2 * lie ana could capture t.ica. For this rec-son the birds seldom paid atten- 
tion to them. Pelicans however at tines were a nuisance about pill nets 
when the fishermen were making sets for mullet as they attempted to steel 
the fish and were said to tear the nets at ti es in these endeavors* 
At Pelican Island In tbs Indian hlver data was secured on 246 muals 
of adult and young Brown Pelicans. In a total of B14 fishes composing 
these there were seven mullet and two channel bass, a total of 9 fishes 
valuable ae food or l.J7( of the entire amount* The remainder (98.7!? J was 
made up entirely of fleb that are not considered of value for food* Five 
additional species were represented among them and of these the Menhaden 
was the most abundant as it formsd 91.4 f, of the entire amount. 
Pelicans are an id to be destructive to mullet during the spawning 
period but as the manner In whioh those fish spawn has not been definitely 
determined the damage claimed Is open to question. Any deorease in the 
supply of fish ia at be attributed to wasteful methods In fishing and non- 
enforcement of existing lnws protecting fish* Vlthln comparatively recent 
yours mullet wore many times seined for sale to fertilizer plants and 
twenty-five years ago this was caimon practise* ,j<iong natural anesilea 
sharks and porpoises are vpry destructive as they are able to seoure deep 
swimming fish nnd are not restricted to those tnat appear near the sur- 
face as is the pelican* 
From present evidence the Brown Pel loan cannot be donBidered 
harmful* 
