36 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 
the State. Compared with 1880, the fishing industry shows a great 
increase. It is still capable of considerable development, as a result 
of the increased demand for fish in the growing and already populous 
regions of the interior reached by the railroad. Much may also be 
hoped for from the introduction of new and improved methods in hand- 
ling and shipping fish. Many varieties of excellent food-fish abound. 
The weather is favorable to fishing a large part of the year, while the 
fishing grounds are conveniently near the points from which the prod- 
ucts must be shipped, the most remote being about Catalina Island, 
only 18 or 20 miles distant. 
Species that are objects of fisheries . — The waters bordering and adjacent 
to the county of Los Angeles supply a large list of edible fishes, crus- 
taceans, mollusks, etc., among which may be found some of the most 
desirable species of the Pacific. This will more clearly appear by an 
examination of the following list and notes, which refer to the more 
noticeable forms. The first four species mentioned in the list, together 
with the crayfish or rock-lobster, have the greatest commercial impor- 
tance at the present time : 
Barracuda. 
Whitefish ( CaiPolatilus 
princeps). 
Roncador. 
Smelf. 
Rock bass. 
Sea bass. 
Jewfish. 
Bastard halibut ( Paralich - 
thys calif or nicus) . 
Flounders. 
Whiting ( Microgadus 
proximus). 
Sardine. 
Yellow-tail. 
Mackerel. 
Bonito. 
Horse mackerel ( Trachu - 
rus picturatus). 
Pompano ( S . simillimus). 
Fat-head or redfish ( Tro- 
chocopm pulclier). 
Croaker. 
Oil shark. 
Rockfish ( Sebastichthys ). 
Flyingfish {Exocoetus cal- 
if ornicus). 
Perch. 
Kingfish (S. politus). 
Mullet. 
Barracuda, bonito, yellow- tail, and several other varieties are taken 
by trolling in summer, as well as by gill nets, while in wiuter other spe- 
cies are chiefly sought, among which Jordan mentions Media luna , Girella 
nigricans , rockfish, Scorpcena guttata, and Hypsypope rubicundus. 
Jewfish, though not numerous, attain a large size, ranging from 300 
to 400 pounds, while individuals weighing much more are sometimes 
taken. They are sold fresh, but are also cut into strips, salted, and 
then dried. The dried product is somewhat tough and of a whitish 
color, resembling the flesh of the dried cusk ( Brosmius brosme) as cured 
in New England. 
The mackerel are identical with the bulPs-eye or thimble-eye mackerel 
of the Atlantic. Wilcox states, however, that they are little esteemed 
even by the coast residents. Alexander says that all the people with 
whom he had conversed said they had never seen a fat mackerel caught 
in the Pacific. 
Clams and scallops are abundant, but have no market value at pres- 
ent. Campers and ranchmen occasionally visit the beds and obtain sup- 
plies for immediate use, but outside of this the consumption is very 
