60 REPORT OP COMMISSIONER OP PISH AND FISHERIES. 
The apparatus atd methods employed in the squid fishery are the 
same in both bays. The fishery is prosecuted at night. Small purse 
seines are used. These are each 180 feet long, 18 feet deep, with from 
J to 1 inch mesh. A boat with a blazing torch ‘at the bow first starts 
out and rows slowly around the bay. The object of this maneuver 
is to attract a large school of squid to the surface, where they can 
be more easily and surely captured. In company with the boat carry- 
ing the torch are two other skiffs, with the seine, their crews eagerly 
and anxiously watching for the signal that announces a school of squid 
has been “raised” and are hovering just beneath the surface, in the 
glow of the light that flares and sparkles in the wind. Instantly, when 
the signal is given, the seine is thrown out, the fishermen guiding their 
craft so that the net makes a complete circle around the boat with the 
light. The seine is quickly pursed up, and its contents are taken into 
the boats, which return to the shore and land their catch. 
The shore whale fishery has been abandoned for several years; the 
New Bedford fleet having recently resorted to San Francisco to refit, 
etc., and there having also been a considerable increase in the numbers 
of whalers from the latter port, the fishermen formerly engaged in shore 
whaling find it more profitable to go on the vessels, hence the closing 
of the stations they formerly operated. The station at Carmel Bay 
remains as it was left, with boats and other fixtures under cover; it is 
probable that the fishery may be resumed at this station if the price of 
oil advances and other conditions promise lucrative returns. 
Preparation and disposition of products, etc . — The entire catch of the 
white fishermen and a portion of the products obtained by the Chinese 
are sold in a fresh condition. Most of the products go to San Francisco, 
expressed by rail; a comparatively small amount is disposed of locally. 
No ice is used for their preservation, and, as is generally the case on 
this coast, the fish are not eviscerated before being sent to market. 
Here, however, the fishermen have the advantage of living in close 
proximity to the fishing grounds, and this, together with the facilities 
for transportation afforded by the railroad, makes it possible for them 
to put their fish on the market in as good condition as practicable where 
ice or other means of refrigeration are not utilized. 
The Chinese cure quantities of small fish (among which are rockfish, 
flounders, and perch) that are not sent to market in a fresh state. 
These are dried round, j ust as they come from the water ; not the least 
attention is paid to cleanliness. Samples of these seen by the writer 
had a repulsive odor, and their appearance was anything but attractive 
as an article of food. Nevertheless, they are in demand in China, where 
they meet with a ready sale, and are also eaten by the Chinese in the 
United States. 
Squid are cured in a somewhat similar manner. No salt is used on 
them. The largest specimens are split, washed, and spread on flakes to 
dry. It requires about two days of fine weather to dry them properly, 
and they are carefully watched over by those who attend to this work. 
