THE COAST FISHERIES OF TEXAS. 4O1 
The hook-and-line fisheries.—Aside from the red-snapper fishery, but 
few fish are taken by hooks and lines in the vicinity of Galveston, and 
these mainly by sportsmen and wharf-idlers, the latter usually fishing 
off the docks with short lines. Occasionally some fish are taken in the 
surf on the south side of Galveston Island by means of long hand lines. 
The method employed is common on the Atlantic coast from New Jer- 
sey to Florida for taking many varieties of fish. The line is several 
hundred feet in length, and has a hook and weight at one end. The 
other end is fastened to a peg driven in the sand near the water’s edge, 
or to one arm of the person using it. After coiling the line on his arm 
the fisherman goes back a hundred feet or more from the water. Then, 
running rapidly toward the surf and swinging the weighted hook around 
his head, he throws it far out into the water. Immediately the line is 
drawn in, either hand over hand or by the fisherman running up the 
bank. The fish taken in this manner are usually much larger than the 
average of the same species taken in the seines. The most abundant 
are redfish, trout, and occasionally bluefish, the latter species being 
more numerous during the last three or four years. The quantity taken 
in this manner and from the bay is about 35,000 pounds annually. 
It was formerly customary for a number of the harbor and freight 
boats around Galveston to make several fishing trips during the year 
to the red-snapper banks off Galveston Island. Ordinarily these trips 
were made during the dull season and were engaged in as much for 
pleasure as for profit. Some of the boats, however, made quite a busi- 
ness of it. In this way, during certam years, as much as 200,000 
pounds of red snappers were brought to Galveston. This fishery began 
about 1881 and reached a maximum in 1885. The schooner Hdna C., 
tonnage 23.06, was one of the best boats engaged in this fishery, but 
during a storm on September 18, 1885, while on a trip to the banks, this 
vessel was lost with all on board. Since then few boats have engaged 
to any extent in taking red snappers. In each of the years 1887, 1888, 
and 1889 there were three regular freight vessels that made trips to 
the banks, while in 1890 there were only two such vessels. The crew 
usually consisted of five men to each vessel. The catch of 1889 was 
reported to be 22,000 pounds, while in 1890 it was only 4,800 pounds. 
The oyster industry.—Galveston Bay has a greater area of natural 
oyster beds than any other bay in Texas, but the reefs are not so plen- 
tifully supplied with oysters as some others in the State. This is to 
some extent due to overfishing. In 1890 215 men living on the shores 
of Galveston Bay were en gaged in oystering, using 127 sailboats valued 
at $42,900, and other apparatus valued at $3,740. The catch amounted 
to 235,300 bushels of oysters, for which the fishermen received $72,140. 
_Asmallpartofthiscatch was obtained from Matagorda Bay by Galveston 
oystérmen who fished there for a few weeks. None of the sail craft 
employed in the oyster fishery of Galveston Bay measure over 5 tons. 
The best grounds in Galveston Bay proper lie off Shoal and Dollar 
points on the western side of the bay, and off Stevenson and Smith 
H, Mis, 113 26 
