Net Making and Net Fishing in Florida

State of Florida Board of Conservation

Ernest Mitts, Director

Technical Series No. 13

Commercial Fishing Gear and Fishing Methods in Florida

By J. B. Siebenaler

Marine Laboratory

University of Miami

Coral Gables 34, Florida

1955

[Cover] [Pages 2 and 3] [Pages 4 and 5] [Pages 6 and 7]

COMMERCIAL FISHING GEAR AND FISHING METHODS IN FLORIDA

J. B. SIEBENALER

INTRODUCTION

FLORIDA is among the leaders in the United States in the commercial production of fishery products. In recent years it has ranked about fourth or fifth, behind California, Massachusetts, Virginia and sometimes Louisiana. In the variety of fishery products Florida is first, with over 70 species (or groups of species under a common designation) being listed in Florida Landings, the monthly production reports. A wide variety of fishing gears is employed to make this catch. While these gears are actually all variants of a few basic types, they present a bewildering array to the observer. Differences in methods of using the gear, and similarities in names cause confusion, and the lack of clear descriptions frequently leads to misunderstanding. These are particularly serious when conservation laws or disputes between groups of fishermen are involved.

Decreases in abundance of fish-real or supposed-are quickly followed by demands for restrictive regulations of the fishery. These suggested restrictions frequently take the form of prohibitions of certain types of fishing gears. The unpopular gears are usually those which someone else is using: pole and line fishermen denounce netters, gill netters cry out against seiners; some sport fishermen want all commercial gears outlawed. Furthermore, it is usually efficient gears which are most vigorously attacked. All such attacks are made in the name of "conservation." This is frequently unjustified, since a narrow restrictive concept is usually implied. If a broader concept is employed, to include the idea that true conservation involves full utilization of fish stocks, consistent with their perpetuation, fair minded persons would be less hasty in condemning certain fishing gears and methods.

There are instances where the use of some fishing gears should be prohibited. These include proven cases where the gear damages the habitat of the fish, kills food organisms, or the eggs and young of valuable fishes. There are also cases, especially in the marketing of fresh fish, where one type of gear manned by a minority will economically jeopardize the livelihood of a majority using less efficient gear.

Florida's marine conservation laws are numerous; they are often ill-conceived, confusing, contradictory and too often based upon opinion.

Many of the difficulties exist as a result of the failure of the lawmakers to state clearly which species of animal or which type of fishing gear is referred to in the regulation. It is hoped that a clearer understanding of the construction and the method of fishing of the important types of Florida fishing gear will assist in the framing of better conservation laws.

It is further expected that enforcement of the regulations will be improved by the information contained in this Bulletin, since enforcement agents and courts will have a better concept of the intent of the regulations, and will have a better legal basis for conviction of infractions, with this information at their disposal.

Dr. C. P. Idyll supervised the preparation of this paper. Charles E.

Dawson did the initial work on this paper. Gordon C. Broadhead, James B. Higman and Hall P. Mefford of the Staff of the Marine Labora-

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[Pages 8 and 9]

tory and Billy F. Greer of the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service made valuable contributions and criticisms of the manuscript. I am especially indebted to the many commercial fishermen throughout the state of Florida who have answered endless questions and allowed me to accompany them during fishing operations.

MATERIALS USED IN FISH NETTING

The nets used by the commercial fishermen in Florida are machine woven, of cotton, linen or nylon fibers.

Nylon twines are numbered from #69, which is extremely fine to #900, which is very heavy.

Cotton twine sizes are designated by two numbers, the first denoting the weight and the other the number of threads. The weight is the number of "hanks" to the pound, a hank being 840 yards. Obviously, the higher the gauge number, the lighter is the cord. Thus, 30/6 cotton twine mean that the thread is 30 gauge, (i.e., 30 hanks (30 X 840) or 25,200 nets is normally composed of 10 gauge threads. Such twine is usually described by the number of threads in the cord, e.g. 10/6 might also be called #6 or 6 thread twine. Cotton twine is manufactured in different degrees of hardness, and is designated as hard-, medium- or soft-laid. Hard-laid twine is used only in gear subject to abrasion and hard use. Most of the cotton netting in use is medium-lay twine.

