32 REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONER OF FISHERIES. 



cial fishermen but also by people who wish to supply their own table. 

 Jugs filled with lime and lowered to the bottom are also the means of 

 destroying large quantities of fish. The water coming in contact 

 with the lime causes the jugs to burst, scattering the lime, which 

 either kills the fish or causes them to rise to the surface in a dazed 

 condition, making their capture easy. 



At Biloxi the harbor for vessels is at Back Bay. Six or seven 

 years ago considerable fishing was carried on from 2 to 3 miles 

 above the anchorage, toward the head of the bay. At the present time 

 very few fish are taken in this vicinity. At times during a freshet 

 buffalo-fish are caught in considerable quantities near the mouth of 

 the bay. At other times this species is generally observed up the 

 bay some G or 8 miles above Popps Point, where commercial fishing 

 is prohibited. During a heavy freshet it is said that the current runs 

 15 miles an hour. 



In the upper part of the bay there are numerous small islands cov- 

 ered with tule grass; these islands afford excellent seining grounds. 

 In the channels formed by the islands fishing is carried on with 

 trammel nets. There are many snags in the channels, which prevent 

 the use of drag seines. 



Shrimp were quite scarce in 1909, but in the spring of 1910 they 

 were plentiful, and the usual pack was made. It is estimated that 

 in the vicinity of Gulf port and Biloxi G,000 barrels of shrimp were 

 caught during the season. It is stated that only about one-half the 

 quantity of shrimp is now taken as compared to the catch ten years 

 ago, although nearly double the number of men and boats is em- 

 ployed. In the last few years, however, there has been considerable 

 increase in the catch, owing to an extension of the fishing grounds. 

 Vessels now fish for shrimp 30 miles east and west of Biloxi and 

 from 75 to 100 miles south. 



Shrimp arrive from the south in the latter part of February and 

 remain on the coast until May. In the latter part of July or the first 

 of August a school of mixed sizes of shrimp appear, and in September 

 another school of marketable shrimp strikes the coast. 



In 1909, 14,000 pounds of mullet were taken in one haul of a seine 

 and all were said to be spawn fish. Many fishermen are of the opin- 

 ion that such wholesale slaughter of spawn fish should be stopped. 



Redfish or channel bass, trout or squeteague, and sheepshead have 

 not decreased as rapidly as some other species, being taken in deep 

 water, and principally with hook and line. 



The shipping facilities and method of handling fish at Biloxi com- 

 pare favorably with those in other parts of the country. On account 

 of the scarcity of many shore species, attention is being directed to 

 the red-snapper fishery. To engage in this fishery would require 

 deeper draft vessels and the building of plants for handling fish 

 on the outlying islands, where vessels arriving from the banks could 



