﻿290 
  REPORT 
  OF 
  COMMISSIONER 
  OF 
  FISH 
  AND 
  FISHERIES. 
  

  

  $9,250, 
  and 
  tbe 
  shore 
  property 
  and 
  casli 
  capital 
  at 
  $34,340, 
  making 
  a 
  

   total 
  iuvestmeut 
  of 
  $55,245. 
  The 
  quantity 
  of 
  products 
  taken 
  was 
  over 
  

   2,000,000 
  jjounds, 
  valued 
  at 
  $49,585, 
  the 
  species 
  being 
  represented 
  as 
  

   follows: 
  Channel 
  bass, 
  129,955 
  pounds, 
  $4,201; 
  mullet, 
  790,507 
  pounds, 
  

   $12,473; 
  sheepshead, 
  87,500 
  pounds, 
  $2,701; 
  squeteague, 
  180,049 
  

   pounds, 
  $0,235; 
  other 
  fish, 
  183,704 
  pounds, 
  $5,543; 
  oysters, 
  93,350 
  

   bushels, 
  $13,300; 
  turtles 
  and 
  terrapins, 
  19,350 
  pounds, 
  $2,150; 
  shrimp, 
  

   62,025 
  ijounds, 
  $2,397 
  ; 
  and 
  other 
  products 
  having 
  a 
  value 
  of 
  $525. 
  

  

  FISHERIES 
  OF 
  INDIAN 
  RIVER. 
  

  

  Previous 
  report 
  on 
  this 
  river. 
  — 
  The 
  resources 
  and 
  fisheries 
  of 
  the 
  

   Indian 
  Kiver 
  have 
  been 
  considered 
  in 
  a 
  special 
  report 
  submitted 
  to 
  the 
  

   Senate 
  on 
  January 
  5, 
  1897, 
  pursuant 
  to 
  a 
  clause 
  of 
  the 
  act 
  making 
  

   appropriations 
  for 
  sundry 
  civil 
  expenses 
  of 
  the 
  Government 
  for 
  1896, 
  

   requiring 
  " 
  the 
  Commissioner 
  of 
  Fisheries 
  to 
  make 
  special 
  investiga- 
  

   tion 
  as 
  to 
  the 
  extermination 
  of 
  migratory 
  fishes 
  of 
  the 
  Indian 
  Eiver 
  of 
  

   Florida." 
  This 
  report 
  appears 
  to 
  render 
  unnecessary 
  at 
  this 
  time 
  an 
  

   extended 
  account 
  of 
  the 
  fisheries 
  of 
  this 
  region. 
  Tlie 
  examination 
  of 
  

   tbe 
  river 
  was 
  made 
  in 
  January 
  and 
  February, 
  1896, 
  by 
  a 
  party 
  from 
  

   this 
  Commission, 
  and 
  the 
  following 
  information 
  is 
  abstracted 
  from 
  the 
  

   report 
  based 
  on 
  that 
  inquiry. 
  

  

  Beiielojmient 
  of 
  the 
  fisheries. 
  — 
  The 
  fisheries 
  of 
  this 
  region 
  have 
  attained 
  

   considerable 
  prominence 
  within 
  a 
  comparatively 
  few 
  years, 
  and 
  in 
  1895 
  

   contributed 
  several 
  million 
  pounds 
  of 
  food-fish 
  to 
  the 
  public 
  markets. 
  

   Tlie 
  business 
  of 
  taking 
  green 
  turtles 
  antedates 
  the 
  civil 
  war, 
  bnt 
  the 
  

   fisheries 
  proper 
  did 
  not 
  begin 
  until 
  1878, 
  when 
  a 
  Connecticut 
  vessel 
  

   visited 
  one 
  of 
  the 
  inlets 
  and 
  caught 
  fish 
  for 
  the 
  Savannah 
  market. 
  It 
  

   was 
  not 
  until 
  1886, 
  however, 
  after 
  the 
  river 
  had 
  been 
  brought 
  into 
  

   railroad 
  communication 
  Avith 
  Jacksonville, 
  that 
  the 
  fisheries 
  became 
  

   regularly 
  established. 
  Prior 
  to 
  that 
  time 
  the 
  river 
  was 
  almost 
  inac- 
  

   cessible 
  except 
  by 
  water 
  ; 
  the 
  surrounding 
  country 
  was 
  very 
  sparsely 
  

   settled, 
  and 
  the 
  very 
  valuable 
  fishery 
  resources 
  remained 
  latent. 
  

  

  In 
  1885 
  an 
  oyster 
  business 
  was 
  started 
  at 
  Titusville 
  at 
  the 
  head 
  of 
  

   the 
  river, 
  and 
  in 
  the 
  following 
  year 
  a 
  fishery 
  was 
  inaugurated 
  at 
  that 
  

   place. 
  The 
  building 
  of 
  a 
  second 
  railroad 
  to 
  Titusville 
  and 
  its 
  extension 
  

   along 
  the 
  entire 
  length 
  of 
  the 
  river 
  in 
  1893-1895, 
  resulted 
  in 
  the 
  estab- 
  

   lishment 
  of 
  new 
  fishing 
  stations 
  farther 
  and 
  farther 
  south, 
  and 
  led 
  to 
  a 
  

   great 
  increase 
  in 
  the 
  industry. 
  In 
  1895 
  there 
  were 
  19 
  firms 
  engaged 
  in 
  

   the 
  fisheries 
  of 
  the 
  river. 
  These 
  were 
  located 
  at 
  Titusville, 
  Cocoa, 
  Fau 
  

   Gallic, 
  Melbourne, 
  Sebastian, 
  Fort 
  Pierce, 
  Eden, 
  Jansen, 
  and 
  Stuart. 
  

   The 
  places 
  at 
  which 
  the 
  most 
  extensive 
  fishing 
  centered 
  are 
  Port 
  Pierce, 
  

   Titusville, 
  Cocoa, 
  and 
  Eden. 
  

  

  As 
  to 
  the 
  further 
  increase 
  of 
  the 
  fisheries 
  of 
  this 
  body 
  of 
  water, 
  tln^ 
  

   report 
  <dted 
  states 
  : 
  

  

  Wliilo 
  the 
  resources 
  are 
  great, 
  the 
  area 
  of 
  fishing-ground 
  is 
  ooniparatively 
  limited, 
  

   and 
  the 
  fishing 
  firms 
  realize 
  that 
  the 
  present 
  tendency 
  to 
  over-fishing 
  will 
  result 
  in 
  

   the 
  ultimate 
  destruction 
  of 
  their 
  business, 
  unless 
  counteracted 
  by 
  the 
  enforcement 
  

   of 
  certain 
  restrictive 
  laws 
  or 
  adequate 
  artificial 
  propagation. 
  

  

  