Linen twine sizes are also a combination of gauge and the number of threads. In linen one "1 ea" equals 300 yards of single ply yarn per pound. Thus, a 1⅔ linen size means the twine is made from 12 l ea yarn and consists of three threads.

In recent years nylon has become increasingly popular with the fishermen. Nylon nets require less care during extended fishing operations, e.g., during heavy runs of fish it is not necessary to place a nylon net on the drying rack after a period of fishing; many fishermen merely cover the net with a tarpaulin in the stern of the boat, ready for the next day's work.

In gill net fishing, the catching ability of nylon is considered to be superior to that of cotton or linen. Its resistance to rot is extremely important, since in Florida one type of gear may be fished for three months and then stored in the net lofts until the following season. Although nylon webbing has replaced the other fibers in the construction of many nets, only cotton webbing is used in the mackerel runaround gill nets. The majority of the trawls and seines in Florida are made from cotton webbing, which is usually tarred.

Fishermen speak of mesh size as "stretched mesh." There is often confusion as to exactly how a stretched mesh measurement should be made. Some fishermen measure the distance across the mesh, including one knot. Scofield (1948) states that the only satisfactory measurement is inside the knots, since this accurately measures the escapement size of the fish. The Florida State Board of Conservation agents measure mesh size by lightly pushing a calibrated wedge shaped ruler through the mesh. This measures the inside dimension of the mesh, as recommended by Scofield, and does not include the knots.

Net depths in Florida are expressed in feet, yards, or fathoms, but more often in number of meshes. For instance, a net 100 meshes deep, 3 inches stretched mesh, would theoretically measure 25 feet. However this would be a stretched mesh measurement and would not be the actual

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fishing depth which would always be less, according to the fullness of the hanging and the methods of fishing. The actual fishing depth of the 25 foot stretched mesh net would be between 16 and 21 feet.

In making a net fishermen attach the webbing to the cork and lead lines. This is called "hanging in" the net. It is important if the net is to operate properly that it be of the proper fullness. In Florida, gill nets are usually hung on a one-half or a one-third basis. A net hung on a one-half basis has 24 inches of stretched mesh hung to a foot of cork and lead line. If the net is hung on a one-third basis, 18 inches of stretched mesh is attached to a foot of cork and lead line.

OUTLINE OF FLORIDA FISHING GEAR

The following outline includes all of the principal as well as minor commercial fishing gears used in Florida. This outline is to be considered as an index and the gears are described in the order presented here.

While this is an arbitrary classification of Florida gears, the method of capturing fish has been the main criterion for classification. It should be pointed out that fishing gears and methods are so numerous over the state that it would be difficult to include all localized types and variations.

1. Entangling Gears
   1. Gill nets
      1. Runaround
         1. Mullet
         2. Snook
      2. Float or Channel
      3. Sink or Stab
         1. Mackerel
         2. Bluefish
         3. Kingfish
      4. Drift
         1. Pompano
         2. Trout
      5. Set
         1. Shad
         2. Trout
         3. Turtle
         4. Shark
   2. Winding nets
   3. Trammel nets
2. Encircling Gears
   1. Seines
      1. Beach
         1. 100 yard walkaround
         2. Whiting
         3. Cigarfish
         4. Apalachicola
      2. Purse
         1. Ballyhoo
         2. Menhaden
   2. Stop nets
      1. Dry stop
      2. Stop gill net
      3. Donkey stop
      4. Bayou or River stop
3. Impounding Gears
   1. Traps
      1. Two-level Crab
      2. One-level Crab
      3. Stone Crab Slat
      4. Ice can
   2. Lift nets
      1. Channel
      2. Bridge
      3. Hoop
   3. Hand nets
      1. Dip
      2. Bully
      3. Cast
4. Dragged Gears
   1. Shrimp trawls
      1. Bait
      2. Frame
   2. Drags
      1. Scallop drag
      2. Shell dredge
      3. Push net
5. Hook and Line Gears
   1. Lines Hauled by Hand
   2. Reeled Lines
      1. Mechanical
      2. Power operated
         1. Electrical
         2. Gasoline
   3. Poles and Lines
   4. Trolling Gears
   5. Trot Lines
   6. Shark Chain Line
6. Miscellaneous Gears
   1. Oyster Tongs
   2. Gigs
   3. Sponging Devices
   4. Spearfishing

