The Dupuyer acantha. [volume] (Dupuyer, Mont.) 1894-1904, 1898-07-07
NURSERY OF THE SEA.
DISCOVERY OF THE WINTER
HABITAT OF MARINE FISHES.
on North Carolina Shores-CIaims that
Fish Do Not Migrate tn Distant Re-
gions, but Merely Seek Greater and
Calmer Depths. "

coast fishing so far has been made by
the fishermen offshore at Beaufort. N.
C., and there is reason to believe that
there will be f%ar-reaching results oh
tanned in the future through improved
methods Of deep sea seining, says the
st. Louis Gt6be-Democrat, In the two
winter months of January and Febru-
airy all of our littoral species of fish
disappear almost entirely from the
waters off our coast and fishermen are
compelled to fold up their seines and
wait until spring for the temperance
of their favorite game.
Scientists have concluded that the
fishes go to some unknown region or
depth of the ocean to breed during
these two cold months. and upon their
return in the spring they are accom-
panied by innumerable hosts of young
fry. The discovery offshore here is
nothing less than that of a winter nur-
sery OF our littoral species of fish.
From six to eight fathoms below the
surface Of the water the fish have been
found to be literally swarming in
countless numbers, and hooks and
seines let down to that depth invariab-
~ bring lip rich hauls. The discovery
is important in modifying our prevail
ing methods of catching marketable
food fish and in cheapening the supply
in winter and in furnishing the needy
workers with employment at an off sea-
son. Naturalists have believed for
some time that most of our sea food
fishes migrated to warmer climates in
winter, as our birds do, and returned
in the spring, but now it seems that
they merely swim offshore some dis
lance and drop down into deep cor
rugations and remain happy and con-
tented until spring returns. The fish
are found off Beaufort and Morehead
City in deep holes or corrugations. A
great variety of food fish is found in
this winter nursery, such as the red
drum, gray trout or weakfish, spotted
sea trout, bluefish, cronkers and many
others. Last winter the fishermen.
with deep sea lines, managed to make
big hauls over these winter pasture
fields. They let down lines from five
to ten fathoms and brought up big
game. But this was soon considered
too slow work, and special deep-sea
nets were manufactured for the pur-
pose. These nets were heavily weight
ed and when sunk to the proper depth
they brought up enormous hauls of
fish.
This winter the fishing has been bet
ter than ever. improvements have
been made upon the nets and the fisher
men have been scoring wonderful sue
cesses. In the first five days of Feb
ruary 153, 900 pounds of trout and 1885,
900 cronkers were caught in this man
shore from Fort Macon, neal the sea
buoy, where the depth averages six
fathoms. The fishing has been so good
in places that the men have made as
high as $40 each in one day. Men all
along shore out of employment are
.fiocking to the place to take part in the
fishing. A man provided with a deep
sea line and hooks, who is willing to
endure the hardships, can make a good
living in this way. But it is no easy
work to operate a line six to eight
fathoms in length, with several pounds
of lead and a %five-pound fish on the
other end. Some of the line fishermen
come in at night with a boatload of
fish, but their hands are so cut and
mutilated that they are unfit for work
the next day. Thick buckskin gloves
on the hands are necessary for the
proper protection of the skin. A new
sort of seine has been used here this
winter for the first time. 1t is designed
just for this deep-water fishing. 1t
closes up in the shape of a long, mar
row eelpot, with a heavy weight at the
lower end. 1t bangles over the side of
the fishing smack by several ropes, |
which are manipulated either by the
men or, a tackle. When the lead
reaches the bottom the seine is allowed
to rest there for some time while the
men spread it open. This is lone by
means of ropes. Four rowboats leave
the smack and each one pulls a rope
attached to a corner of the seine. Thus
it is spread out on the bottom of the
sea directly under the flocks of sea
fish. Then it is gradually hauled up. |
A deep pocket in the bottom of the
seine is quickly filled with so many fish
that they threaten to break through
the meshes by their very weight. In
each haul fishermen bring up at least
500 pounds of fish. The numbers OF
the fish seem in~exhaustible. When
one hiding place is pretty we'll cleaned |
out the fishermen hunt around for an |
other. The bottom of the sea off the
coast here is undulating, forming deep
hollows or holes, in which the sea fish |
hide. They are never found on the
ridges of the bottom, but always in
the hollows. Consequently the fisher !
carry sounding leads with them in
of a new hiding place or winter
nursery. When the water is six to
eight fathoms deep they drop the net
and leave it there for a short time
before hauling it up. If they strike it |
rich they haul it up and let il down I'M
til their boat is loaded.