52 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 
than by nets. Bastard halibut are caught in limited numbers close 
inshore between Point San Luis and Port Harford wharf. 
San Luis Obispo Creek empties into the bay of the same name east of 
Port Harford. The stream is Shallow and unimportant, but a few her- 
ring are taken in it with gill nets, and occasionally a salmon is caught; 
but the capture of salmon is comparatively so rare and so entirely an 
incident of the fisheries that no reliable statistics could be obtained. 
The principal clam grounds are on the beach, nearly 10 miles long, on 
the east side of San Luis Obispo Bay, at and near Pismo Landing, a 
long pier 7 miles east of Port Harford. On Esteros Bay, about 15 miles 
(by sea) northwest of Port Harford, is another excellent clam ground, 
but no clams are dug there except by ranchers living in that locality, 
who supply their own tables. A fresh-water stream empties into the 
bay at this point, and the locality has been spoken of as a good site for the 
cultivation of oysters. In addition to the clams dug on these beaches 
by the ranchmen, two mgn make a business of digging and peddling their 
products through the interior, selling at $1.50 to $2 per 100 clams. 
The shore whale fishery.— San Simeon Bay and vicinity and about 
“ Whalers 7 Point, 77 near Port Harford, have been considered the best 
grounds in this county for whaling. Whales are said to be scarcer 
than formerly along this section of the coast. It is believed by some of 
the old fishermen that this scarcity is to some extent due to the pres- 
ence of steamers on the coast. 
\ 
From 1869 to 1887 a shore whaling station was maintained at 
Whalers 7 Point, where, it is said, as many as 30 or 40 whales were taken 
in the most prosperous seasons. But in 1887, the last year of the fish- 
ery at this place, only 5 whales were captured. The scarcity of whales, 
together with the low price of oil, contributed to the abandonment of 
the station. The whaling company here consisted of 20 men, who oper- 
ated 3 boats manned by 6 men each. In 1880 there were 21 men. 
A whaling station was established at San Simeon Bay in 1865 by a 
man who had formerly engaged in this fishery at Monterey, San Diego, 
and Portuguese Bend. The business has been continued, with, per- 
haps, temporary intermissions, until the present time. Between 20 aud 
30 whales have often been taken in a season, and an average of 17 for 
the first 16 years. This station, as well as the other shore whaling 
stations along the coast, was reported as closed during the early part 
of 1888, but was reopened in the fall, and up to March 9, 1889 (at which 
time the fishery was suspended), 14 whales had been taken, which 
yielded 440 barrels of oil, valued at $5,720. # * 
* In the tabulated statement the amount aud value of oil obtained in the calendar 
year ending December 31, 1888, is given. The products and values for the season are 
more correctly represented by the figures stated above. The whales captured prior 
to December 31, 1888, were comparatively small, seven of them yielding only 180 bar- 
rels of oil, while the same number of “ fish’ 7 taken between January 1 and March 9, 
1889, produced 260 barrels of oil. 
