NATIONAL FISHERY CONGRESS. 207 



THE GAME-FISHES OF FLORIDA. 



The fame of the game-fishes of the State of Florida extends throughout America, 

 and beyond. Wherever there are anglers and rod and gun clubs, the prowess of 

 the " silver king" is known and talked about. The one great hope of every angler 

 is that he may go to Florida and kill a tarpon before his fishing days are over. But 

 while the tarpon or silver king is the king of the game-fishes of this State, it is by 

 no means the only game-fish. Some of the largest black bass known have been 

 caught in Florida waters. The sunfishes are the largest of their kind. The lady fish 

 and the bonefish are thought by many to equal their relative, the tarpon, in real game 

 qualities. Trolling for kingfish, jack, crevalle, bluefish, Spanish mackerel, and spotted 

 sea trout, at Indian lliver, Lake Worth, Key West, or Biscayne Bay, furnishes sport 

 of the most exciting kind; while still fishing for sheepshead and mangrove snappers 

 at Indian Eiver Inlet; for chubs, porgies, porkfish, yellow- tails, snappers, and grunts 

 at Key West; or for red snappers, red groupers, and others of their kin on the 

 Snapper Banks, furnishes sufficient variety to please any angler, in whatever mood he 

 may chance to be. I have fished in every State and Territory in the Union but three, 

 and from Siberia and Bering Sea to the gulfs of California and Mexico, and, all things 

 considered, regard Florida as unequaled in the richness and variety of its attractions 

 for all sorts of sport with rod and reel. 



THE NECESSITY OF A BIOLOGICAL STATION IN FLORIDA. 



The only station for biological research on the coast of the United States which 

 receives Government support is that at Woods Hole, Massachusetts. While it has 

 never received the support which it should, and has never been fully equipped, it 

 has nevertheless been one of the most important centers for biological study in this 

 country. The location is in many regards admirable. In addition to a rich local 

 fauna and flora, many forms of marine animal and plant life are brought there by the 

 Gulf Stream, thereby greatly increasing the variety of life in that vicinity. But 

 the station is kept open only for a few months during the summer, the winters being 

 too severe for satisfactory work. 



The ideal marine biological station must be located at some point not only 

 where the local fauna and flora are rich both in species and individuals, but where 

 the climatic conditions will permit investigations and observations to be carried on 

 throughout the year. The region should also be one in which are found in abundance 

 many of the species of animals and plants which are of special interest to biologists, 

 those the study of whose development and life- history will add greatly to our knowledge 

 of the relationships of the larger groups. 



There is no other place on our coast where these conditions are so fully met as on 

 the southern coast of Florida. The climatic conditions are all that could be desired. 

 Investigations could be carried on throughout the year. The waters fairly teem with 

 hundreds of species of fishes, mollusks, crustaceans, echinoderms, corals, sponges, 

 marine algae, and many other groups, while the abundance of individuals of many of 

 the species is marvelous; and, what is of prime importance, many of the species are 

 permanently resident and can be observed and collected at any time throughout the 

 year, thus enabling the investigator to make a study of the complete life-history of 

 the species. 



