 skiff; in fact, some of the fishermen use an old skifi", cutting or boring 

 holes in it and covering it with an open slat-work top. The live-fish 

 cars are not usually painted ; they have capacity for 400 to 2,000 jiounds 

 of fish, according to their size and the temperature of the water. The 

 cost ranges from $5 to $15 each. They are carried on board the sail- 

 boats when em})ty of fish, and when the fish are put in them they are 

 towed behind. 



The seines vary in length from-80 to 200 fathoms and in depth fiom 

 4.^ toO feet. The small de})th is made necessary by the slialU)wness of 

 the water. Usually no lead or similar weight is attached to the bottom, 

 the sinker consisting of a tarred rojje about an inch in diameter; but 

 some of the seines have several lead sinkers on the tarred rope, near 

 the middle. In the center of each seine is a cone-shaped bag from 10 to 

 15 feet in length and 3 or more feet wide where it joins the bunt, taper- 

 ing to inches at the smaller end. 



The ordinary mesh of the seine Is 1^ inches square, but the net used 

 in tlie bag and for a distance of 12 feet on each side has a mesh about 

 f inch square. Tliis smaller mesh is necessary in order to increase the 

 strength of the seine in those places, to ])revent tearing by alligator 

 gars, tarpon, etc. The cost of an ordinary seine is alxmt $1.10 per 



