FISHERIES OF THE PACIFIC COAST STATES IN 1904. 21 



fish. Of the latter 10 belonged in Marin County. Four steamers of 

 San Francisco, using paranzella nets, took $6,600 worth of crabs, 

 which were disposed of in San Francisco. 



The fishermen are nearly all Italians, and few of them speak English. 

 A boat's crew consists of two men, and the boats leave San Francisco 

 early ever}' morning when the weather permits. September and Oc- 

 tober constitute the close season. During 1904 there were 45 days of 

 unfavorable weather, leaving 259 fishing days. A boat's catch aver- 

 ages 5 dozen crabs per day, some days much more, others less. The 

 selling price ranges from 75 cents to $1.50 per dozen, or an average 

 of $1. The average weight of a crab is between 2 and 3 pounds. 



The catch is made chiefly with hoop nets, of which each boat carries 

 two dozen on an average. The nets are generally set and buoyed on 

 the same ground every day during the season, the grounds extending 

 from the entrance to the Golden Gate to Drakes Bay on the north, 

 and about 10 miles south, or a total reach of 20 to 25 miles. The 

 profits in the crab fishery are small, as the expense of running a boat 

 is 75 cents per day for gasoline and 60 cents for bait, the latter con- 

 sisting of herring and refuse fish. 



SPINY LOBSTERS. 



Of spiny lobsters the catch of 606,713 pounds in 1899 has increased 

 to 1,078,065 pounds in 1904. The only place on the Pacific coast where 

 spiny lobsters are found is in southern California, between Monterey 

 and San Diego. The increase in the catch is chiefly due to the use of 

 gasoline boats employed on new fishing grounds among the Santa 

 Barbara Islands. The lobsters are shipped alive in sacks, their dis- 

 tribution having a range over all the Pacific coast and to interior cities. 



SHRIMP. 



Washington.— The shrimp fisher}' of this state has grown to consid- 

 erable importance. The old fishing grounds off Pierce County are 

 nearly exhausted, and few shrimp are now taken from them, but new 

 grounds were found around San Juan, Orcas, Lopez, and Blakely 

 islands. These were first fished in 1903 by vessels belonging to a 

 Seattle firm, the season's catch amounting to 398,750 pounds, valued 

 at $23,924. There were also taken 20,000 pounds from Pierce County, 

 and 11,000 pounds from Skagit County, making a total for Washing- 

 ton of 429,750 pounds, valued at $26,104, compared with 19,600 pounds, 

 valued at $1,960, taken in 1899. The entire catch is shipped alive to 

 Seattle. The dealers prepare it for market by boiling it for three or 

 four minutes, then assorting it. The shrimp fishery is prosecuted 

 from small steamers, the apparatus being a dredge, or bag net 15 feet 

 long, attached to an iron frame and towed by a rope 600 feet long. 

 Shrimp in this region are usually found in water from 300 to 400 feet 

 deep. 



