026 HISTORY AND METHODS OF THE FISHERIES. 



Skim-nets for the supply of fish for local requirements are fished all along the river from 

 Wilmington to Fayetteville. Drift-net fisliing is confined to a stretch of about 40 miles of river 

 extending above and below Wilmington. 



The season for shad fishing extends from January 20 to May 1. Eipe fish are found in the 

 river about March 1. 



Herrings (Clupea) are taken in limited numbers in the vicinity of Wilmington in drift-nets. 

 The run of this fish into the Cape Fear River and all rivers south of it is very insignificant com- 

 pared with the vast schools which annually pass into the Albemarle and its tributaries. The 

 most important fisheries of the Cape Fear are those for the capture of sturgeon. The methods 

 and apparatus used do not differ from those which have been already described as in use on the 

 more southern rivers of the Atlantic coast. The nets and boats are furnished by dealers at 

 Wilmington, who in some cases receive a stated portion of the catch, and in others a rental for 

 the use of the nets, &c., the dealers buying and receiving all the sturgeon at prices mutually 

 agreed upon. If a dealer owns the boats and nets, the catch is divided equally between himself 

 and each of the two men. 



This fishery gives employment to 20 nets and boats, which are usually skiffs, and 40 men. 



The value of a fishing outfit, including net and boat, averages about $40. 



The sturgeon fishing season for the New York market lasts from March 10 to the end of 

 April and from September 10 to November 1. To some extent, however, this fishery is prose- 

 cuted all the summer in order to meet local demands and supply the interior towns of the State. 

 The average catch of a net for the fall fishing is about 200 fish and for the summer fishery 

 about 50, making a total average of 250 per boat for the entire season. 



The fish intended for shipment to New York are dressed and packed in ice. Those for State 

 consumption are shipped whole. No use is made of the roe. 



The product of these sturgeon fisheries is concentrated chiefly in the hands of two dealers, 

 Messrs. John Carroll and William Davis. The average weight of a dressed sturgeon, according to 

 Mr. Carroll, is 60 pounds. Ripe and spent sturgeon are take n both in the spring and fall fish- 

 eries. 



The following are the statistics of the Cape Fear River for the season of 1880: 



Number of men employed 270 



Amount of capital employed $6,238 



Product : 



Shad pounds.. 182,000 



Sturgeon do 262,000 



Mixed fish do.... 537,000 



Value of product $40,210 



In addition to the above-named species, about 1,200 pounds of rock and 25,000 pounds of 

 red-horse and other varieties are annually taken as an incidental product of the shad fisheries. 

 Catfish are found in large numbers in the river, and at one time, as an experiment, a number 

 were shipped to market, but objection was made to the color of the meat, and the enterprise 

 therefore proved to be unprofitable and was abandoned. 



2. FISHERIES OF THE NEUSE RIVER. 



DESCEIPTON OP THE EIVEE IMPOETANCE OF THE FISHEEIES. 



While the headwaters of this river are in a clay section of the State, viz, Orange, Granville, 

 and Pearson Counties, the principal area of its basin lies in the Sandy and Poquosin belts, and con- 

 sequently the water at ordinary stages is clear and dark colored. Continued rains about the sources 



