GULF OF MEXICO: TEXAS. 583 



212. GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE FISHERIES. 



FISHERMEN. On the coast of Texas there are 290 professional fishermen. Of this number 

 126 are seine fishermen and 1C5 oystermen. 



APPARATUS. The boats used on this coast, both for fishing and oystering, are very roughly 

 and simply built. Those used for carrying fish and oysters to market are sloop-rigged, flat bot- 

 tomed boats, decked over forward and aft, but open in the center where the cargo is stored. They 

 are built as flat and beamy as possible in order that they may float in the very shoal water so 

 common in all the bays on the coast of Texas. They average 24 feet in length and 8 in width, 

 and draw but a few inches of water. It is to the decided interest of the fishermen not to allow 

 their boats to register 5 tons, for, by so doing, they escape the duty which otherwise would be 

 imposed by the custom-house officers. Besides these boats, the seine-fishermen have smaller boats 

 with which they lay out their seines. They are built on the same model as the sloops and are 

 similar to those in use on the Florida coast. These latter boats are so roughly made that they 

 are not deemed worthy of receiving a coat of paint, and, as a substitute, a covering of coal tar is 

 smeared over them. 



There are 42 seines in use. Their average length is 100 fathoms, and their depth 5 feet, with 

 an average mesh of 1 inch. Each seine is handled by three or four men. The nets are in use for 

 about nine mouths of the year, from September to May. lledfish, sheepshcad, and sea trout are 

 chiefly caught. The annual catch of each seine is 20,000 pounds. 



OYSTERMEN. There are some oyster beds on the coast, employing, as before stated, one hun- 

 dred and sixty-five men, who own fifty-five boats and sell their oysters principally at Galveston. 



RELATIVE IMPORTANCE OF THE FISHERIES. There is comparatively very little done in the 

 fishing business on the Texan coast, and very little variety in the modes of fishing or in the variety 

 of the fish caught. Fishing at sea with hook and line for the deep-water fishes, such as red snap- 

 pers, groupers, &c., has never been attempted by Texan fishermen, although there is every reason 

 for supposing that such an experiment would be successful, as the above named species are known 

 to occur off the coast. Nor have the attempts at sea-beach seining been very great, partly because 

 the same kinds of fish which can be caught there are found in greater abundance in the bay 

 waters, and partly because the seines used in inside waters are not suitable for fishing in the surf 

 outside. Consequently there are but few of the deep sea fish and of the migratory coast species to 

 be found in the Texan markets. Among the common Gulf fishes wanting, the following are the 

 most conspicuous: Pompano, which are but very rarely taken; bluefish, these are extremely rare; 

 Spanish mackerel, taken occasionally with hook and line; red snappers, these are never brought 

 to the markets; groupers, all kinds of this fish are unknown to the majority of the fishermen; 

 and bouito, which are almost unknown. 



APPARATUS AND METHODS. In the vicinity of Galvestou the seine-fishermen work steadily 

 from September until May for fish, devoting the summer mouths to the capture of shrimp. At 

 other points on the coast the seiners are not professional fisljermen, but are farmers and men who 

 fish for their own provision when other work is not pressing. The seines are of peculiar shape, as 

 the water is very shoal and the bottom muddy. There are no leads or weights attached to tlio 

 bottom lines of the net, as before noticed ; they are set from small boats, and these act as tenders 

 to the sloops which carry the fish to market. 



A gang is absent about a week on a trip; its success is varied; sometimes 20 barrels are 

 brought home and again only 1 or 2. Those fishing for the Houston market make daily trips. 



