276 
BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 
Up to the middle of Juue, 60 licenses bad been granted to fishermen, distributed 
as follows in four counties : 
Fishing center. 
County. 
N 0 . of 
fishermen 
licensed. 
g 
5 
2 
2 
5 
2 
3 
9 
1 
2 
2 
Cut Off 
5 
6 
3 
3 
3 
4 
2 
The law by virtue of which these licenses are issued (section 636 of the penal 
code) has a limited value so far as the protection of sturgeon is concerned. Its utility 
arises from the fact that it enables the State fish commissioners to regulate the size 
of the hooks used, to keep a check on this method of fishing, and to secure a small 
fund with which to carry out the patrol of the State waters. The commissioners 
have no discretion in issuing licenses, and can not regulate the methods, the fishing 
season, or the quantity of set lines employed by individual fishermen. 
The method of taking sturgeon wdth set lines is generally and justly considered 
very destructive and cruel. It probably originated in China and was for many years 
extensively practiced by the Chinese fishermen of California. Eecently, however, the 
use of set lines by the Chinese has been interdicted. 
One of the features of the method which makes it especially harmful is the 
destruction of immature fish. Very large quantities of sturgeon only 15 or 18 inches 
long are often seen in the markets. The sacrifice of small sturgeon is said, however, 
to be unavoidable, as the fish that are snagged by the hooks are injured so severely 
that even if liberated alive most of them would soon die. 
Eegarding the abundance of sturgeon, it may be stated that while fishermen and 
dealers acknowledge that the supply is much less than it was prior to ten years ago, 
still the catch during the jnrst four or five years seems to have been about uniform 
and appears to be undergoing no reduction. 
Sturgeon are usually received at the stalls of the wholesale dealers in a round 
condition. The fishermen are paid, however, only for the decapitated and eviscerated 
carcass and for the roe. The latter is made into caviar by some of the dealers. The 
proportion of the weight of roe and waste parts to the total weight may be judged 
from the following figures applying to a large female sturgeon examined in the San 
Francisco market June 11, 1894: 
Pounds. 
Total weight 243 
Weight of roe 51 
Weight of head and viscera 62 
Weight of dressed carcass 130 