[Pages 10 and 11]

DESCRIPTION OF GEARS

I. ENTANGLING GEARS

A. GILL NETS

The gill net is designed to capture fish by entangling them in the meshes. The size of the mesh is such as to allow the passage of the head but not the body of the fish. The fish is usually caught behind the gill covers, as shown in Figure 1. The size of the mesh is varied according to the size of the fish desired or present in the waters. By this means it is possible to allow for the escapement of undersized fish.

Gill nets in Florida may be divided into three major classes, depending upon their method of operation: runaround gill nets, drift gill nets and set, or fixed, gill nets. Very often nets of the same design and construction are used in the various fishing methods.

I. RUNAROUND GILL NETS

This is the most popular gill net in Florida, and is used to catch a variety of fish including mullet, bluefish, and mackerel. The method of fishing is characterized by the fact that the nets are usually set in a closed near-circle or oblong pattern, and are picked up after a relatively short period of time. The nets are not "dragged down" or pulled across the bottom. The fishermen employ various methods of frightening the enclosed fish and forcing them to strike the wall of webbing such as slapping the water with oars and stamping in the boat. The overwhelming majority of gill net-caught fish landed in Florida are captured by the runaround gill net fishery.

a. MULLET GILL NET

The mullet gill net is the most important runaround gill net used in Florida. The mesh size is varied at different times of the year, according to the availability, size and price of the fish. The netting is made of either cotton, linen or nylon. Nylon 104, 139, 208; cotton 30/6 and linen

(Courtesy R. J. Ederer Co.)
Figure l. A gill net showing the manner in which fish are caught behind the gill covers.

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[Pages 12 and 13]

25/3 are the most popular twines used in the mullet fishery. The nets are from 200 to 400 yards in length, 2½ to 4½ inches stretched mesh, with net depths varying with the depth of the water to be fished. Figure 2 shows a typical mullet gill net.

(Courtesy Florida State News Bureau)
FIGURE 2. Completing the set with a runaround mullet gill net.

Gill net fishing methods for mullet vary throughout the State of Florida. The nets are usually stacked in an orderly manner in the stern of two or three 14 to 17 foot rowing skiffs, or "flatties," which are towed behind a power launch. When a likely fishing spot has been found, the power launch is anchored and the fishermen row the skiffs toward the school of fish. In preparation for the set the fishermen join their nets and row away from each other, allowing the nets to fall off the stern table of the flatties. The nets are set so that they form a closed oblong pattern, or any number of other patterns in the' water (Figure 3), which enclose the major portion of the school and prevent the fish from escaping. The fishermen strike the water or the bottom of the boat repeatedly to frighten the fish into the nets. After a short period of time, depending on the size of the school of fish, length of the nets and other conditions, the gear is picked up and the catch removed from the nets (Figure 4). The operation may take several hours if the catch is large.

The power launch used in Florida by the mullet fleet working the inland waters is usually a large skiff, 18 to 34 feet long, powered by an automobile engine. They are designed primarily to cruise over shallow flats. Larger boats are used in southwest Florida where the water usually is deeper.

Quite often when very large schools of mullet are sighted, especially during the fall "run season" when the mullet school tightly to spawn, four to six fishermen join their nets to "surround the fish, which provides

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FIGURE 3. Common methods of setting mullet gill nets.

from 1200 to 1800 yards of gear. Catches of 5,000 to 10,000 pounds per set are not unusual under these circumstances.

A few enterprising fish dealers have scouted by airplane for large schools of mullet and radioed the fishing crews of the exact locality. This has been a great time saving device, since many hours are often spent in search of a likely school of fish.

Another innovation in recent years has been the advent of the "speed set" for mullet. The launches used are of shallow draft and extremely fast.

