FISHERIES OF THE PACIFIC COAST. 
35 
14. FISHERIES OF LOS ANGELES COUNTY. 
Geographical characteristics . — Los Angeles County adjoins San Diego 
County on the northwest, and its coast line has an extent of about 120 
miles, the general trend being in a northwesterly direction. Except 
in the northern section, the shores are generally low with a greater num- 
ber of small lagoons and sandy stretches of coast than in San Diego 
County, while bold headlands are less numerous and conspicuous. 
The principal indentations are San Pedro and Santa Monica Bays, 
situated on either side of the broad peninsula upon the extremity of 
which is located the town of San Pedro. Santa Monica Bay is on the 
north and San Pedro Bay on the south of the peninsula, and both are 
open roadsteads, unsheltered from southerly or westerly winds. Wil- 
mington, on San Pedro Bay, 3 miles from San Pedro, on the line of the 
Southern Pacific Railroad, has the only harbor of any importance on 
the shores of this county, and this is only a narrow, shallow inlet, some- 
what difficult of access to large vessels.. The breakwater at San Pedro ? 
which is a railroad terminus, makes a good harbor for fishing boats. 
Santa Catalina Island is 18 miles distant from the mainland, and its 
center bears a little to the west of south from the city of San Pedro. 
It is about 22 miles long, its length being parallel to the coast, and 
varies in general width from 3 to 8 miles. The island is mountainous, 
while the shores are rocky, high, and abrupt. There are no indentations 
sufficiently large and protected to afford harbor facilities even for fish- 
ing boats, except at a point a short distance northwesterly from the 
center, where the island is very nearly divided, and a harbor is thus 
formed on each side of the narrow isthmus that connects the two sec- 
tions. The harbor on the southwestern side is considered the better, 
it being well sheltered and having a good depth of water. All around 
the island the water is remarkably clear, so that fish can be seen at 
a depth of several fathoms. 
Fishing centers . — The localities from which fishing is prosecuted are 
Portuguese Bend, W'hite Point, San Pedro, Wilmington, Santa Monica, 
and Santa Catalina Island. The latter has no permanent residents 
except shepherds and a few fishermen. 
Portuguese Bend was a shore whaling station of some importance for 
a number of years, but no whales have been taken there since 1884. 
It had become an abandoned station as early as 1875, for Jordan records 
in 1880 that “ a whale fishery formerly existed at Portuguese Bend, 
north of Wilmington; this fishery was abandoned some 5 years ago on 
account of the difficulty of obtaining water at that place.” 
The fisheries are largely tributary to the towns of San Pedro and 
Wilmington, which being situated on a railroad that strikes the coast 
are the shipping-points for an extensive area in the interior. 
Importance of the fisheries , — The seacoast fisheries of this county are, 
next to those of San Francisco and San Diego, the most important in 
