Salt Water Fisheries of the Pacific Coast [pp. 149-163]

Salt [fater Fisheries of the Pacific Coast.
the north and south. Salmon are rare
south of this line, and species found in
great abundance further south, such as
the barracuda, bonito, mackerel, horse
mackerel, sea-bass, and pompano, are seldom found in great numbers north of
Monterey Bay.
The methods of fishing in the south.
are the same as those north, with the
exception of trolling for barracuda and
bonito, which is unknown north of Mon-'
terey Bay.
A troll line consists of a line about
sixty feet long, with a drail of bone or
iron three or four inches long, with a
barbless hook fastened to it, that the
hook may be extracted easily. When
trolling, the vessel moves along under
easy sail, with six or eight lines out.
No bait is used, for the fish bite readily
at the drails. To prevent fouling of
lines, they are sometimes attached to
short booms rigged on each side of the
boat.
Both north and south of San Francisco, as a rule, only sufficient salt water
fish are caught to supply the local market. In the south, the hot weather and
frequent calms often deprive the fisherman of the fruit of his labor, for he has
no facilities, such as ice or welled boats,
for preserving his catch until marketed.
Around the rocky islands off the coast
there is an abundance of yellow-tail,
barracuda, and mackerel, in season,
which are dried and exported to Hono lulu and Hong Kong. The mackerel is
too poor to satisfy domestic consumers.
Crayfish grounds are numerous along
the coast of the mainland and off the
islands, whence comes a supply to the
San Francisco market, where the local
catch is not abundant.
The man that delights to pore over
statistics finds a feast in the Report of
the U. S. Commissioner of'Fish and
Fisheries for I89I, on the Fisheries of
the Pacific Coast of the United States,
from which reliable source the following
figures are taken.
In I888, there were 3,988 Caucasian
fishermen employed on boats and vessels, exclusive of those engaged in Arctic whaling and fresh water fisheries,
with a working capital of $2,348,200,
producing a yearly product of $I,I44,547 of fish, and $769,299 worth of mollusks, crustaceans, etc., at retail valuation.
Of this capital, San Francisco furnishes $I,989,030, occupying 2,512 fishermen, including 807 Chinese. San
Francisco thus furnishes two thirds of
the capital and more than half of the
men engaged in the salt water fisheries
of the Pacific Coast.
Philip L. Wleaver, Jo.
1892.]
163