38 
BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 
made chiefly with set pots anchored in and about the harbor; single hooks and lines 
are used, and a few haul seines are operated along the water front. 
There is said to be a scarcity of fish in this vicinity. So long as the fishing is 
done with set pots, in which bait is seldom used, only light catches of small and 
medium fish can be expected. A few large fish are taken by men with a single hook 
and line in deep water. 
No fish are dried, smoked, pickled, or canned, all being disposed of fresh for 
local use. The aggregate catch is small, and no record is kept of the amount. 
The city has quite a large and good general market, in which the fresh-fish 
business makes a poor showing, with its one stand, on which a few fish are sold by 
two or three men. Fish are peddled through the streets, the small fish at so much a 
bunch, those weighing 2 to 6 or 8 pounds at so much each; none is sold by weight; 
none is dressed, and ice is not used. Retail prices average 10 to 15 cents a pound in 
Spanish money, or 6 to 9 cents a pound in United States money. 
The records in the custom-house show that during, the portion of 1898 in which 
Ponce was under Spanish rule the fishing business of the district was represented by 
310 fishermen, with 109 registered boats. This district then included most of the 
south side and a small portion of the west end of the island, or about one-third of the 
coast line of Porto Rico. That the business was carried on with little energy or return 
to the fishermen may also be judged by the records for the last six months of Spanish 
rule, which show that the aggregate value of fish taken in the district during that 
period amounted to only 26,815 pesetas, representing $3,218 in United States money. 
On account of the disturbed condition of all Porto Rican business in 1898 that year 
can not be considered as a fair average. 
Arroyo . — From 30 to 60 men engage more or less in fishing at this place, with 
haul seines, cast nets, and pots, the larger part of the catch being taken in pots, and 
chiefly from May to August; during the remaindered the year most of the fishermen 
work on plantations. They make their own boats, which are roughly built, but very 
strong, without decks or wells, and 15 feet long by 6 to 7 feet beam. Thirty-five 
boats are in use, with an average value of $50; 2 men go in each. 
A few haul seines are employed. The largest are 200 feet long and 10 to 15 
feet deep, with a bag net in the center; the mesh is 11 inches (square) in the wings 
and 1 inch in the bag. There are 6 small seines, each 120 feet long, with £-inch 
(square) mesh, and are without any bag attachment. Small seines are chiefly for 
taking bait for hook-and-line fishing. Six cast nets are employed along the shore. 
Six trawls are operated, having from 50 to 200 hooks each, with snoods 2 feet long 
and placed 1 feet apart. The buoy to the trawl is said to have a bell attached by 
which the fishermen judge as to the best time to take it up. Trawls are generally 
fished during the night. Sharks are numerous and often destroy an entire trawl outfit. 
Fish pots are used in from 20 to 25 fathoms of water, and»are lifted once a day 
in removing the fish. They are of larger size than at most places, being 6 feet long, 
3 feet wide, and 18 inches deep. 
The Patillas River, a small stream having its outlet a few miles east of Arroyo, 
is said to be well supplied with fish, which are taken by weirs, haul seines, and cast 
nets. 
The fresh and salt water fish taken in the vicinity of Arroyo are sold fresh from 
