EEPORT OF THE COMMISSIONER OF FISHERIES. 31 



FISHERIES OF MISSISSIPPI. 



At the request of citizens of Biloxi, Miss., through their Represent- 

 ative in Congress, an investigation was made of the condition of the 

 fisheries at that place, and incidentally of the coast fisheries of the 

 entire State, not including oysters. 



The fisheries of Mississippi are chiefly carried on at Biloxi and 

 Scranton, the former place having about 250 vessels and boats and 

 the latter about 50 engaged in this industry. The principal species 

 taken are shrimp (which ranks first in importance), bluefish, Spanish 

 mackerel, pompano, mullet, flounders, trout or squeteague, and crabs. 

 In former years the supply was generally equal to the demand, but 

 in the last three or four years it is claimed by fishermen and others 

 interested in the fisheries that there has been considerable falling off 

 in the annual catch of most species, on account of overfishing. 



While the coast fisheries of Mississippi are not as extensive as those 

 of some other States, they are of great value to the State and should 

 receive as careful attention in the w T ay of protection as other States 

 give to their fisheries. Many fishermen and dealers at Biloxi are of 

 the opinion that artificial propagation is the only means by which the 

 more important commercial species can be saved from extermination, 

 but a judicious enforcement of laws that should be enacted to prevent 

 the wholesale capture of fish during the spawning season, and making 

 it a penal offense to capture fish by the use of dynamite, lime, or 

 other explosives, in rivers, lakes, bayous, or along the coast, would 

 have a tendency to restore the fisheries to their former prosperous 

 condition. This course of action would no doubt produce beneficial 

 results in a comparatively short time. The first requisite in the 

 present circumstances seems to be to take the necessary steps to save 

 certain species by natural rather than by artificial means. The 

 establishment of a state fish commission, with authority to recommend 

 and enforce fishery legislation, would also be of great assistance in 

 protecting and maintaining the fisheries. Without such an organi- 

 zation the fisheries are destined to decline more rapidly in the future 

 than they have in the past. 



The principal forms of fishing apparatus used in the fisheries of 

 the State are drag seines, gill nets, and trammel nets. There is also 

 a considerable quantity of fish taken with cast nets. In no part of 

 the country is this apparatus used with greater skill than in this 

 region, and according to some of the fishermen its extensive use is 

 responsible for the great scarcity of crappie, black bass, and pike. 

 When the water in the rivers and bays is low, many species of fish 

 take refuge in pools and deep holes and are easily captured. 



In Red and Black creeks it is said that fish were once abundant, but 

 in recent years the use of dynamite has nearly exterminated them. 

 According to reports, this method is not only employed by commer- 



