﻿[21] 
  

  

  THE 
  GULF 
  FISHING 
  GROUNDS 
  AND 
  FISHERIES. 
  

  

  enough 
  even 
  to 
  snoot 
  at 
  them 
  with 
  any 
  hope 
  of 
  success, 
  and 
  as 
  for 
  striking 
  

   them 
  with 
  an 
  iron, 
  it 
  was 
  entirely 
  out 
  of 
  the 
  question. 
  On 
  one 
  occasion 
  

   we 
  both 
  discharged 
  our 
  guns 
  simultaneously 
  at 
  a 
  school, 
  and 
  doubtless 
  

   hit 
  some 
  individuals, 
  but 
  it 
  is 
  probable 
  that 
  the 
  shot 
  struck 
  them 
  only 
  

   in 
  their 
  backs, 
  where 
  they 
  would 
  have 
  no 
  very 
  marked 
  effect. 
  The 
  por- 
  

   poises 
  were 
  "playing" 
  about 
  in 
  the 
  shallow 
  water 
  near 
  the 
  island. 
  

   apparently 
  feeding 
  on 
  small 
  fish, 
  and 
  one 
  would 
  naturally 
  suppose 
  they 
  

   could 
  be 
  approached 
  without 
  difficulty. 
  But 
  they 
  invariably 
  noticed 
  

   the 
  presence 
  of 
  the 
  boat 
  when 
  within 
  40 
  to 
  00 
  yards 
  of 
  it, 
  and 
  would 
  

   disappear 
  to 
  come 
  up 
  at 
  a 
  greater 
  distance. 
  

  

  7. 
  FROM 
  TENSACOLA 
  TO 
  TAMPA. 
  

  

  About 
  5 
  o'clock 
  on 
  the 
  afternoon 
  of 
  the 
  12th 
  the 
  ship 
  cast 
  off 
  from 
  

   the 
  navy-yard 
  wharf 
  and 
  stood 
  out 
  to 
  sea. 
  The 
  two 
  succeeding 
  days 
  

   (March 
  13 
  and 
  14) 
  were 
  spent 
  in 
  dredging 
  to 
  the 
  southward 
  of 
  the 
  

   snapper 
  grounds, 
  between 
  87° 
  27' 
  00" 
  and 
  85° 
  33' 
  30" 
  west 
  longitude, 
  

   in 
  depths 
  varying 
  from 
  111 
  to 
  724 
  fathoms. 
  

  

  On 
  the 
  morning 
  of 
  the 
  loth 
  the 
  ship 
  headed 
  toward 
  the 
  fishing 
  

   grounds 
  off 
  Cape 
  San 
  Bias, 
  and 
  a 
  continuous 
  series 
  of 
  dredgings 
  and 
  

   trials 
  for 
  fish 
  were 
  carried 
  on 
  throughout 
  the 
  day. 
  The 
  first 
  two 
  sound- 
  

   ings, 
  88 
  and 
  00 
  fathoms, 
  respectively, 
  were 
  made 
  outside 
  the 
  snapper 
  

   bank. 
  To 
  ascertain, 
  however, 
  if 
  there 
  were 
  any 
  food-fish 
  in 
  deeper 
  

   water 
  than 
  they 
  are 
  usually 
  caught 
  in, 
  a 
  snood, 
  with 
  a 
  baited 
  hook 
  

   attached, 
  was 
  bent 
  to 
  the 
  sounding 
  wire 
  before 
  the 
  first 
  souudiug 
  was 
  

   taken. 
  ^Nothing 
  was 
  caught 
  on 
  this 
  hook, 
  though 
  it 
  was 
  tried 
  several 
  

   times, 
  even 
  after 
  we 
  got 
  into 
  shoaler 
  water. 
  But 
  this 
  failure 
  is 
  not 
  so 
  

   much 
  to 
  be 
  wondered 
  at, 
  for 
  on 
  the 
  same 
  occasions 
  we 
  did 
  not 
  catch 
  any 
  

   fish 
  on 
  the 
  hand-lines, 
  a 
  number 
  of 
  which 
  were 
  put, 
  out 
  to 
  try 
  for 
  snap- 
  

   pers 
  whenever 
  a 
  sounding 
  was 
  made 
  (after 
  we 
  got 
  on 
  the 
  bank), 
  and 
  also 
  

   after 
  the 
  beam-trawl 
  had 
  been 
  hove 
  up. 
  Indeed, 
  every 
  effort 
  was 
  made 
  

   to 
  catch 
  fish 
  whenever 
  a 
  chance 
  offered, 
  and 
  where 
  we 
  failed 
  it 
  is 
  fair 
  

   to 
  assume 
  that 
  there 
  were 
  none. 
  

  

  The 
  following 
  tabulated 
  statement 
  of 
  the 
  day's 
  work 
  shows 
  the 
  posi- 
  

   tions 
  where 
  these 
  trials 
  were 
  made, 
  and 
  contains 
  other 
  data- 
  bearing 
  

   on 
  the 
  investigation 
  : 
  

  

  [Date, 
  March 
  15.] 
  

  

  T 
  ,. 
  i, 
  r 
  ! 
  T 
  -v 
  T 
  Characterof 
  bottom 
  as 
  

  

  Depth. 
  Lat, 
  W. 
  j 
  Long. 
  N. 
  I 
  indkated 
  by 
  tho 
  ]e;ul 
  

  

  Remark 
  

  

  Faths. 
  

  

  28 
  44 
  00 
  85 
  16 
  00 
  

  

  Gray 
  mud 
  

  

  Gray 
  sand 
  

  

  Uere 
  (station 
  *J40.'i), 
  the 
  beam-trawl 
  was 
  put 
  cut. 
  

   Many 
  small 
  fish, 
  erustaoea, 
  and 
  a 
  few 
  living 
  

   shell's 
  were 
  taken. 
  No 
  large 
  food-fish 
  weie 
  

   caught; 
  no 
  fishing 
  lines 
  put 
  out. 
  

  

  No 
  food-fish 
  taken. 
  The 
  beam-trawl 
  was 
  used. 
  

   It 
  brought 
  up 
  a 
  number 
  offish, 
  none 
  of 
  them 
  of 
  

   any 
  commercial 
  value 
  and 
  most 
  of 
  them 
  very 
  

   small 
  varieties. 
  There 
  were 
  also 
  sonic 
  crabs, 
  

   dead 
  shells, 
  i.e. 
  The 
  general 
  charact< 
  r 
  of 
  the 
  

   material 
  taken 
  indicated 
  ''dead,|bottom," 
  and 
  

   the 
  presence 
  of 
  large 
  flat 
  sea 
  urchins 
  ("sand 
  

   dollars"), 
  such 
  as 
  wc 
  took 
  here, 
  is 
  considered 
  

   a 
  "sign" 
  of 
  barren 
  ground 
  by 
  fishermen. 
  

  

  