620 GEOGRAPHICAL REVIEW OF THE FISHERIES. 



town being placed at the head of a very shallow, muddy bay, most of which is bare at low tide. 

 The market of this place is supplied almost entirely by San Francisco. 



At the town of San Quentin there are no fisheries, the market of that place, as also in part 

 that of San Rafael, being supplied by three Italians, who fish on the Estrero, a mile or two south- 

 west of San Queutin, with gill-nets and seines. 



Along the coast, near Point San Pedro, are two colonies of fishermen, numbering in all about 

 one hundred, who fish chiefly for shrimp. These shrimp are sent to San Francisco. A colony 

 formerly located north of San Quentin, toward San Rafael, is now abandoned. 



The following paragraph is taken from the San Francisco "Weekly Bulletin, November 7, 1873: 



"The business of fishing at Point San Pedro,-Mariu County, is entirely in the hands of China- 

 men. About two hundred and twenty-five men are employed. The Mariu Journal gives informa- 

 tion, from which the following is taken: 'The land occupied by the fishermen is owned by McNear 

 & Brother, and leased to Richard Bullis for $1,000 a year, and by him leased to the Chinamen 

 for $3,000. From 10 to 15 acres are occupied, the shore line serving for houses, boat-building, 

 shipping, &c., and the side hill for drying the fish and preparing them for market. Shrimps con- 

 stitute the principal catch, and of these from 20 to 30 tons per week are taken. The shrimps are 

 dried on the hillsides, threshed a la Chinois, to get off the hull, winnowed through a hand-mill, an J 

 sent to market. The fish sell for 8 to 14 cents per pound in the San Francisco market at wholes lie, 

 and the hulls are shipped to China and sold for manure, where they bring $20 per ton, affording a 

 profit over all expenses of $5. It is said to be an excellent fertilizer. Other kinds of fish are taken 

 in great quantities, as flounders, perch, &c., and some of which are used only for dressing soil. 

 The stakes to which the fishers attach their nets extend out into the bay a mile or more. There 

 are thirty-two houses on the beach, and more all the time building. Two boats are now on the 

 ways, one 40 feet long and the other 30. Nine hundred cords of wood have been used this season, 

 which they buy in Redwood City and ship themselves to their fishing grounds. Captain Bullis 

 makes a weekly trip to San Francisco with a cargo, the law requiring a white captain on a 40-foot 

 craft. Point San Pedro is reached from San Rafael by a hard, smooth road, which affords an 

 exceedingly agreeable drive of a half hour's duration, presenting several charming views of the 

 bay and many interesting landscapes. The road skirts along San Francisco Bay for some distance, 

 then, turning northward, leads to the shore of San Pablo Bay.'" 



If the writer was anywhere near the truth in his estimate of the number of Chinese fishermen 

 engaged at Point San Pedro, which may fairly be doubted, the extent of this fishery has undeniably 

 decreased during the past seven years. 



At Angel Island is a colony of about a dozen fishermen, who are engaged in shrimp-fishing. 

 About Angel Island, Richardson's Island, and Saucelito the Italian fishermen from San Francisco 

 haul their nets, but none of them, it is believed, make their home on the north shore of the bay. 



The fisheries spoken of as being prosecuted at Point Reyes are, more strictly speaking, carried 

 on all the way from Point Reyes to the Golden Gate and the Farralones, the fishermen rarely 

 going ashore at Point Reyes. Between these points fishermen from San Francisco fish with 

 sweep-nets and set-lines. Near the head of Drake's Bay also fishing is carried on by four men 

 with seines and gill-nets. These catch about 50,000 pounds a year. Their catch is chiefly smelt. 



At Marshall's are ten fishermen, and a mile farther south are ten more. These men, fishing 

 principally at night, send their fish to the city on the morning train. The water here is very clear. 

 They own altogether twelve boats, lateen-rigged, and averaging three-fourths of a ton register. 

 The fisheries have been extensive on this (Tomales) bay since 1874. For six years previous to that 

 date the fish were sent from Tomales Bay to San Francisco by way of Petaluma. Overfishiug has 



