﻿27G 
  REPORT 
  OF 
  COMMISSIONER 
  OF 
  FISH 
  AND 
  FISHERIES. 
  [GO] 
  

  

  these 
  industries, 
  as 
  well 
  as 
  to 
  the 
  advantage 
  of 
  the 
  railroads 
  that 
  carry 
  

   the 
  fish. 
  At 
  the 
  best, 
  however, 
  the 
  fisheries 
  of 
  this 
  section 
  must 
  labor 
  

   under 
  the 
  disadvantage 
  of 
  being 
  remote 
  from 
  large 
  centers 
  of 
  popula- 
  

   tion 
  ; 
  and 
  as 
  a 
  great 
  proportion 
  of 
  the 
  catch 
  must 
  be 
  marketed 
  in 
  a 
  fresh 
  

   condition, 
  and 
  consequently 
  be 
  carried 
  by 
  fast 
  freight, 
  the 
  cost 
  of 
  trans- 
  

   portation 
  will 
  always 
  be 
  large. 
  As 
  an 
  offset 
  to 
  this 
  is 
  the 
  abundance 
  

   of 
  fish, 
  certain 
  varieties 
  of 
  which 
  can 
  be 
  taken 
  with 
  less 
  expense 
  than 
  in 
  

   many 
  other 
  places, 
  and 
  it 
  seems 
  to 
  me 
  only 
  a 
  question 
  of 
  time 
  when 
  the 
  

   demand 
  will 
  be 
  such 
  as 
  to 
  call 
  for 
  a 
  very 
  much 
  greater 
  quantity 
  than 
  

   is 
  now 
  taken, 
  the 
  result 
  of 
  which 
  will 
  be 
  an 
  enhancement 
  of 
  prices, 
  the 
  

   employment 
  of 
  more 
  men 
  and 
  capital, 
  and 
  the 
  consequent 
  material 
  im- 
  

   provement 
  of 
  the 
  coast 
  and 
  offshore 
  sea 
  fisheries. 
  But 
  while 
  we 
  may 
  

   reasonably 
  assume 
  that 
  the 
  fisheries 
  of 
  the 
  Gulf 
  may 
  attain 
  much 
  greater 
  

   proportions 
  than 
  they 
  now 
  have, 
  it 
  is 
  not 
  probable 
  that 
  they 
  will 
  ever 
  

   reach 
  an 
  importance 
  at 
  all 
  comparable 
  with 
  such 
  fisheries 
  as 
  those 
  of 
  

   New 
  England, 
  simply 
  because 
  there 
  are 
  not 
  the 
  enormous 
  resources 
  to 
  

   draw 
  from 
  for 
  a 
  large 
  supply 
  of 
  material, 
  and 
  also 
  because 
  these 
  south- 
  

   ern 
  species 
  are 
  not 
  likely 
  to 
  fill 
  so 
  important 
  a 
  place 
  in 
  cured 
  food 
  as 
  do 
  

   the 
  staple 
  productions 
  of 
  our 
  northern 
  seas. 
  

  

  Such 
  are 
  some 
  of 
  the 
  conclusions 
  that 
  have 
  been 
  arrived 
  at, 
  from 
  a 
  

   brief'study 
  of 
  the 
  fishing 
  industries 
  of 
  this 
  region, 
  and 
  it 
  has 
  been 
  

   deemed 
  best 
  to 
  present 
  them 
  here 
  as 
  prefatory 
  remarks, 
  bearing, 
  in 
  a 
  

   general 
  way, 
  on 
  the 
  more 
  specific 
  notes 
  which 
  follow. 
  

  

  It 
  is 
  also 
  proper 
  to 
  state 
  that 
  the 
  notes 
  presented 
  here 
  are 
  based 
  on 
  

   such 
  data 
  as 
  I 
  was 
  able 
  to 
  gather 
  in 
  a 
  few 
  hasty 
  interviews 
  with 
  people 
  

   who 
  are 
  familiar 
  with 
  the 
  fisheries 
  of 
  Western 
  Florida, 
  as 
  well 
  as 
  on 
  my 
  

   own 
  personal 
  observations. 
  The 
  chief 
  aim 
  has 
  been 
  to 
  get 
  an 
  idea 
  of 
  

   the 
  methods 
  of 
  fishing, 
  and 
  the 
  vessels 
  and 
  apparatus 
  used, 
  thinking 
  it 
  

   might, 
  at 
  least, 
  be 
  possible 
  to 
  offer 
  some 
  suggestions 
  for 
  their 
  improve- 
  

   ment. 
  At 
  the 
  same 
  time 
  a 
  general 
  idea 
  has 
  been 
  gained 
  of 
  some 
  other 
  

   details 
  pertaining 
  to 
  the 
  various 
  fisheries 
  discussed. 
  Such 
  facts 
  as 
  have 
  

   been 
  gathered 
  are 
  combined 
  in 
  the 
  following 
  pages. 
  That 
  they 
  will 
  

   come 
  far 
  short 
  of 
  a 
  complete 
  discussion 
  of 
  the 
  whole 
  subject, 
  even 
  in 
  the 
  

   localities 
  mentioned, 
  I 
  am 
  fully 
  aware, 
  and 
  therefore 
  they 
  are 
  given 
  for 
  

   what 
  they 
  are 
  worth, 
  since 
  the 
  object 
  aimed 
  at 
  is 
  not 
  to 
  make 
  a 
  compre- 
  

   hensive 
  report, 
  but 
  simply 
  to 
  give 
  such 
  salient 
  points 
  as 
  will 
  enable 
  the 
  

   reader 
  to 
  obtain 
  an 
  idea 
  of 
  the 
  leading 
  features 
  of 
  the 
  industries 
  referred 
  

   to. 
  Necessarily, 
  too, 
  the 
  information 
  gathered 
  is 
  chiefly 
  concerning 
  

   the 
  Pensacola 
  fisheries 
  and 
  those 
  of 
  the 
  nearest, 
  points 
  to 
  it, 
  since 
  these 
  

   were 
  the 
  only 
  ones 
  we 
  had 
  a 
  chance 
  to 
  study, 
  not 
  having 
  visited 
  any 
  

   other 
  place 
  on 
  the 
  west 
  coast 
  of 
  Florida 
  but 
  the 
  above-mentioned 
  city, 
  

   except 
  Tampa, 
  where 
  I 
  saw 
  no 
  one. 
  

  

  A.— 
  The 
  red-snapper 
  fishery. 
  

  

  The 
  red-snapper 
  fishery 
  is 
  specially 
  interesting, 
  because 
  of 
  its 
  com- 
  

   paratively 
  recent 
  origin, 
  as 
  well 
  as 
  for 
  the 
  advancement 
  it 
  has 
  made 
  

   within 
  the 
  past 
  few 
  years, 
  so 
  that 
  it 
  may 
  now 
  be 
  considered 
  as 
  

  

  