626 HISTORY AND METHODS OF THE FISHERIES. 
Skim-nets for the supply of fish for local requirements are fished all along the river from 
Wilmington to Fayetteville. Drift-net fishing is confined to a stretch of about 40 miles of rive: 
extending above and below Wilmington. 
The season for shad fishing extends from January 20 to May 1. Ripe fish are found in the 
river about March 1. 
Herrings (Clupea) are taken in limited numbers in the-vicinityof Wilmington in drift-nets 
The run of this fish into the Cape Fear River and all rivers south of it is very insignificant com 
pared with the vast schools which annually pass into the Albemarle and its tributaries. The 
most important fisheries of the Cape Fear are those for the capture of sturgeon. The method: 
and apparatus used do not differ from those which have been already described as in use on the 
more southern rivers of the Atlantic coast. The nets and boats are furnished by dealers a: 
Wilmington, who in some cases receive a stated portion of the catch, and in others a rental fo: 
the use of the nets, &¢., the dealers buying and receiving all the sturgeon at prices mutualls 
agreed upon. If a dealer owns the boats and nets, the catch is divided equally between himsel 
and each of the two men. 
This fishery gives employment to 20 nets and boats, which are usually skiffs, and 40 men 
The value of a fishing outfit, including net and boat, averages about $40. 
The sturgeon fishing season for the New York market lasts from March 10 to the end o 
April and from September 10 to November 1. To some extent, however, this fishery is prose 
cuted all the summer in order to meet local demands and supply the interior towns of the State 
The average catch of a net for the fall fishing is about 200 fish and for the summer fishery 
about 50, making a total average of 250 per boat for the entire season. 
The fish intended for shipment to New York are dressed and packed in ice. Those for Stat 
consumption are shipped whole. No use is made of the roe. 
The product of these sturgeon fisheries is concentrated chiefly in the- hands of two dealers 
Messrs. John Carroll and William Davis. The average weight of a dressed sturgeon, according t 
Mr. Carroll, is 60 pounds. Ripe and spent sturgeon are taken both in the spring and fall fish 
eries. * 
The following are the statistics of the Cape Fear River for the season of 1880: 
Number of mon employed .....0siseces sas Sesisieeignie sn beicin natin ees esa es desieee peewee eeees 270 
Amount of capital employed ...... 2.222. 2222 cece ee cece cee cee cece cece teens cebene $6, 238 
Product: 
Shad sesee cine cis nels nceinciserninen gto e's Seip es esi scciniei son teeny siseseeeeseeuic pounds.. 182,000 
GUT COONS sacara a ays i Scjereseis veictsrcicisie xi ntesin ieyeiciaigis eign & Aisle Aig Sig) anch sinning aienecleisicra ataiguateteccinia do.... 262, 000 
Mixed: fish sessiesipieinnn stese-ehineemartsanrmisteisisisiaiesek ince mies ieee Wecieneeiewes’ do.... 537,000 
Value of product iccees ose c.cciaieanesideatwenieminss SS acie seisiaaietetsiale'e seleleieis sine ee a ateneiescis $40, 210 
In addition to the above-named species, about 1,200 pounds of rock and 25,000 pounds 
red-horse and other varieties are annually taken as an incidental product of the shad fisherie: 
Catfish are found in large numbers in the river, and at one time, as an experiment, a numbe 
were shipped to market, but objection was made to the color of the meat, and the enterpris 
therefore proved to be unprofitable and was abandoned. 
2. FISHERIES OF THE NEUSE RIVER. 
DESORIPTON OF THE RIVER—IMPORTANCE OF THE FISHERIES. 
While the headwaters of this river are in a clay section of the State, viz, Orange, Granvill 
and Pearson Counties, the principal area of if€ basin lies in the Sandy and Poquosin belts, and co. 
sequently the water at ordinary stages is clear and dark colored. Continued rains about the source 