The net is set by playing it directly off the stern of the launch or off a skiff which is towed directly astern. When a school of fish is sighted the fishermen surround it at a speed of about 15 m.p.h. Often the vessel will first be used to drive the fish into an advantageous position for setting the net.

Mullet fishing gear is also used for capturing bottom fish. The fishermen select fishing grounds where they know fish such as sheepshead, drum, pinfish, and similar species congregate. This type of fishing is often carried on during mullet closed season and at other times when mullet availability or price renders mullet fishing unprofitable.

b. SNOOK GILL NET

This is a specialized gill net, used only near Salerno, Florida. The mesh sizes are 4½ to 4½ inches stretched mesh. Number 900 nylon or 30

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[Pages 14 and 15]

(Courtesy Florida State News Bureau) FIGURE 4. Removing fish from a mullet gill net.

thread cotton twine is used in the netting. The nets are from 250 to 300 yards in length, 30 to 40 meshes deep.

Fishing is usually done at night, by one or two men each with a net. The nets are carried on the stern of a 14 to 16 foot rowboat. The sets are made near the shoreline or across channels, the snook being detected by the noise that they make when feeding upon schools of bait. Sometimes sets are made in likely places when there are no surface indications that snook are present. When the set is made the fishermen do not take any particular pains in completely closing off the shoreline. Although a few drum may be taken the catch is normally made up entirely of snook.

The fish taken by this gear average six to eight pounds each.

2. FLOAT OR CHANNEL NETS

These are the most widely used nets in the mackerel fishery. They are from 300 to 1000 yards in length, made up in "shots" of 100 yards.

Cotton #6 or #9 twine is used in the netting. Nylon and linen, because of expense, are not used since fishermen claim that the sharp teeth of mackerel easily tear the twine, and an entire net can be destroyed by a shark.

The nets vary from 60 to 200 or more meshes in depth, three to four inch stretched mesh. The majority of the nets used in the deeper waters along the coast are about 150 meshes deep. Those nets used in the Florida Bay fishery in shallow water are 60 to 80 meshes deep.

The gear is carried on the stem of a sea skiff or mackerel launch which is especially designed for the fishery and capable of speeds in

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excess of 20 m.p.h. (Figure 5). These boats range in size from 22 to 45 feet in length and are powered by high speed gasoline or diesel engines. No auxiliary skiffs are used in this fishery. Fishing is carried on both day and night. During night fishing the vessel cruises at five to six knots in areas where mackerel are likely to be present, with the captain flashing a spotlight at intervals. At the flash of the light the mackerel either leap from the water or show themselves by the "fire," or phosphorescence, their sudden movements make in the water. When the captain judges that a sufficient number of fish are in the school he signals the mate to cast overboard a buoy (which is lighted at night) to which the end of the net is attached. The net is then set at high speed in a circle back to the buoy (Figure 6). Sometimes the fish are removed from the net as it is taken in, but usually, if the catch is large or sharks are in the area, the net is hauled aboard the boat and the fish are removed from the nets and gutted on the way to the fish house. Sometimes this work is done at the docks, with the assistance of shore workers. Three men usually make up a fishing crew.

In recent years, fishermen have moved south as far as Key West, following the fish in the late fall and winter. The winter fishery is conducted from Miami into the Florida Keys. The fish leave the southern waters in late winter or early spring, with the fishermen following them at least as far north as Cape Canaveral.

3. SINK OR STAB NETS

a. MACKEREL GILL NET

A mackerel sink net is similar in construction to the float net but differs in that the numbers of corks and leads are varied so as to insure its sinking. Fishermen change the ratio of leads to corks depending on how fast they wish the net to sink.

FIGURE 5. A typical sea skiff used in the mackerel and mullet fisheries.

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[Pages 16 and 17]

FIGURE 6. A typical mackerel gill net set.

Often, mackerel fishing is carried on between depths of six and 30 feet of water, although schools are encountered in somewhat deeper water. In such areas the float net would not touch the bottom and the mackerel would escape under the lead line. After the net is set around a school, a fisherman runs his boat at high speeds over the submerged net.

This frightens the fish down and into the netting wall when they attempt to escape.

b. BLUEFISH GILL NET

These are similar to or identical with the gear used in mackerel fishery.

