SOUTH CAROLINA AND GEORGIA: GENERAL REVIEW OF FISHERIES. 503 



South Carolina. The fish are sent either to Savannah or Charleston, where they are dressed and 

 packed for shipment to New York and Philadelphia. In some localities the roe is saved and pre- 

 pared for market under the name of caviare. 



Four Savannah firms were interested in the sturgeon fisheries of Georgia in 1880, and 109 men 

 with 48 nets were engaged in the capture of the species. The catch amounted to 4,800 sturgeon 

 in number, or 312,000 pounds of dressed fish, having a local value of $21,840; 42,000 pounds of 

 roe, worth $2,940, were also saved. In South Carolina there were 44 men, with 21 nets, engaged 

 in this fishery; these marketed 3,825 sturgeon in number, equal to 229,500 pounds of dressed fish, 

 and 38,250 pounds of caviare, valued at $13,770. 



The shad fisheries of this district are quite extensive. A detailed account of them will be 

 found under the shad fisheries. The catch is marketed wholly in Charleston and Savannah. 



THE TERRAPIN FISHERIES. Just when and where the terrapin fisheries of this district were 

 inaugurated we have been unable to learn, but prior to the rebellion a large number of men 

 engaged regularly in the fishery, and several thousand dozen were shipped annually to the Northern 

 markets, the fishermen receiving an average of $6 per dozen for their catch. It is said that the 

 fishery was at its height, both as to number of men employed and capital- invested, in 1860. At 

 that time a few Northern fishermen visited the region in small sloops, and parties from Charleston 

 and Savannah had vessels and boats for the same purpose. During the war the fishery was wholly 

 discontinued, but in 1866 it was again pushed with a good deal of vigor, and from 5,000 to 6,000 

 dozen terrapin were caught between April and November. One vessel with six men landed 870 

 dozen. 



Terrapin have been and are still quite abundant in most of the sounds and tide-creeks of the 

 district, but are said to be most numerous in Bull's Bay, and in Saint Helena and Saint Andrew's 

 Sounds. They are usually caught in haul-seines 60 to 90 fathoms long, and 18 to 20 feet deep. 

 The vessel, with a crew of three to six men and one or two boats and seines, enters the larger 

 sounds, and the fishermen visit the little creeks in their bateaux in search of the terrapin. On 

 entering a stream they often pound on the gunwale of the boat, and if terrapin are present they are 

 said to rise to the surface to learn the occasion of the noise. If none are seen the net is seldom 

 set; but if plenty, one staff of the seine is stuck in the mud of the bottom and the net is thrown 

 out in the form of a circle, after which it is rapidly hauled into the boat. This method is locally 

 known as "bucking." When the surroundings are suitable the net is often hauled upon the shore. 

 The fishing season usually lasts from the time the terrapin make their appearance in April till the 

 middle of October, when they bed in the mud for the winter. Occasionally these winter beds are 

 discovered and whole colonies are captured. Bucking was formerly the principal method employed 

 in the capture of the species, but as the fisheries have declined a method known as "torching" has 

 been extensively adopted by the negroes of the locality, who visit the sandy beaches at night with 

 large fire-brands, and catch the terrapin as they crawl out on the sand to deposit their eggs. 



For the past ten years this fishery has been on the decline, owing largely to the lack of a suit- 

 able market and to a growing scarcity of terrapin. At present no one follows this fishery during 

 the entire year, but a number engage in it for a few weeks when the terrapin can be most easily 

 secured, after which they seek other employment. 



The price now paid by the terrapin dealers varies from 10 to 35 cents each for " counts," with 

 a proportionate reduction for smaller sizes down to 5 inches. " Bulls" measuring less than 5 inches 

 have little value, and are usually not considered marketable. 



In 1879 there were thirty-seven men, with sixteen nets, engaged in this fishery, in addition to 

 the " torchers ; " and the total catch was about 1 ,200 dozen, having a local value of $3,600. 



