The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-02-23
SOIIK'SIi;!

coed IN catching a few each day to supply
the markets; but as a RUE the catches
nave been comparatively small and insig-
niicant.
Scientists have concluded that the fishes
go to some unknown region or depths of
the ocean to breed during these two cold
months, and upon their return in the
spring they are accompanied by innumer-
abe hosts of young fry. The discovery
otfshore here is nothing less than that of
a winter nursery of our lttoral species of
hsh. From six 10 eight fathoms below
the surface of the water the fish have
been found to be literally swarming in
countess numbers, and hooks and seines
let down to that depth invariably bring up
rich hauls. No amount of coaxing and
temptation can induce the fish to leave
their warm winter habitat far below the
surface, and the fishermen have to adopt
| new methods of catching them.
The discovery is important in modifying
our prevailing methods of catching mar
ketable food fish and in cheapening the
supply in winter and in furnishing the
needy workers with employment at an off
season when poverty and hardship often
press most severely upon them. Natural
lists 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 corruga-
| lions, and remain happy and contented
until spring returns.
The fish are found off Beaufort and
Morehead City in deep holes or corruga-
| tons. In the summer time they come in
shore further, and swarm around the oys-
ter beds and the bays and inlets. great
| variety of food fish is found in this WIN
! ter nursery, such as the red drum, gray
trout or weakfish, spotted sea trout, blue
! fish, 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 purpose. These
nets were heavily weighted, and when
/ sunk to the proper depth they brought up
| enormous hauls of fish
| This winter the fishing has been better
| than ever. Improvements have been made
| upon the nets, and the fishermen have
| been scoring wonderful successes. In the
first five days of February $4,000 pounds
| of trout and 25G00 cronkers were caught
| in this manner about two and a half miles
! off shore from Fort Macon near the sea
! buoy where the depth averages six faith
| oms. The fishing has been so good in
| places that the men have made as high
| as SO each in one day. Men all along shore
| out of employment are fiocking to the
| place to take part in the fishing. 4 nah
provided with a deep-sea line and hooks,
who is willing to endure the hardships,
can make a good living in this way. But
il is no easy work to operate a line six
70 eight fathoms in length. with several
pounds of lead and a five-pound fish Oh
! the other end. Some of the line fishermen
come in at night with boat load of fish,
! but their hands are so cut and mutilated
| that they are unft 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 de-
| signed just for this deep-water fishing. 1t
closes up in the shape of long, narrow
eel pot with a heavy weight at the lower
end II bangles over the side of the fish
ing smack by several ropes, which are
manipulated either by the men or a
tackle. When the lead reaches the bot
tom the seine is allowed to rest there for
some time while the men spread it open.
| This is done by means of ropes. Four row.
boats leave the smack. and each one pulls
! rope attached to a corner of the seine.
! Thus il is spread out on the bottom of the
! sea directly under the focks of sea FISH.
Then it is gradually hauled up. A deep
pocket in the bottom Of the seine is quick
! ly filed with so many fish that they
| threaten TO break through the meshes by
| their very weight In each haul the fish
ermen bring up at least 500 poundsgof fish
The numbers of fish seem inexhauseible.
| When one hiding place is pretty well clean
ed out the fishermen hunt around for an
! other The bottom of the sea off the coast
| here is undulating. forming deep ho!lows
| or holes, in which the sea fish hide. They
are never found on the ridges of the bot
tom, but always in the hollows. Conse-
| ouently the fishermen carry sounding leads
| with them when in search of a new hid
| ing place or winter nursery. When the
| water is six or eight fathoms deep they
drop the net and leave it there for short
! time before hauling it up. If they strike
| it rich, they haul it up and let it down I'M
! til their boat is loaded.
The. fact being established that the fish
| merely sink to a good depth off our coast
| in winter instead of migrating to some
| tronical sea. the question Of discovering the
| hiding place of other species becomes in
| teresting. Il is thought that the same
| sort of fishing may be applied to the cod
| fish off the Newfoundland banks and to
| the red snappers off the Florida coast.
| If the winter habitat of these fishes is
not TOO deep, they may be caught right
through the cold weather with properly
constructed seincs Ii is believed now that
| countless millions of shad, salmon, herring
| striped bass and other anadrOmops fish
| are hidden, away in the fields of the ocean
| 4 short distance off our coast, and that
| only a small per cent. of them enter our
rivers to spawn in given season In
| fact. If one-hundredth of all that are in the
! ocean should make q simultaneous move
ment in this direction they would COM
! Dletely choke up every river in the cou1-
| try. Hence it is quite important that their
winter hiding place should be discovered.
Ia the nets off Beaufort an aocca-
! sioral striped bass bluefish, salmon, her
ring and shad have been caught, demon
strating that they are aground somewhere
| in the deep corrugations of the ocean
bottom. The man who discovers their VIM
ter hiding place will open up new IN
6ustry of tremendous importance TO the
country.
$. r. Francis. a mulatto living in Bos-
ton, has considerable ability as a linguist'
- -fF,rr 1, tss