THE MULLET FISHERY. 567 
bulk of the catch for the season may be taken in a few days. Along certain portions of the Gulf 
coast there are weeks together when the mullet do not come into shoal water, and not unfrequently 
two weeks pass at the height of the season without any considerable number of fish being taken; 
again, with a change in the weather they come within reach of the seine in such numbers that, 
owing to the limited facilities for handling them, only a small percentage of the fish that could be 
taken are preserved. This large run usually lasts for a short time only, and when it is over the 
fishing season may be said to have closed. . 
At Beaufort, N. C., the catch varies according to the location of the fishery and the energy of the 
fishermen. Some crews stock large amounts, while others realize almost nothing for their season’s 
work. A fair average catch to the seine between Beaufort anf Wilmington would be from 300 to 
350 barrels, containing 100 pounds each of salted fish. 
At Charleston the seines are considerably smaller than those in use further north, and the fish, 
being sold fresh, are never reckoned in barrels. The catch for the average seine in this locality is 
about 2,500 strings, or 11,250 fish in number., In Sarasota Bay, Florida, 10,000 pounds were taken 
at one haul, and the catch is frequently so large that all of the fish cannot be saved. In one cage 
so many were inclosed that the fish carried away the seine, the men being unable to hold them. 
At Robert’s fishery, in the same locality, as Mr. Stearns informs us, ‘“‘several hauls have proved 
larger than 22 men could split, in consequence of which large numbers were spoiled. One haul 
contained at least 20,000 fish in number.” Mr. McIlvaine reports a single catch of 40,000 mullet in 
number at.Cedar Keys, and 200 to 500 barrels are said to be an average catch for a seine manned 
by 8 to 10 Apalachicola fishermen, in a season which practically lasts from the middle of October 
to the last of November. These are, perhaps, exceptional instances, as they occurred upon the 
best fishing grounds.- In other localities less frequented by the mullet the catch will average less 
than 50 barrels to the seine during the season. The average catch to the seine for the entire Gulf 
is placed by Mr. Stearns at about 250 barrels of 200 pounds each. 
FISHING WITH DRAG-NETS.—A peculiar form of seine, extensively used in the capture of trout 
(Cynoscion maculatum) at Beaufort, N. C., is employed to a limited extent in the mullet fish- 
eries also. This seine, locally known as the drag-net, is found only in North Carolina. [t is 80 to 110 
yards long, 3-inch mesh, and from 6 to 12 feet deep. It is used only along the inner sounds, where 
the water is shoal enough to allow the men to wade about. Two men are required for fishing the 
net. On leaving the landing they usually proceed to some shoal-water bank along the main chan- 
nel of the sound, when one jumps into the water, holding a shore-line attached to one end, 
while the man in the boat “shoots” the seine in the form of a semicircle, so as to inclose as 
much of the channel as possible, bringing the other end to the shoal at a point some rods distant 
from the first. The fishermen gradually bring the ends together, thus completing the circle and 
cutting off all means of escape for the fish. The staff of the first end is now securely imbedded in 
the mud to hold it in position, while the men gradually draw in the netting, thus lessening the 
circle and bringing the fish within narrower limits. When the circle has been considerably reduced 
the hauling proceeds more slowly, one man handling the cork-lines while the other pulls on the lead- 
line, passing it beneath his feet to keep it close to the bottom. The fish are thus forced into the 
“bunt” near the stationary end, when, by a quick movement on the part of the fishermen, the staff 
is pulled up, and the net, with its contcnts,i s quickly transferred to the boat. 
The channel fisbing is carried on only when the mullet are more or less scattered. When they 
begin schooling the fishermen move about from place to place until .a school of fish is seen, when 
they proceed to surround and secure them. In this case the fishing is necessarily confined to the 
flats, where the water is shoal enough to al‘ow the fishermen to wade about, 
