132 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 
a distance of about 35 miles from this city. The morning was cool, but clear and 
sunny. The engine was stopped, and the net was got ready for business. The meshes 
were soon in the water, and being lowered by the ropes to the bottom. The net was 
suffered to remain at the bottom until about 11 o’clock a. m., and during that time 
the craft gently moved along, bobbing up and down on the swell. * * * A moment 
or two before the performance of hauliug in the net was begun not a bird was visible 
anywhere, but as soon as the fishermen commenced to haul in the almost intermiuable 
length of rope, to the accompaniment of theit “ vo-heave-hos,” the very air became 
alive with sea fowl. 
Professor Jordan gives the following account of tbe history of par- 
auzelia fishing at San Francisco, and its effect upon the abundance of 
fish in the bay : 
Previous to 1876 fishermen working with seines for the San Francisco market 
made very good wages, occasionally running as high as $25 per night for each seine. 
In 1876 some of the fishermen secretly ordered a drag net to be made, and took it 
out for trial without the other fishermen knowing it. The experiment was entirely 
successful, and the drag nets have been used in San Francisco since. Their intro- 
duction naturally created quite a stir among tbe other fishermen, especially among 
those who had previously supplied the market with tomcocl and flounders. Threats 
were made to burn both drag nets and the large boats which were used to pull them, 
and for several months it was necessary to keep watch over the “ paranzellas.” There 
is still a great deal of opposition to the use of these nets, fishermen comx>laining that 
by means of them so many young fishes, especially flounders, are destroyed that the 
fishing around San Francisco is thereby greatly injured. Fishermen tell me that 
they are in very general use along the shores of the Mediterranean. San Francisco 
is probably the only place where they have been introduced into this country. 
****** * 
As soon as the u paranzellas” were introduced a large reduction took place in the 
price of such fish as they caught. Before their introduction tomcod sold, wholesale, 
for from 25 cents to 40 cents per pound, and they never reached a lower price than 8 
cents per pound in the summer. Parophrys vetulus sometimes in the winter brought 
as high as 80 cents per pound, and in summer sold for from 10 cents to 15 cents per 
pound. Wholesale prices now never range higher in winter than 20 or 25 cents for 
Parophrys , and 8 or 10 cents for tomcod, and in summer 4 cents per pound for the for- 
mer, and 3, 4, or 5 cents for the la f ter. Of course, part of this is due to the same 
causes that have lowered the prices of all articles, but the greater part of the reduc- 
tion was caused by the drag nets. They have thus far been rather a blessing than 
otherwise to the people of San Francisco. 
Each boat engaged in crab fishing has 12 nets, costing from $2.50 to 
$3 apiece. 
Preservation of apparatus . — -All the gill nets, trammel nets, parauzel- 
las, net ropes, trawl lines, etc., are tanned. Tar is not used to preserve 
fishing gear. The business of tanning the apparatus is monopolized 
by one person, who has three large iron kettles in a dilapidated build- 
ing ) the latter (with accessories) is valued at $600. Each kettle has 
about 400 gallons capacity, and frequently all these are used for boiling 
the tan liquid in which the gear is immersed. 
