66 THE FISHERIES OF THE ADRIATIC, 



fish varies from 3 to 300 kilos a head, and the average may be 6 to 8 kilos : 

 fishes of 1 50 to 200 kilos are not uncommon, beyond 200 kilos they are rare. 



The fish is sent on at once to Fiume, and what is in excess of the demand 

 goes by rail to Trieste, and by water to Venice, in which traffic five 

 Italian boats are constantly employed. Fresh tunny-fish is not consumed 

 inland, but it is preserved in oil for the inland markets, and also for export. 

 The tunny fisheries would be much more productive if salt were used for 

 preserving the catch. The fish which is sent to Trieste and Venice, when 

 there is an excess, generally arrives in a state unfit for food, and has to be 

 destroyed ; thus, the excess beyond the local demand cannot be reckoned 

 upon with any certainty as a profit to the farmers. The annual catch averages 

 125 tons, of which 40 tons are exported. The Italian fishermen have no 

 share in the tunny fisheries, but the deep-sea fisheries are, so to say, a 

 monopoly of theirs. They supply one-third of the local demand. 



Coast and Islands near Zara. — These waters abound in pilchard, 

 mackerel, and grey mullet ; the Chioggiotti contribute a quarter of the 

 market supply. About a quarter of the catch is exported, chiefly tunny, 

 pelamid, pilchard, and crustaceans. Oysters are caught along the coast of 

 San Cassano and on the Scogli Ostia and Galisniac. The average annual 

 yield is : Tunny 140 tons, pelamid 45 tons, mackerel and Spanish mackerel 

 75 tons, dentex 44 tons, Mendole 200 tons, and oysters 30 mille. 



Sebenico. — The best fishing grounds are the channel and harbour, which 

 team with tunny, pelamid, the famous dentex (known here by the name of 

 Dentate delta corona), and pilchard off the island of Zuri. The annual average 

 yield of the tunny fisheries is 43 tons. 



Fresh tunny and salted pilchard are exported hence to Trieste, Venice, 

 Chioggia, Ancona, &c. The Italian fishermen are not met with here, not 

 being allowed to trawl. The Teredo navalis is the curse of these waters. 



Spalato. — This district is the most favourable of all on this coast, 

 owing to its special configuration being rocky, and cut up by innumerable 

 channels and bays. Unfortunately, the fisheries suffer from the want of 

 proper organisation and supervision, and an utter want of economy tends 

 to diminish the large profits which otherwise could not fail to accrue. The 



