El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1912-11-27

the south had a high value because. of
the variety and quality of the fish
taken. As commerce increased, how
ever, the value of the southern fish
cries decreased chiefly because. owing
TO commercial inactivity for a period.
there was a lack of facilities for
transporting the fish to market and a
| lack Of ice to preserve them in proper
/ condition.
One Of the most important accom-
pl1shmenJs in the DEVELOPMENT of the
! southern fishing trade, aside from the
| oyster industry, is the introduction Of
! Shad into the waters of the southern
/ rivers. 1t is nearly ten years since a
! consignment of over $1,000 900 young
5 shad were placed in the streams of
1 eastern and western Florida While
! their introduction to the waters empty
/ ing into the gulf does not seem to have
J mad any permanent result, the rivers
/ OF east Florida are now well stocked
I with this fish which furnishes an ap-
prec1able addition to its market re-
sources In both North and South Car
DINA the shad has been planted in the
same manner and the markets at
( Charleston and Savannah depend chief
l " upon the local supply Of this fish
which was formerly shipped in from
I other states.
Fishing in Texas
The hsh and game commission Of Texas
has secured the widest announcement
IN its effort to increase the fishing re-
sources OF that state. The fish com
missioner announced at a meeting held
in Austin that he had received about
40 propositions from different sec
lions Of the state for the establishment
OF state fish hatcheries since he an
nounced his intention of establishing
some. It has been decided to estab-
Hsh four hatcheries for the present
one each in the eastern, southern west
NJ l.
me requirements for a hatchery in
clude the supply of at least $50 900 gal
ions OF pure water per day and salts
factory railroad facilities to insure the
transportation Of the fish.
Considering the length Of the Texas
coast line. the fisheries of that state
are as yet comparatively small The
red snapper industry presents the most
interesting features and these fishing
GROUNDS are principally located around
Galveston. The yield Of green turtle
also is increasing upon the Texas coast
and under the direction Of the state
fish commission a keen interest is be-
ing taken in developing all the fishing
interests of the state.
Over Five Millions Invested.
me FISHERY interests of the gulf
states include the western coast OF
Florida and the entire coasts Of Ala
bama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas.
Ihey represent an investment Of over
$5,0O00O0 in capital for which Florida
and Mississippi make up one-half Their
combined products amount to cOnsid-
erably over four million dollars in
value annually, and are increasing all
the time, the gain since 1897 being
over IS per cent in quantity and over
% per cent in value. There are a large
number Of rivers entering the gusf but
there is little commercial fishing in
any OF them excepting for sturgeOn in
the ApalachicOla river
Lack Shipping Facilities
The lack Of shipping facilities has
been serious drawback The whole
sale dealers from Tampa, Cedar Key.
St Petersburg and Punta Gorda have
Tor years operated a fleet OF transport
ing vessels which make regular trips
to the fishing camps carrying supplies
and bringing in the catch. The west
coast Of Florida leads all others I'm its
supply Of blue fish, muIlet red snapper. p
Spanish mackerel, DOmpano and sew
eral others.
The gill net IS the most important
apparatus in use. The line fishing is I
nOtlceably falling off each year. The !
seine net is used but not to any OK I
tent Before the Spanish war a thriv- ]
ing trade was done with Cuba in the I.
Salted mullet industry. After that, the I.
trade in this fish declined for time I
but now IS being revived. only instead /
Of being sailed, it is being shipped .
away in ice and sold fresh In shipping
mullet. an ordinary box car is used T.
having a partition across il ct both /
sides of the doors to form a compart-
ment at each end Of the car. Alter
mating layers Of mullet and cracked :
ice are placed IN these enclosures until
the car contains a load of $4,000 pounds .
Of fish.
Red snapDers at Pensacola.
The red snapper fishing still centers
at Pensacola although it is becoming
important at Tampa as wei a al sew
eraI other points The sturgeon and I
turtle fisheries are also increasing in !
value. while the sponge fisheries con
stitute an industry which is so far con-
fined exclusively to Florida. There are
several canning factories located upon
the western coast Of this state which
put up oysters and turtle principally
although the preparation Of surgeons
eggs as caviar is also a profitable trade {
The chief fisheries Of Alabama are
located in Mobile bay. Mississippi
sound and the Gulf Of Mexico. Aside
from oysters. red snapper is the most
important product and this industry
go east as far as Tampa and west as
far as Mexico. Snapper fishing is done
in water from % to Is fathoms in
depth. The crew consists OF from six
to eight men. two men fishing from the
vessel and the others from dories car
rying two men each. On an average /
trip to the banks requires SIS worth Of
bait and il successful the vessel viii /
snappers Weighing from five to so
pounds each. The usual rate OF pay
ment to the fishermen IS about three ;
and a half cents a pound for snappers
weighing seven pounds or under and
p cents apiece for those weighing
more than seven pounds.
The Shrimp Industry.
In Mississippi the shrimp industry
ranks next to oysters in the fish prod
ucts Of the state. Most Of the oyster
vessels engage in taking shrimps in
the spring and the fall. April and May
and September and October being the
seasons. In the spring. the shrimps
come in close to the land and are
caught in the small bayous which
penetrate the marshes. By the first Of
August they all have disappeared and
are not to be seen again until the fail
season when they are caught from 10
to 40 miles from shore.
AIlfgutOrs from Louisiana.
The fish products Of Louisiana IN
clude several varieties in addition 10
those found in the other states. among
them the delicious yellow tail so priced
by an epicure. Louisiana has a larger /
yield of terrapin than is found in any
other state and the supply of crabs,
both hard and soft shelled, is becoming
Increasingly valuable. Alligator hides
form one Of the chief products included
in the fisheries of Louisiana The /