516 GEOGRAPHICAL REVIEW OF THE FISHERIES. 



185. SAVANNAH AND ITS FISHERY INTERESTS. 



SAVANNAH AS A COMMERCIAL CENTER. Savannah, the metropolis and only important com- 

 mercial city on the Georgia coast, is located on the south bank of the Savannah River, about LO 

 miles from the sea. It was settled by General Oglethorpe in 1733 and incorporated as a city in 

 1789. In 1850 it had a population of 15,300, and in 1870 of 28,200. Since that time it has grown 

 very rapidly, and has now come to be one of the principal seaports of the South, ranking third in 

 the United States in the exportation of cotton, and doing considerable business in the shipment of 

 lumber and naval- stores. 



SAVANNAH AS A FISHING TOWN. The city has a peculiar relation to the iisheries, for its large 

 trade with the interior, together with its excellent shipping facilities by either land or water, make 

 it an important point for the fresh-fish trade, while its distance from the sea renders the capture 

 of ocean species a laborious, though we may safely say, not an unprofitable employment. 



THE VESSEL, FISHERIES OF SAVANNAH. One or more smacks have been employed in fishing 

 for the Savannah market from time to time, but as the water in the vicinity of the city is fresh it 

 is found impossible to keep the fish in cars. The nearest salt water is five miles from the city by 

 land and considerably farther by water, and the inconvenience and expense of keeping the fish at 

 so great a distance render the smack-fisheries unprofitable. Occasionally smacks have fished on 

 the various banks between Charleston and Fernandina, running their fish direct to the city and 

 transferring them at once from the vessel's well to the ice-boxes of the dealers. In 1879 there was 

 one vessel, the Lillian, of Noank, Conn., fishing for the Savannah market. She caught her fish at 

 Indian River Inlet, Florida, with a haul-seine, and carried them to market in ice. 



THE EXTENT OF THE COAST FISHERIES. The boat fisheries of Savannah are very limited. 

 They are confined largely to the fresh-water and anadromous species, though the sounds along 

 the shore are well filled with excellent food-fishes. Formerly several crews from Charleston came 

 regularly to the region with seines and gill-nets, and fished for the Savannah market, meeting 

 with excellent success; but nothing has been done in this line for several years. 



The only coast fishing at the present time is by parties living on some of the shore islands, 

 and by fishermen from the city, who visit the sounds occasionally for the purpose of fishing. The 

 business is, however, of little importance. 



THE SHRIMP FISHERIES. Shrimp are abundant in the waters along the shore, and, during 

 the height of the season, twenty to twenty-five men go to Saint Catherine and Osabaw Sounds, 

 where they camp for several weeks for the purpose of engaging in the fishery. They carry a com- 

 plete outfit, including seines, cast-nets, boats, and kettles for cooking the shrimp. After cooking 

 and drying the catch of the day, one boat is detailed to carry it to market. The price paid by the 

 Savannah dealers varies from $5 to $1.50 per bushel according to circumstances, $2.50 being a 

 fair average. During the summer of 1879 about 1,400 bushels, valued at $2,500, were landed; but 

 the catch could easily have been increased to many times that quantity had there been a market 

 for them. Of those taken part are sold locally, others go to the interior cities, and the remainder 

 are packed in crates and sent to the Northern markets. 



THE LOCAL FRESH-WATER FISHERIES. The fresh-water fishing is with hook-ami line and 

 trawl in the Savannah River, for 10 miles on either side of the city, and in the Ogeechee River. 

 The bulk of the catch is catfish and rock, though a few fresh-water trout (Micropterus pallidus), 

 sun trout (Ghccnobryttus gulosus), spotted trout (Pomoxys nigromaculatus). jacks (Esox americanus), 

 and several species of bream are taken. 



THE SHAD FISHERIES OF GEORGIA. Savannah has long been an important center for the 



