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— 5. Whitebait Fishery. This special fishery is only allowed, 

 for particular reasons, in a few localities — principally along 

 the Ligurian coast. It is practised with trawling-nets of a very 

 fine texture, and only from January to April. Under the generic 

 name of « whitebait « have been included the « Rossetti », scien- 

 tifically known as Latmneulus pellucidus and the « Bianchetti >>, 

 which are the young fry of the anchovy and sardine; the 

 destruction of the latter is certainly detrimental to fishery in- 

 terests, and ought to be stopped or restricted as much as pos- 

 sible. — 6. Lobster Fishery. In the Italian seas the common 

 lobster of Northern Europe (Homarus marinns) is rather of rare 

 occurrence, and is replaced by our « AHgusta » or « Aragosta » 

 (Palinurus vulgaris), the object of a most lucrative fishery on 

 the rocky parts of our coasts, "and more especially amongst our 

 smaller islands. Civita Vecchia, Pozzuoli, and Maddalena, in 

 Sardinia, are three of the principal centres for lobster fishermen; 

 these men seek their fishing grounds at considerable distances 

 from their homes, they go in parties in smallish lateen sailed 

 boats, secure their prey with peculiar nets or basket-traps (nasse), 

 keep the lobsters imprisoned under water in much larger nasse, 

 and awaiting an opportunity, embark them alive, carefully wrapped 

 in wet sea- weed on some passing steamer. I once met several 

 of these fishermen on the small island of Montecristo, they then 

 had over 2,000 lobsters which they were preparing to ship to 

 Genoa. — 7. Sepia Fishery. From very ancient times the capture 

 of the common cuttle fish (Sepia officinalis) has been the object 

 of a very peculiar fishery on the Southern Adriatic coasts, from 

 Bari to Manfredonia: small bunches of lentisk (Pistacia lentiscus), 

 called vorle, are tied at intervals to a rope and fixed under 

 water at about 8 os 10 metres from the shore ; the cuttlefish 

 seek their shelter to deposit their eggs, and are then easily 

 caught. The present law forbids this destructive kind of fishing. 

 8. — Pinna Fishery. Near Elba, on the Sardinian coasts, and 

 especially at S. Antioco, at Taranto, Gallipoli, and along the 

 Sicilian shores, in comparatively shallow water, lives the large 

 and beautiful Pinna nobilis, which is sought for on account of 

 its shell, ist flesh (eaten cooked), its byssus (from which a sin- 

 gular kind of silk is woven), and the rose coloured pearls it 



