172 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 
Clams are abundant on the flats about Humboldt Bay ; there are sev- 
eral varieties, locally known as soft-shell, small round hard-shell, quo- 
haug, and razor clams. There is no organized fishery for them. The 
Indians dig a few for local consumption and sell about fifty buckets per 
week at the two fish markets on the bay, the average price received 
being 50 cents a bucket. 
Fishermen , lay , etc . — A few of the men employed in the fisheries of 
the Eel River reside in the valley of that stream, but the majority are 
nou-residents of the county who visit the region annually for the pur- 
pose of engaging in the salmon fishery, some being from the Columbia 
River. At Eureka the men are devoted to other business during a 
greater part of the year. Some fishermen work on shares and others 
are hired by the month. There is a large foreign element among the 
fishermen, the countries of Portugal, Italy, Sweden, and Russia all 
being well represented. The only Chinese in the county are those em- 
ployed in the canning house, which, however, was not in operation dur- 
ing 1888. These Chinese are hired at San Francisco by the owners of 
the factory and imported for the season, but leave immediately after the 
cannery closes. 
Boats . — The boats used in this locality are small and inexpensive. 
The average dimensions are 16 feet in length and 4 feet beam; they 
have a square stern and flat bottom. Those employed in the gill-net 
fishery carry one net and two men each. The average value is $20. 
Fishing grounds , apparatus, methods , etc . — In October and Novem- 
ber, when the bulk of the catch is made, drift nets and seines are oper- 
ated in the lower 6 miles of the river’s course ; after the middle of 
November high water is liable to occur and the fishermen then work 
the stream as high up as the forks, some 40 miles from its mouth. No 
regular salmon fishing is done above the forks, although the people 
living along the banks of the stream catch salmon for their own con- 
sumption. The winter yield is light and is chiefly taken with seines 
in the upper part of the river. 
The gill nets operated on the Eel River are 60 fathoms long and 3 
fathoms deep; the nets used in the early p^rt of the season have a fl- 
inch mesh, but later, when salmon are sought in the upper river, nets 
with a 7^-inch mesh are preferred. The nets are mostly made by the 
fishermen themselves, and have a value of $50 each. The salmon nets 
used on the Mad River are from 100 to 150 fathoms long, 14 and 15 
feet deep, with a 7J-inch mesh ; they are worth from $100 to $150 each.' 
The Eureka fishermen use gill nets about 40 fathoms long, 14 feet deep, 
with a 2-inch mesh, for catching perch and flounders. 
The haul seines operated on the Eel River are factory-made, 150 to 
200 fathoms long, 4 fathoms deep in the bunt, and 3 fathoms in the 
wings; the average value is $300 each ; there are 15 in use, and 8 or 9 
men are required to operate each of them. There are, in addition, 4 
seines fished from Eureka, usually for smelt, herring, and sardines; 
