112 FISHERIES OF THE UNITED STATES. [6] 



and dubia,) are also used as bait, especially on the coast of the Southern 

 States. The Sand Bug or Bait Bug (Hippa talpoida) burrows into the 

 sand of beaches at about the level of low tide, and is very frequently 

 employed as bait from New Jersey southward. The Hermit Crabs 

 (Eupagurus) are seldom, if ever, put to any use in this country, but sev- 

 eral large species occur on our coasts in convenient places for securing 

 them, and in the course of time they will probably come to be utilized. 

 Six species of Crabs are regarded as edible on the Pacific coast of the 

 United States — the common market Crab (Cancer magister), Rock Crab 

 (Cancer antennarius), Bed Crab (Cancer pro ductus). Kelp Crab (Epialtus 

 productus), Yellow Shore Crab (Heierograpsus oregonensis), and Purple 

 Shore Crab (H. nudus). Only the Cancer magister is now extensively 

 used as food, although the other two species of the same genus are said 

 to be equally good as regards flavor. The magister is, however, the 

 most abundant species in those localities and depths which are most 

 frequented by the fishermen, and also averages somewhat larger in size. 

 It is captured mainly on the sandy beaches of San Francisco Bay, by 

 means of seines and Crab nets, baited with fish and offal. The princi- 

 pal market is San Francisco. The season continues more or less through- 

 out the year, but the summer catch is much larger than the winter. The 

 Bed and Bock Crabs are most abundant on the rocky shores of the 

 northern side of the Golden Gate, where but little fishing is done. The 

 Cancers are not, apparently, caught elsewhere for food on the Pacific 

 coast. The Yellow and Purple Shore Crabs are eaten by the Chinese, 

 who spit them upon wires and cook them over open fires. The Kelp 

 Crabs are used by the natives of the Northwest coast. A large "Red 

 Bock Crab" (Ecliidnoceros setimanus), living about the Farallone Islands, 

 off San Francisco, is occasionally brought to the markets of that city 

 as a curiosity, and sometimes brings as high a price as $10 each. Spe- 

 cies of Chionecetes and Lithodes are eaten by the natives of Alaska. 



LOBSTER 



The Lobster is by far the most important crustacean occurring upon 

 the coasts of the United States, and gives rise to an extremely valuable 

 fishery. It is confined to the Atlantic side of the continent, and ranges 

 from Delaware, in the south, to Labrador, in the north. The most 

 southern fishery is a small one in the neighborhood of Atlantic City 

 and Long Branch, New Jersey. Lobsters were once moderately abun- 

 dant in New York Bay, and were taken there for market, but the pollu- 

 tion of the waters of .the bay by numerous factories and other causes 

 have combined to nearly exterminate the species. At numerous places 

 through Long Island Sound, Lobsters are sufficiently plentiful to per- 

 mit of limited fisheries, which are mainly confined to supplying the 

 local demand. Farther east, on the southern New England coast, in 

 the region of Block Island, Montauk Point, the Elizabeth Islands, and 

 Martha's Vineyard, they become much more abundant and afford a very 



