﻿[89] 
  THE 
  GULF 
  FISIIING 
  GROUNDS 
  AND 
  FISHERIES. 
  305 
  

  

  4. 
  DISPOSITION 
  OF 
  THE 
  CATCH. 
  

  

  Mr. 
  Pitt 
  says 
  that 
  the 
  fish 
  taken 
  at 
  Saint 
  Joseph, 
  both 
  fresh 
  and 
  salt, 
  

   are 
  sold 
  chielly 
  to 
  Pensacola 
  parties, 
  and 
  he 
  gives 
  the 
  following 
  list 
  of 
  

   prices, 
  per 
  barrel, 
  of 
  200 
  pounds 
  of 
  salt 
  fish: 
  Mullet, 
  $5 
  ; 
  Spanish 
  mack- 
  

   erel, 
  $8; 
  pompano, 
  $10; 
  sheepshead, 
  $5; 
  redfish, 
  $3. 
  The 
  above 
  are 
  

   the 
  prices 
  paid 
  on 
  the 
  spot 
  where 
  the 
  fish 
  are 
  taken, 
  by 
  the 
  firms, 
  who 
  

   usually 
  send 
  a 
  schooner 
  down 
  along 
  the 
  coast 
  to 
  purchase 
  the 
  catch 
  of 
  

   the 
  seiners. 
  Bluefish 
  are 
  not 
  salted, 
  and 
  redfish 
  are 
  in 
  very 
  little 
  de- 
  

   mand 
  when 
  cured 
  in 
  this 
  way. 
  Mr. 
  Pitt 
  says 
  he 
  u 
  sold 
  a 
  few 
  of 
  the 
  lat- 
  

   ter 
  on 
  one 
  occasion, 
  but 
  that 
  it 
  was 
  a 
  mighty 
  sorry 
  sale." 
  

  

  Mullet 
  are 
  most 
  highly 
  esteemed 
  when 
  they 
  are 
  filled 
  with 
  roe, 
  but 
  

   they 
  are 
  often 
  so 
  abundant 
  along 
  the 
  coast 
  that 
  the 
  supply 
  far 
  exceeds 
  

   the 
  demand. 
  And 
  when 
  they 
  are 
  in 
  this 
  condition 
  they 
  can 
  be 
  caught 
  

   more 
  asily 
  than 
  at 
  other 
  times, 
  for 
  they 
  cannot 
  jump 
  over 
  a 
  cork 
  rope 
  

   and 
  t 
  ^ape 
  so 
  readily 
  as 
  they 
  generally 
  do. 
  

  

  With 
  an 
  increasing 
  population 
  in 
  the 
  country 
  the 
  demand 
  for 
  these 
  

   coast 
  fish 
  must 
  necessarily 
  grow 
  to 
  large 
  proportions. 
  And 
  there 
  seems 
  

   reason 
  to 
  believe 
  that 
  the 
  fishery 
  may 
  be 
  extended 
  and 
  increased 
  to 
  

   meet 
  this 
  demand 
  until 
  it 
  becomes 
  a 
  very 
  important 
  industry. 
  

  

  Many 
  of 
  the 
  farmer-fishermen 
  improve 
  the 
  opportunity 
  they 
  have 
  in 
  

   the 
  fall 
  to 
  supply 
  themselves 
  with 
  fish 
  to 
  last 
  for 
  many 
  months, 
  if 
  not 
  

   for 
  the 
  year, 
  while 
  a 
  considerable 
  percentage 
  of 
  the 
  fish 
  they 
  sell 
  are 
  

   disposed 
  of 
  to 
  the 
  country 
  trade 
  ; 
  probably, 
  in 
  most 
  cases, 
  to 
  their 
  im- 
  

   mediate 
  friends 
  and 
  neighbors. 
  

  

  5. 
  FINANCIAL 
  PROFITS 
  AND 
  LAY. 
  

  

  An 
  average 
  stock 
  for 
  a 
  seine 
  gang 
  for 
  three 
  months 
  in 
  the 
  fall 
  is 
  esti- 
  

   mated 
  at 
  t*x 
  V 
  Some 
  of 
  the 
  crews 
  are 
  hired, 
  receiving 
  $12 
  to 
  $20 
  per 
  

   mouth 
  and 
  ttieir 
  board. 
  Others 
  go 
  on 
  shares 
  ; 
  the 
  proceeds 
  of 
  the 
  sales 
  

   are 
  divided 
  into 
  seven 
  equal 
  parts, 
  of 
  which 
  the 
  boat 
  and 
  seine 
  together 
  

   take 
  one, 
  and 
  each 
  man 
  one. 
  

  

  S. 
  Mis. 
  70 
  20 
  

  

  