MARYLAND: SALT-WATER FISHERIES. 427 



inhabitants, except at small villages situated on the uplands of the river banks, and for this reason 

 the fisheries are less important than would at first be supposed. 



The shad and alewife fisheries are described by Colonel McDonald in another section of this 

 report, while Mr. Edmonds gives below a full account of the oyster industry. We shall, there- 

 fore, speak only of the fishing for such marine species as are most frequently taken in the 

 salter bays along the coast. Many of these, though common in the Lower Chesapeake, do not 

 ascend to the Maryland waters in any considerable numbers, and those occurring there are found 

 chiefly in the southern portion of the State, or in that portion lying between Tangier Island and 

 Annapolis, where the population of the immediate coast line is very small, and where there are few 

 opportunities for shipping. 



THE PRINCIPAL FISHING CENTERS. The principal settlements in this region, and the only 

 ones of note having railroad facilities for shipping, are Crisfield, Cambridge, Eastou, and Annap- 

 olis. The first named is a town of considerable importance, located on a good harbor, near the 

 southern boundary of the State. The ground on which the business portion of the town is situated 

 is composed almost wholly of oyster shells which have been deposited by the large packing-houses 

 of Crisfield that do an extensive business in opening and shipping oysters during the winter 

 months. The people in this vicinity are almost wholly dependent upon the water for a livelihood. 

 Every able-bodied man is interested in the oyster fisheries in the winter, and nearly all engage in 

 the capture of fish, crabs, or clams during the summer season. The other towns are also more or 

 less interested in the oyster fisheries in winter, and are the receiving ports for considerable quan- 

 tities of fish and crabs in summer, the bulk of these, after the local trade is supplied, being 

 forwarded to Baltimore, Washington, Philadelphia, and New York. The fisheries proper of the 

 region are growing in importance, and in most localities they have doubled within the last five 

 years. 



The principal sea fishes taken are tailors (P. saltatrix), bay mackerel (8. maculatus), trout 

 (C. regale), sheepshead*(Z>. probatoccphalus), and eels (A. rostrata). 



SPANISH MACKEREL. In 1877 gill-nets were first extensively used in the capture of Spanish 

 mackerel iu the vicinity of Crisfield, though they had been regularly employed in the shad and 

 alewife fisheries for many years. There are now over a hundred men employed in the gill-net 

 fisheries in this region, exclusive of the large number that belong at Tangier Island who market 

 their catch at Crisfield. The nets used vary from 25 to 30 fathoms in length, and from 9 to 12 

 feet in depth. Each man is provided with four of these nets and is actively engaged in fishing 

 from the 1st of May till the 1st of October. 



TAILORS AND TROUT. The tailors arrive early in May and form the bulk of the catch for 

 about six weeks. They are again abundant from August 15 to October 1, after which they are 

 less frequently taken up to the 1st of November, when they entirely disappear. They average 

 about 1J pounds each in weight, and net the fishermen from 4 to 5 cents apiece. The trout are 

 abundant during the entire summer, but are taken chiefly. for local consumption, few of them 

 being shipped out of the city. 



SHEEPSHEAD. A number of fishermen are employed in the capture cf sheepshead with 

 hook and line, while others are provided with seines for the same work. They usually have small 

 "hurdles," consisting of a dozen to twenty piles driven into the mud, among which the sheeps- 

 head gather iu considerable numbers. The sheepshead taken in this region are very large, 

 averaging fully 7 or 8 pounds each, while some weighing 14 to 15 pounds were seen by ns in the 

 Crisfield market. They find a ready sale at from 7 to 12 cents per pound, the fishermen often 



