﻿FISHERIES 
  OF 
  THE 
  COASTAL 
  WATERS 
  OF 
  FLORIDA. 
  315 
  

  

  to 
  siuall 
  iiideutatious 
  and 
  creeks, 
  and 
  at 
  low 
  Avater 
  prevents 
  the 
  fish 
  

   from 
  escaping'. 
  The 
  regular 
  haul 
  seines 
  for 
  mullet 
  are 
  about 
  750 
  feet 
  

   long 
  and 
  have 
  a 
  3-inch 
  inesh. 
  The 
  mesh 
  of 
  the 
  gill 
  nets 
  is 
  33 
  iuche.s. 
  

  

  Mullet 
  fishing 
  is 
  done 
  more 
  or 
  less 
  throughout 
  the 
  year, 
  but 
  is 
  most 
  

   extensive 
  during 
  fall 
  and 
  early 
  winter, 
  when 
  the 
  fish 
  have 
  matured 
  roe, 
  

   are 
  iu 
  the 
  best 
  condition, 
  and 
  are 
  most 
  abundant. 
  

  

  An 
  immense 
  quantity 
  of 
  tlie 
  mullet 
  secured 
  at 
  the 
  li,shing 
  stations 
  is 
  

   galted 
  and 
  either 
  sold 
  in 
  the 
  surrounding 
  territory 
  or 
  shii)ped 
  to 
  Tampa, 
  

   St. 
  Petersburg, 
  or 
  Puuta 
  Clorda, 
  to 
  be 
  distributed 
  by 
  rail. 
  Prior 
  to 
  

   189G 
  large 
  quantities 
  of 
  salt 
  mullet 
  were 
  sent 
  m 
  sailing 
  vessels 
  and 
  

   steamers 
  to 
  Havana, 
  but 
  this 
  trade 
  has 
  been 
  practically 
  abandoned 
  

   owing 
  to 
  the 
  excessively 
  high 
  tariff 
  imposed 
  on 
  imported 
  fish 
  as 
  a 
  

   consequence 
  of 
  the 
  Cuban 
  war. 
  The 
  salt-fish 
  trade 
  with 
  Cuba 
  has 
  

   heretofore 
  been 
  virtually 
  controlled 
  by 
  Americans, 
  but 
  it 
  has 
  now 
  fallen 
  

   into 
  the 
  hands 
  of 
  the 
  Cubans, 
  who 
  visit 
  the 
  Florida 
  coast 
  in 
  their 
  ves- 
  

   sels 
  and 
  fish 
  along 
  the 
  shores 
  of 
  the 
  State. 
  Although 
  fishing 
  in 
  State 
  

   waters 
  by 
  foreign 
  vessels 
  is 
  prohibited, 
  the 
  sparse 
  po])ulation 
  and 
  the 
  

   general 
  absence 
  of 
  revenue 
  cutters 
  make 
  it 
  easy 
  for 
  the 
  Spanish 
  sub- 
  

   jects 
  to 
  ply 
  their 
  business 
  uninterruptedly; 
  they 
  often 
  come 
  into 
  the 
  

   bays 
  to 
  fish, 
  and 
  sometimes 
  even 
  j^reparc 
  their 
  fish 
  on 
  the 
  shore. 
  This 
  

   condition 
  of 
  affairs 
  has 
  greatly 
  injured 
  the 
  local 
  salt 
  mullet 
  fishery. 
  

  

  There 
  is 
  considerable 
  waste 
  in 
  the 
  mullet 
  fishery, 
  owing 
  to 
  the 
  soft- 
  

   ening 
  of 
  the 
  fish 
  during 
  transportation 
  from 
  the 
  fishing-camps 
  to 
  the 
  

   markets. 
  If 
  the 
  vessels 
  carrying 
  the 
  fish 
  are 
  delayed 
  by 
  head 
  winds 
  

   or 
  calms, 
  the 
  whole 
  cargo 
  may 
  be 
  lost, 
  as 
  some 
  of 
  the 
  stations 
  are 
  nearlj^ 
  

   200 
  miles 
  from 
  Tampa. 
  Insufficient 
  ice 
  is 
  also 
  a 
  factor 
  in 
  the 
  spoiling 
  of 
  

   fish. 
  Careful 
  inquiry 
  among 
  the 
  Tampa 
  dealers 
  shows 
  that 
  during 
  the 
  

   principal 
  mullet 
  season, 
  from 
  September 
  to 
  December, 
  inclusive, 
  over 
  

   200,000 
  pounds 
  of 
  mullet 
  are 
  thrown 
  away 
  annually 
  at 
  that 
  place, 
  and 
  

   it 
  is 
  estimated 
  that 
  the 
  annual 
  loss 
  at 
  other 
  places 
  on 
  the 
  west 
  coast 
  is 
  

   over 
  300,000 
  pounds. 
  These 
  spoiled 
  fish 
  do 
  not 
  enter 
  into 
  the 
  statenu'nt 
  

   of 
  the 
  catch. 
  Some 
  of 
  the 
  loss 
  is 
  retrieved, 
  however, 
  by 
  laying 
  aside 
  

   tlie 
  ripe 
  females 
  and 
  extracting 
  their 
  roe, 
  which 
  is 
  salted. 
  

  

  The 
  (jencral 
  {/ill-net 
  and 
  f<einc 
  fishing.— 
  F>ei^ide.s 
  the 
  gill 
  nets 
  used 
  

   es])ecially 
  for 
  mullet, 
  there 
  are 
  pomi)ano 
  and 
  Spanish 
  mackerel 
  nets, 
  

   which 
  are 
  oj^erated 
  iu 
  conjunction 
  with 
  the 
  nuillet 
  fishery. 
  The 
  pom- 
  

   pano 
  nets 
  have 
  a 
  mesh 
  of 
  4 
  to 
  5 
  inches, 
  the 
  mackerel 
  nets 
  a 
  mesh 
  of 
  3 
  

   or 
  3| 
  inches, 
  their 
  length 
  being 
  from 
  -150 
  to 
  850 
  feet. 
  r>esides 
  the 
  fish 
  

   for 
  which 
  the 
  nets 
  are 
  particularly 
  set, 
  numerous 
  others 
  are 
  taken 
  which, 
  

   iu 
  the 
  aggregate, 
  are 
  more 
  important 
  than 
  the 
  two 
  species 
  named; 
  

   among 
  tliese 
  are 
  bluefish, 
  redfish, 
  black 
  drum, 
  sheepshead, 
  grunts, 
  and 
  

   trout. 
  In 
  1895 
  the 
  number 
  of 
  pompano 
  nets 
  in 
  use 
  was 
  80, 
  with 
  a 
  value 
  

   of 
  $2,(580; 
  the 
  Spanish 
  mackerel 
  nets 
  numbered 
  70 
  and 
  were 
  worth 
  

   $2,025. 
  The 
  fisliery 
  was 
  most 
  extensive 
  at 
  Punta 
  Corda 
  and 
  at 
  the 
  

   camps 
  ill 
  Manatee 
  County. 
  The 
  catch, 
  a 
  detailed 
  statement 
  of 
  which 
  

   follows, 
  including 
  those 
  fish 
  taken 
  incidentally 
  in 
  the 
  mullet 
  fishery, 
  

   amounted 
  to 
  1,627,015 
  pounds, 
  for 
  which 
  the 
  fishermen 
  received 
  $45,573. 
  

  

  