484 GEOGRAPHICAL REVIEW OF THE FISHERIES. 



fishery averages about 10 to 15 barrels of salted fish to the man. Early in November nearly all 

 resort to the ocean shore for bluefish, where they are usually engaged till Christmas. 



THE QUAHAUG INTERESTS, INCLUDING THE CANNEKY AT OCEACOKE INLET. In addition to 



the above, there is an extensive fishery for clams or quahaugs to supply the clam cannery of 

 Maltby & Edwards at Oci acoke Inlet. This cannery was located at Elizabeth City in 1876, but on 

 account of the distance to which the clams must be carried it was removed to its present site the 

 following season. It is the most southern of the three American canneries engaged in the packing 

 of quahaugs. A large business has been done yearly since its establishment. During the season 

 of 1879 forty fishermen and laborers were regularly employed in catching and packing the clams, 

 and fifty others fished occasionally for the cannery. In addition to the clam business, a few turtle, 

 crabs, and Spanish mackerel (Scomberomorus maculatus) were put up by way of experiment. 



THE EXTENT OF THE TERRAPIN FISHERY. The trade in terrapin is not very extensive, though 

 a good many are found along the western shore and a few are picked up on "The Banks." The 

 bulk of the catch is taken by farmers and others for their own tables, and comparatively few are 

 shipped. Parties at New Berne, on the Nense River, buy and ship a few, and one or two mer- 

 chants of the smaller settlements do a limited business in the same line. At Sladesville there is a 

 small pound for keeping the terrapin during the summer months, or until the price is sufficiently 

 high to warrant their shipment to the Northern markets. The total catch, including that of 

 Roanoke Island, is 4,000 "heifers", 4,000 counts, and 9,000 "bulls", valued at $3,250. 



THE SHRIMP FISHERY. Shrimp are often quite abundant in some localities, especially in the 

 southern part of the sound and at the mouth of the Neuse River. The seine fishermen have some- 

 times taken 20 to 30 bushels at a haul while fishing for trout or mullet. There is no market for 

 the species in the region, as the dealers have not yet learned how to prepare them for shipment. 

 Very few are eaten by the fishermen or other residents, and no one has yet learned their value. 



174. THE FISHERIES OF NEW BERNE. 



No PROFESSIONAL FISHERMEN AT NEW BERNE PRIOR TO 1840. The city of New Berne, 

 situated on the south bank of the Neuse River, 20 miles above its mouth, is a settlement of 6,000 

 inhabitants. Its location on one of the largest rivers of the State, within a few miles of the salt 

 water, with excellent shipping facilities by rail and boat, gives it an advantage in the fisheries over 

 any other settlement in the region. Prior to 1840 it had no professional fishermen, and the supply 

 of fish, consisting chiefly of perch and "robins," was taken in small gill-nets called "fly-tails." 

 About this time Capt. Isaac Lewis removed to New Berne from Beaufort, to engage in the river 

 fisheries. He introduced the drag-net into the locality, and was the only professional fisherman 

 of the town for several years. 



THE ORIGIN OF THE SHAD FISHERIES. In 1844, according to Captain Lewis, gill-nets were 

 first used for the capture of shad at New Berne, and then for the first time was this species exten- 

 sively taken. In 1846 haul-seines were introduced by Richard Felton, a fisherman from Albemarle 

 Sound. The first vessel was used in 1858. At present, there are two small vessels acting simply 

 as "tenders" for the seine fishermen at the mouth of the river. 



At the present time New Berne has one of the most important shad fisheries in the State, and 

 most of her fishermen engage regularly in the work during the fishing season. At other times 

 many are employed in taking herring (Glupea vernalis and C. cestivalis), gizzard shad (Dorosoma 

 oepedianum), rock, red-fins (Perca americana), robins (Centrarchus sp.), welchmen (Micropterws 

 pallidm), catfish (Amiurus sp.), and gars (Lepidosteus osseus), all along the river bank. 