Bluefish are often taken incidental to mackerel fishing. However, bluefish are sought specifically by the fishermen when they are known to be in the area. The methods of sighting the fish at night are different from those methods employed by the mackerel fishermen, since' no lights are used in sighting the bluefish. They are sighted by the "fire" caused by their movements in the water when they are moving and feeding. After the net is set, lights are turned on if a stab net is used, and if the water is deeper than the depth of the net. This causes the fish to sound.

c. KINGFISH GILL NET

This is a heavy gill net of 27 thread cotton webbing. A float is added at every "hanging" on the cork line and two weights are added at every

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hanging on the lead line. The nets are from 60 to 100 meshes deep and about 300 yards in length. The mesh size of a kingfish net is usually 4½ inches stretched. The net is seldom used at present because of its unpopularity among fishermen. It is claimed by many fishermen that once this net is used in an area the kingfish will leave, although there is no real evidence of this.

4. DRIFT GILL NETS

The name "drift gill net'' is applied to float nets that are attached by the ends to the fishing boat or to buoys, and allowed to drift with the tide or the current. The nets are set perpendicular to the direction of the flow of the water.

a. POMPANO DRIFT GILL NET

This net is 400 to 500 yards in length, with a stretched mesh of 4⅝ inches, 60 meshes deep. The webbing is made of either 20/6 cotton, 25/3 linen or #139 nylon.

The net is carried on the stern of a power launch; fishing is usually carried on at night. The gear is set across a current where pompano are likely to be running. Frequently many nights fishing pass without a single fish being caught, but when catches are made the price is usually high enough to warrant the fishermen spending this wasted time fishing. This gear is fished in the Fort Pierce area, south to Marathon as well as other parts of the state.

b. TROUT DRIFT GILL NET

Speckled trout (or weakfish), grey and white trout are caught with the same nets as those used in mullet fishing. This type of fishing is carried on during the mullet closed season or between mullet sets. The nets are set across a tidal or current flow and are left in the water for one or two hours. The net is occasionally set in a straight line, but is more often let out in a horseshoe shape, with the current flowing into the curvature of the net. This type of fishing is carried on in the Indian River region, and elsewhere.

5. SET GILL NETS

These are gill nets or entangling nets that are set stationary in the water. The net is either anchored to the bottom or supported on stakes.

It is used principally to capture shad and trout.

a. SHAD SET GILL NET

A shad gill net is usually 300 yards in length. The webbing is made of #104, 139 or 208 nylon, five inch stretched mesh, and the net is 25 to 40 meshes deep. Three meshes are hung at every six inch tie. A cork is hung on the float line at every twelfth hanging and a lead on the bottom line at every fourth hanging. The net is set in a variety of patterns in the water, and is anchored at either end. Fishing is carried on both night and day in northeast Florida.

b. TROUT SET GILL NET

This is similar to the mullet runaround gill net. It is set in either a straight line or in the form of a horseshoe and is anchored at the ends.

Sometimes the net is left in the water all night, but the length of time is

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[Pages 18 and 19]

usually one or two hours. The fish are driven into the net by maneuvering the boat and striking the bottom with an oar or pole. This method of fishing is popular in northwest Florida.

c. TURTLE SET NET

The turtle nets used in Florida average about 100 yards in length.

The netting is constructed of 27 thread cotton seine twine. The stretched mesh measures from 18 to 24 inches and the nets are usually about 20 meshes deep. One mesh is hung on a 12 inch tie, with a float every 30 ties and a weight at every sixth hanging on the lead line.

The fishing season is in the summer and the fall in northwest Florida.

The nets are carried on the stern of a mullet or a mackerel power launch.

The ends of the net are anchored and a five gallon can is tied to each end of the net as a buoy. The net is set and left in the water all night and is usually picked up about dawn. The turtles swim into the net and become entangled in the mesh. The lead line is weighted lightly to permit the captured turtles to come to the surface to breathe.

d. SHARK SET GILL NET

The Fish and Wildlife Service Fishery Leaflet 158 describes the shark set gill nets formerly used at Big Pine Key, Florida. The shark fishery was abandoned in Florida in late 1949 because of the competition of synthetic vitamin A.

