74 American Fisheries Society 



are packed into cans with a capacity of 50 to 75 pounds 

 and shipped to the markets of the north, principally to 

 New York. 



Fishing for this species is carried on in widely different 

 sections of Louisiana, but our principal investigations 

 have been made in White Lake, a body of water 22 miles 

 long and 18 miles across, situated in the southwestern 

 part of the State. The spoonbill cat fisheries of White 

 Lake are probably at present the most important in the 

 State, if not in the south. At one time during December 

 and January, 1913-14, there were ten large outfits oper- 

 ating in this body of water for taking this species exclu- 

 sively. I am told that four of these outfits netted their 

 owner each over $4000 during the season of three to four 

 months. Practically all of this money was paid them for 

 eggs from which to make caviar. It is said that all but 

 three of the ten companies operating in White Lake aver- 

 aged a net income of from $2000 to $4000 each ; also that 

 the other three made a comfortable living for their owner. 



Each outfit consists of two good gasoline boats of not 

 less than fifteen to twenty horse power each, and one 

 good, well-equipped seine of 600 feet in length. The 

 crew of each outfit generally consists of from four to 

 six men. 



The method of operating seines in those waters has 

 only been in vogue about a year and is very unique. Its 

 efficiency was discovered quite by accident by some fisher- 

 men who were towing a seine across a small lake con- 

 nected with White Lake and, upon drawing it up, found 

 that a number of the spoonbill had become entangled in 

 its meshes. 



Once on the fishing grounds each end of the seine is 

 fastened to a gasoline boat and is then dragged up and 

 down the lake by them all day without being hauled out. 

 About every half hour a fisherman in a row boat starts at 

 one end of the seine and pulls his boat along by the twine 

 which he raises sufficiently to remove each fish as he 

 comes to it, being able to detect the fish by its mild 

 struggles to release itself. As a fish feels the touch of 



