﻿FISHERIES 
  OF 
  GULF 
  STATES. 
  439 
  

  

  THE 
  CANNING 
  INDUSTRY. 
  

  

  There 
  were 
  3 
  canneries 
  in 
  operation 
  on 
  the 
  west 
  coast 
  of 
  Florida 
  in 
  

   1902, 
  two 
  for 
  oysters 
  and 
  one 
  for 
  turtles. 
  There 
  is 
  another 
  cannery 
  

   in 
  this 
  region 
  — 
  at 
  Gulf 
  City 
  — 
  but 
  it 
  was 
  not 
  operated 
  in 
  1902, 
  

   although 
  it 
  was 
  in 
  operation 
  in 
  1903. 
  

  

  NOTES 
  ON 
  CERTAIN 
  FISHERIES. 
  

  

  The 
  mullet 
  fishery 
  . 
  — 
  This 
  fishery 
  is 
  now 
  in 
  a 
  prosperous 
  condition, 
  

   but 
  in 
  1897, 
  when 
  the 
  last 
  canvass 
  was 
  made, 
  it 
  was 
  greatly 
  impaired, 
  

   owing 
  to 
  interruption 
  of 
  the 
  trade 
  by 
  the 
  Cuban 
  revolution. 
  For 
  

   many 
  years 
  the 
  mullet 
  fishermen 
  have 
  salted 
  a 
  large 
  part 
  of 
  their 
  

   catch 
  and 
  shipped 
  it 
  to 
  Cuba, 
  where 
  it 
  found 
  a 
  ready 
  sale; 
  but 
  in 
  1896 
  

   this 
  business 
  was 
  practically 
  abandoned 
  on 
  account 
  of 
  the 
  high 
  tariff 
  

   on 
  fish 
  imported 
  into 
  the 
  island. 
  After 
  the 
  war 
  closed 
  the 
  mullet 
  trade 
  

   began 
  to 
  revive. 
  The 
  fishermen 
  and 
  dealers 
  have 
  recently 
  been 
  mak- 
  

   ing 
  an 
  effort 
  to 
  increase 
  their 
  business, 
  and 
  have 
  met 
  with 
  such 
  success 
  

   that 
  there 
  are 
  now 
  few 
  places 
  of 
  importance 
  south 
  of 
  North 
  Carolina 
  

   and 
  the 
  Ohio 
  River, 
  and 
  east 
  of 
  the 
  Mississippi 
  River, 
  to 
  which 
  Flor- 
  

   ida 
  mullet 
  are 
  not 
  shipped. 
  Punta 
  Gorda 
  is 
  especially 
  noteworthy 
  for 
  

   the 
  enterprise 
  exhibited 
  in 
  this 
  direction. 
  A 
  few 
  years 
  ago 
  the 
  ship- 
  

   ments 
  from 
  there 
  were 
  insignificant, 
  but 
  in 
  1902 
  they 
  amounted 
  to 
  

   224i 
  carloads 
  and 
  10,855 
  barrels 
  of 
  fish, 
  with 
  an 
  approximate 
  weight 
  

   of 
  7,547,000 
  pounds, 
  the 
  greater 
  part 
  of 
  which 
  was 
  mullet. 
  The 
  fish 
  

   are 
  shipped 
  in 
  carload 
  lots 
  to 
  agents 
  or 
  dealers 
  at 
  certain 
  points, 
  who 
  

   pack 
  them 
  in 
  boxes 
  and 
  barrels 
  and 
  ship 
  them 
  to 
  adjacent 
  localities, 
  

   this 
  method 
  resulting 
  in 
  a 
  considerable 
  saving 
  in 
  freight 
  charges. 
  In 
  

   shipping 
  mullet, 
  an 
  ordinary 
  box* 
  car 
  is 
  used, 
  having 
  a 
  partition 
  across 
  

   it 
  at 
  both 
  sides 
  of 
  the 
  doors, 
  to 
  form 
  a 
  compartment 
  at 
  each 
  end 
  of 
  

   the 
  car. 
  Alternating 
  layers 
  of 
  mullet 
  and 
  cracked 
  ice 
  are 
  placed 
  in 
  

   these 
  inclosures 
  until 
  the 
  car 
  contains 
  a 
  load 
  of 
  24,000 
  pounds 
  of 
  fish. 
  

  

  Although 
  fishing 
  in 
  state 
  waters 
  b}'^ 
  foreign 
  vessels 
  is 
  prohibited, 
  

   at 
  the 
  present 
  time 
  Cuban 
  vessels 
  fish 
  along 
  the 
  shores 
  of 
  the 
  west 
  

   coast 
  of 
  Florida, 
  the 
  sparse 
  population 
  and 
  the 
  general 
  absence 
  of 
  

   revenue 
  cutters 
  making 
  it 
  easy 
  to 
  escape 
  interruption. 
  The 
  Cuban 
  

  

  