802 HIST DRY AND METHODS OF THE FISHERIES. 



Pamlico Sound, some distance north of Wilmington, abounds in shrimp and prawns, which 

 are taken in immense quantities in ordinary fish-seines, but they find no market at home, and 

 no one in the region has yet been successful in shipping them away to where they might be better 

 appreciated. Here, therefore, in a central location, is an undeveloped industry, awaiting the 

 investment of a small amount of capital, backed by a spirit of enterprise. Concerning this and 

 neighboring regions, Mr. R. E. Earll reports as follows : 



" There is no shrimp trade anywhere within the district comprising Pamlico, Albemarle, 

 Roanoke, and Croatan Sounds, although shrimp are very abundant in many localities, and enter- 

 prise alone is required to develop an important industry. The fishermen often catch the shrimp 

 in their ordinary nets, along with fish, but find no sale for them at home, and their means of ship- 

 ping them fresh to outside markets are imperfect. The fishermen of New Berne catch them in 

 considerable numbers in their fish nets along the banks of the Neuse River, and they are also 

 abundant at Stumpy Point, and probably not uncommon in other parts of Pamlico Sound. They are 

 taken only occasionally and in small quantities in Croatan and Roanoke Sounds, and do not occur 

 in Albemarle Sound except in season of unusual drought. The New Berne fishermen often secure 

 from 30 to 40 bushels at a haul of their fish-nets, 'and have frequently offered them for sale to the 

 market dealers at the low price of 50 cents per bushel, which has almost always been refused. The 

 fishermen eat very few themselves and throw the bulk of their catch away. No shrimp are boiled 

 and dried at this locality, as the inhabitants are entirely ignorant of the methods of preparing 

 them as practiced elsewhere. There is no apparent reason, however, why an important shrimp 

 industry might not be inaugurated at or in the vicinity of New Berne, by the starting of an estab- 

 lishment where this crustacean could be boiled and dried for market, or put up in hermetically 

 sealed cans for more permanent preservation." 



The vicinity of Beaufort and Morehead City also abounds in shrimp and prawns, but there the 

 same difficulty exists as in Pamlico sound. There is no local demand for the shrimp, and enterprise 

 is lacking to start a trade with outside cities. According to Mr. Earll, the Beaufort fishermen 

 have never fished for shrimp and prawns and have never tried apparatus suited to their capture. 

 They employ nets of large mesh for fish and frequent only the sand-banks and shores, while 

 the shrimp are known to prefer in this locality a muddy hottom. Even with this style of net, 

 however, it is not uncommon for from five to twenty barrels of shrimp to be taken at a single haul 

 of the seine, indicating that they are quite abundant in the region, and might be secured in 

 great quantities by the use of proper nets. The dealers have never given any attention to this 

 trade, and refuse to buy the shrimp accidentally taken in the fish-seines. The fishermen, there- 

 fore, being unable to sell their catch, find no encouragement iu this line of fishing. In 1879 a few 

 shrimp were bought by one of the dealers, who tried to ship them to New York iu ice, but they 

 spoilt on the way. The result would have been much more satisfactory had the shrimp been 

 boiled and dried, instead of being sent fresh. Those taken in this region are of large size, and it 

 only remains for some one familiar with the methods of curing them to engage in the business, 

 which might soon be made to develop into a very profitable trade. 



The principal localities where the shrimp industry has already been started and is carried 

 on more or less extensively are Wilmington, N. C. ; Charleston, S. C.; Savannah, Ga. ; Fernan- 

 dina, Fla.; New Orleans, La.; and Galveston, Tex. 



Shrimp and prawns are very abundant in both salt and slightly brackish water in the sounds 

 and bays about Wilmington, N. C., from the last of May until November, but the industry is, as 

 yet, only imperfectly developed, though it promises to become in the future of considerable 

 importance. Prior to 1872, shrimp were taken iu this locality only with skim-nets : they were not 



