482 GEOGEAPHICAL EEV1BW OF THE FISHERIES. 



The shad arrive about the middle of February, when fully one hundred men begin fishing with 

 stake-nets; a little later the others seek employment at the various seining beaches of the region. 

 One seine is owned on the island, and three others are fished on the opposite side of the channel. 

 After the shad season is over, many of the islanders fish for other species, exchanging their catch 

 for corn with the people of the mainland. Early in September quite a number go to Oregon Inlet 

 to fish for mullet ; and a little later they turn their attention to the capture of bluefish. 



THE PURSE SEINE USED IN THE CAPTURE OF ROCK. So far as we can learn, Eoanoke Island 

 is the only place on the entire coast where the purse-seine has been used for catching rock. This 

 method was first employed by Mr. Samuel Terry, of Rhode Island, in 1873. He came regularly to 

 the region each fall for three or four years with a purse-seine, and succeeded in taking large num- 

 bers of rock, which he sent to the Northern markets. It is reported that during the first season 

 the catch was so large that only the largest fish were marketed, the others being used as a dressing 

 for the land. Though remarkably abundant for a time, the fish were soon caught up, and the 

 business was abandoned. 



HISTORY OF THE ROANOKE ISLAND TERRAPIN FISHERY AND A DESCRIPTION OF THE 

 METHODS OF CAPTURE. Eoanoke Island has an important terrapin fishery, and, with the exception 

 of Beaufort, it is the only place in the United States where dredges and traps are extensively used 

 in the capture of the species. Until 1849 the fishing was wholly for local supply, as the fishermen 

 were not aware of the market value of the terrapin. About that time Capt. J. B. Etheridge caught 

 4,150 during the months of February and March. These he sold in Norfolk and Baltimore for 

 $750. The news spread rapidly, and many at once engaged in the fishery, prosecuting the business 

 to such an extent as to nearly exterminate the species. 



The terrapin-dredge was invented about 1845, by Mr. William Midgett, of Roanoke Island. 

 It is arranged on the plan of an oyster-dredge, being simply an iron bar 36 to 40 inches long pro- 

 vided with stout iron teeth. Either end of the bar is fastened to the base of an iron ring. The 

 rings are connected at the top by a thick bar of wood. To this frame a large-mesh net, or bag, of 

 netting 3 or 4 feet in length is attached. The dredges are used chiefly in the fall and winter, when 

 the terrapin are "bedded" in the mud. A vessel or boat takes from one to three of these in tow, 

 and drags them back and forth along the bottom where the terrapin are thought to be abundant. 



The trap is a cylinder of netting somewhat resembling a New Jersey lobster pot, having a 

 funnel-shaped opening at either end. After being baited with fish, it is fastened to a stake at the 

 surface of the water, or placed on the flats where a portion of the upper part is exposed. It is used 

 only in summer when the fish are moving about in search of food . 



The method of hunting terrapin with dogs is also peculiar to this region. The dogs are 

 trained to track them from the water-line to the place where their eggs are deposited during the 

 breeding season, or to follow their trail through the marshes in summer. 



There is also a large terrapin pound on the island, in which the experiment of raising terrapin 

 from the egg to a marketable size is being tried. This pound is an inclosure of several acres, 

 through which a tide-stream passes. It also includes a salt marsh where the terrapin may "bed" 

 in winter, and a bank of sand in which their eggs may be deposited. At present the experiment 

 has not progressed far onough to warrant an opinion as to its practical value. 



173. THE FISHERIES OF PAMLICO SOUND. 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF THE REGION. Pamlico Sound is an irregular sheet of water, CO miles 

 long by 15 to 25 miles broad. Barring Long Island Sound, it is the largest salt-water sound 

 between Maine and Florida. It is nearly surrounded by laud, being separated from the ocean by 



