EASTERN FLORIDA: PRINCIPAL FISHERY DISTRICTS. 525 



red-snappers, but, aside from the fishing by Northern smacks already mentioned, there is no 

 "outside fishing" for profit. 



QUANTITIES OF FISH AND OTHER SEA-PRODUCTS TAKEN BY THE FERNANDINA FISHERMEN. 

 Not over 25 green turtle are caught in a season. These are taken with cast-nets in the river, their 

 average weight being about 10 pounds. Loggerheads and hawkbills are very abundant, but no 

 use is made of them. According to Capt. T. E. Fisher, shrimp and prawn are abundant in the 

 harbor directly opposite the city during the entire year, and a man can readily secure 3 or 4 bushels 

 with a small cast-net on any pleasant night. The catch, which is not less than 450 bushels, is 

 boiled and dried for shipment to New York, Philadelphia, and Savannah. 



In the winter of 1879-'80 the fishermen for the first time became interested in the sturgeon 

 fisheries. They have just established a camp on the Saint Mary's River, at Tampa Bluffs, where 

 two nets are fished regularly. The catch is brought to the village, where the fish are iced for 

 shipment to New York. 



During the winter of 1879-'80, according to Captain Fisher, 3,000 strings of fish were shipped 

 to Atlanta and Macou, in Georgia, and about 1,000 red-snappers, 40 groupers, and 3,000 bass were 

 sent to other markets along the coast. 



THE PRINCIPAL, FOOD-FISH AT FERNANDINA. The principal species taken in the river are 

 mullet (Mugil albula and M. braziliensis), trout (Cynosclon maculatum), blackfish (Serranus atrarius), 

 drum (Pogonias cJtromis), bass (Scicena ocellata), sheepshead (Diplodus probatocephalus), croakers 

 (Micropogon unditlatus), flounders (Pseudorhombtis dentatus), yellow-tails (Bairdiella chrysura), sailor's 

 choice (Layodon?), and eels (Anguilla vulgaris). On the outer banks all of the species common to 

 the region are abundant. 



190. SAINT AUGUSTINE AND ITS FISHERIES. 



EARLY SETTLEMENT OF SAINT AUGUSTINE. Saint Augustine, a city of 2,600 inhabitants, 

 was founded by the Spaniards in 1565. It occupies a portion of a peninsula, formed by the Saint 

 Sebastian and Matauzas Rivers, lying nearly opposite Saint Augustine Inlet. Its harbor is simply 

 a portion of the Matanzas River separated from the sea by a long and narrow strip of laud known 

 as Anastasia Island. Though the inlet has 10 to 13 feet of water, no steamers run regularly to the 

 city, and the vessel fleet of the place consists simply of a few pleasure yachts owned by Northern 

 gentlemen, who spend their winters in the South. Thousands of people visit Saint Augustine each 

 winter, both on account of its historic interest and its delightful climate, and it is fast coming to 

 be the Saratoga of the South. 



THE PRIMITIVE CONDITION OF THE FISHERIES. Saint Augustine boasts the oldest fisheries 

 in the United States, if not on the Western Continent, for the colonists who came over in 1565 must 

 have drawn largely on the water for their food, and it is not improbable that the introduction of 

 the Spanish cast-net, which is still in use in the locality, could be traced to this colony. The fish- 

 eries, like the town, have remained stationary for many years, and we still find them under the 

 control of the Spaniards, who paddle about in their log canoes or dug-outs, throwing their primitive 

 cast-nets over the heads of the fish. The men have become very expert in the use of these nets, 

 and readily secure more fish than can be sold fresh. They seem satisfied to fish only for the home 

 market, and it never occurs to them to catch an additional quantity for salting or shipping. The 

 favorite fishing grounds are about Matanzas Inlet, 17 miles distant, and in winter the bulk of the 

 fish are taken in that locality; but in summer, and to a certain extent at other seasons, many are 

 taken at various points along the river bank. There is no fishing for profit along the outer shore, 



