384 KEl'OKT OF COMMISSIONER OF FlJ^Il AND FISHERIES. 



lu December of 181)0, the seliooner Gcrtrndc i^ummcrs (61.19 net ton- 

 nage), of Noauk, Conn., Benjamin Latliam captain, iiKule a trip to these 

 banks, and in two days' fishing, Avith seven men, took 22,000 pounds of 

 rod snai>pcr. On the first day the catch amounted to 11,000 pounds. 

 Tiiese fish were rather huge, the average weight being about 10 pounds 

 each. In expectation of obtaining smaller fish in shoaler waters, the . 

 vessel was sailed nearer the shore. Dnring the second day's fishing 

 Capt. Latham was not nuu;h more successiiil in obtaining small fish, but 

 took 8,000 pounds of mixed size. With this fare he sailed to Galves- 

 ton. On account of their large size and the fact that the market was 

 not a(;customed to so large a (pumtity of these fish, they were not dis- 

 posed of at a good i)rice. 



In January, 1891, this vessel made another trip to the Campeche 

 Banks, securing 15,000 x»>wii(ls of fish. In the same month one trip 

 was made to the reefs located about 85 miles s<mth of Galveston Island, 

 from which about 5,000 pounds of fish were obtained. 



The attempt to market red snappers from Texas ports has not met 

 with the success ex])e('ted. This is due to several reasons, among Avhich 

 might be mentioned the large size of the fish and the orders not having 

 been secured from the inland markets before their arrival. 



Mr. Ileck, who at present has a retail fish market in Corpus Christi, 

 states that he has fished from Vera Cruz in a 52-ton smack, with four 

 men, and obtained 10,000 pounds of red sna])])ers in about five hours. 

 There is every reason to suppose that the developnu'nt ot* this fishery 

 oilers special inducements both to fishermen and capitalists. 



From some of the ports along the Texas coastthc entire country west of 

 the Mississippi River may be cheaply reached and supplied with this 

 excellent fish. For this purpose- Galveston aflbrds superior facilities, 

 its freight and express accommodations being superior to those of any 

 other i)ort on the Gulf of Mexico west of New Orleans. 



At Galveston, under the present conditions and prices, the fish may 

 be taken from the vessel, iced, packed, and delivered in carload lots by 

 fast freight to points within 1,000 miles, and even to Chicago, for lA 

 cents ])er ponnd.* Neither I*ensacohi nor INIobile could readily com- 

 pete with Galveston in supplying the western half of the United States. 



THE FLOUNDER FISHERY. 



The taking of flounders by means of spears is engaged in during the 

 summer months by a few persons living at Galveston, Aransas Bay, 

 and Cor])us Christi. This fishery is i)rosecuted mostly at night. The 

 men wade out in the shallow water carrying lighted torches and using 

 flounder spears or some similar instruments of capture. Many forms 

 of spears are used. Some of the fishernnMi employ an ordinary table 

 fork fastened to a stick, while others and probably the most successful 



* At Galveston the price of ice ranges from $1 to $8 per ton. Fast- freight rates 

 from Galveston to Cliicaf^o are. about iJ'l^O per earloatl. Besides ice, etc., one car 

 carries about 18,000 pounds of lish. 