The description of the net and the fishing methods following are extracted from the above publication.

"Gill nets are used chiefly in fishing sharks at the Big Pine Station. These nets are about 100 fathoms long and of various depths from 10-20 feet. They are built of #72 cotton twine, 20 inch mesh, hung evenly on a hemp or manila head rope of 3-inch diameter strung with ordinary 3-inch cork buoys at about 3-foot intervals, and a foot rope of about ⅜-inch diameter weighted with 4-ounce leads. Each section of net is fished separately, being anchored at each end across the tidal currents. The nets are marked with buoys and also flags on 15 or 20 foot bamboo poles, buoyed and weighted to stand upright in the water so as to be visible from quite a distance.

During fishing operations, "the buoy is left floating and the net is allowed to remain anchored. The fishing boat is merely pulled along by the headline of the net until an entangled shark is found, when the net is seized to the boat by a short rope, a hook placed in the mouth or gills of the dead or exhausted shark, or a sling about his tail and he is hoisted aboard."

B. WINDING NETS

Certain fishing methods do not fit into the categories of runaround, drift or set nets. "Winding" or "corkscrewing" is one of these specialized methods. It is used extensively in the Indian River, Banana River Mosquito Lagoon areas, and occasionally in southwest Florida.

The winding or corkscrew net is actually two nets of different design used together. The "standoff'' net is made from #6 to #15 tarred cotton seine twine. The net is 40 to 60 meshes deep, three inches stretched mesh, and 250 to 300 yards in length. The gilling net, sometimes called the "backup" net, is usually made from #208 nylon, 2⅞ to 3¼ inches

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stretched mesh, 40 to 60 meshes deep and from 250 to 400 yards in length.

This gear is usually fished on grass and sand flats in the inside waters. The two nets are set around the school of fish from rowed skiffs. After the set is made a fisherman begins to "walk" the gilling net around the inside of the "standoff" net. A staff attached to the end of the gill net makes this possible. As the fisherman walks around with the winding net the circle of enclosed fish becomes smaller. Soon the gilling net is pulled around until it is backed up by another part of itself. When the circle of the gilling net has been decreased to about 50 feet in diameter the fish usually begin gilling. Sometimes that portion of the gilling net no longer in contact with the fish is used as a "backup" net, so that the mullet that jump over the winding portion of the net will be caught in the backup. Meanwhile, another fisherman begins picking up the "standoff" net that is no longer in contact with the enclosed fish and stacks it in the skiff. In some instances the fishermen use cast nets from a skiff to catch the fish that do not gill in the net. As soon as the fishermen feel that they have caught all the fish possible the net is picked up and the fish removed. Usually enough fish are caught in one set of the winding gear to make up a day's catch. This method produces fresher fish than many mullet fishing methods, in which repeated sets are made before catching enough fish to cease operations. It normally takes three men

FIGURE 7. Diagrams a-f show the setting, winding down and picking up of a wind down gill net.

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[Pages 20 and 21]

about two hours to set, work and pick up the gear. Figure 7 shows diagrams of winding.

C. TRAMMEL NETS

A trammel net is made by hanging three walls of webbing to a single cork and lead line. The outer walls of netting are made of #6 to #15 cotton twine, with a stretched mesh of eight to twelve inches. The inner wall of webbing is of smaller stretched mesh (two to four inches), depending on the species and size of fish sought. The central wall is made of cotton, linen or nylon. Fish are captured by passing between the large meshes of the outer wall, then pushing the small mesh inner wall into a pocket between the large meshes of the wall on the opposite side of the net (Figure 8). When the trammel net is hung in, care is taken to make the inside web very full so that there will be plenty of webbing to trap the fish. If the inside wall of webbing is not hung properly, after a few fish are captured the netting will be drawn so tight that it has no room for others to be entrapped.

