596 GEOGRAPHICAL REVIEW OP THE FISHERIES. 



Smelt, mullet, herring, roncadores, and flounders are taken by means of seines, and in all parts 

 of the bay throughout the year. These fisheries are prosecuted chiefly by the Chinese. Redfish 

 are caught with hook and line at a distance of one-half to 3 miles from the shore. Jig-fishing for 

 bonito and barracuda, practiced by Americans only, is carried on during the summer and fall at 

 one-half mile to 10 miles from shore. 



All the fish, excepting smelt, mullet, and roucadores (which are sold fresh for home consump- 

 tion), are salted and exported. The boats used were built in San Francisco, excepting some of the 

 Chinese junks. 



The whale fishery, once of importance, is now abandoned, Ballast Point having been taken 

 possession of by the Government for the storehouses in connection with the fortification of Point 

 Loma. 



Oysters and clams occur, the former in small quantities, the latter, especially the "Razor 

 Clam," in great abundance; and quantities of crawfish are taken by the Chinese fishermen. 



The chase of the fur seal is more extensive at San Diego than the fisheries proper. The 

 result for 1879 was 2,000 skins, worth $10,000. 



Great interest is taken by the Chinese in abalone fishing. The shells of the young of the 

 species Haliotis splendens are treated with a solution of hydrochloric acid. The shells of the adult 

 individuals of the same species and those of another species are ground down on stones by hand. 

 Steam grinding, from the rapidity of motion, wears holes through the shells, unless the operator is 

 extremely careful. The shells, when ground down, are varnished. During the first week of Jan- 

 uary, 1880, 10 tons of abalone shells were sold in San Francisco at $45 a ton. Their value is at 

 times $75 a ton. From San Francisco they are shipped eastward for mantel ornaments. The meat 

 of the abalone is salted and dried, and sold at 5 cents a pound in San Francisco. Thence much of 

 it is shipped to China. The dried abaloue is nearly half as heavy as the shell. The abalones 

 taken in this and other southern counties of California are less eaten by worms than those taken 

 farther north, therefore more valuable. The Americans do not eat the meat of abalones, but 

 certain Indian tribes at some of their secular feasts consume large quantities of it. The abalone 

 industry is combined with the redfish fishery by the Chinese. 



Sea turtles are occasionally taken along the coast. Their capture is not sufficiently frequent 

 to have established a market. 



Los ANGELES COUNTY. Los Angeles County lies directly to the north of San Diego County. 

 Its coast is similar, except that headlands and bays are less numerous, and there is an increase in 

 number of level sandy stretches with small lagoons. There is no harbor of any importance on the 

 whole coast, the only one being at Wilmington, and little better than a narrow, muddy inlet. 

 Most of the fishing is done at a great distance from shore, the most favorite ground being in the 

 neighborhood of Santa Catalina, a mountainous island about 20 miles from the coast. This island 

 is 22 miles long, and from a half mile to miles wide, its length being parallel with the coast line. 

 The water about Santa Catalina is very clear, and where the most fishing is done the water is from 

 10 to 20 feet deep. The bottom is rocky and in places covered with kelp. On these grounds gill- 

 nets are the commonest means of capture. In the summer trolling for bonito, albicore, barracudn, 

 yellow-tail, &c., is followed largely. In the winter the following species are taken : Media-luna, 

 Oirella nigricans, Scorpccna guttata, rockfish, and Hypsypops rubicundus. At this island are some 

 resident fishermen who salt and dry their fish and ship them to San Francisco. One of these, 

 with his associates, fishes with seines, the others with hook and line. There are perhaps ten 

 fishermen, altogether, on the island. More men fish in summer than in winter. 