A trammel net may be used as a runaround, drift or anchor net. Trammel nets are used in the mullet fishery from Fort Myers to Pensacola. They are fished in the same manner as the runaround gill net. Along the west coast of Florida the trammel net is more popular with the fishermen than the gill net. One reason for this is that the trammel net is less selective, capturing fish over a greater size range than the gill net. Most of the commercially caught redfish in Florida are taken by trammel net.

The trammel net is popular in the Florida Keys, where it is used in the drift net fishery for pompano. Along the west coast of Florida the trammel net is often used as a set net for trout. This gear is not used in some areas because of the prevalence of blue and horseshoe crabs, which entangle in the net and are difficult to remove.

(Courtesy R. J. Ederer Co.) FIGURE 8. A section of trammel net showing the pocket formed by trapped fish.

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II. ENCIRCLING GEARS

A. SEINES

A seine is a wall of webbing supported by a cork line and weighted by a lead line. It is constructed of heavy cotton twine of small mesh, so that the fish do not normally gill. A seine encloses fish and as the ends of the net are drawn together the catch becomes concentrated in an ever decreasing area. There are many variations in the construction of Florida seines.

1. BEACH SEINES

There are several varieties of beach seines which are used to capture fish near the surface or on the bottom in shallow water. These seines are of varying lengths with or without a bag (see Frontispiece).

a. 100 YARD WALKAROUND SEINE

This is a small seine used on the open beaches of the east coast of Florida. It is often a gill net by construction although it is used in the manner of a seine. The mesh sizes in many areas are determined by law and not by the fisherman's choice. The net is often carried on a small wooden platform that may be transported along the beach in a truck or in the trunk of a car. When fishing is carried on at night the fish are located by playing a light on the water. After carrying the platform to the water's edge one fisherman takes an end of the net and walks up current; the net forming a half-moon pattern. When the desired area is enclosed the man pulling the net walks toward the beach as rapidly as possible and the catch is pulled ashore. Whiting, mullet, shad, drum, redfish and pompano are caught with this gear.

b. WHITING SEINE

A typical whiting seine is approximately 300 yards in length and about 100 meshes deep. The webbing is made of #6 or #9 cotton twine, 2 to 2¼ inch stretched mesh. A square bag of #18 twine is hung into the net. A peculiarity of the design of this net is that the bag is placed 25 to 50 yards from the end of one wing. Five inch diameter metal rings are tied to the lead line at intervals of about 20 feet to prevent rolling of the lead line.

This gear is operated by a three man crew. The net is piled on the stern of a seine boat with the corks stacked forward and the leads aft.

The seine boat is towed by a power launch. When the captain locates a school of whiting he directs the two crew members into the seine boat. At a signal one man jumps off the boat and pulls the short wing of the net to the beach to shut off the escape of the fish (Figure 9). The set is then made parallel to the shore in depths of four to eight feet. At the proper time the second fisherman leaps overboard with a staff attached to the end of the long wing and closes the impounding area. The long wing is then pulled back towards the bag end of the seine, care being taken not to allow fish to escape. As the enclosed area is decreased the net is taken aboard the seine boat by one of the crew members. By carefully drawing the wings together and closing the leadlines along the sea bottom the catch is concentrated into the bag of the net. Then the lead line is attached to the launch and the cork line to the seine boat, with the catch suspended in the bag. The fish are then brailed out by means of a hand

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[Pages 22 and 23]

scoop net (Figure 10). The operation takes from 1½ to 2 hours to complete.

This type of fishing is carried on along the open beaches near Salerno, Florida.

Considerable whiting fishing is done from Fernandina to Sebastian, using 300 yard seines without bags. In this fishery no launch is used. A

FIGURE 9. Starting the set with a whiting seine.

FIGURE 10. Brailing fish from the bag of a whiting seine.

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four oar skiff is carried on a trailer, making the operation very portable.

This method accounts for considerable production with probably 40-50 gears fishing the area.

c. CIGARFISH SEINE

These seines, especially designed for catching cigarfish, or round scad, average 1500 feet in length and 165 meshes deep. The wings are constructed of #6 or #9 thread medium cotton seine twine, 2¼ inches stretched mesh. The bag is 45 feet in width at the center of the net and constructed of #12 thread seine twine, one inch stretched mesh.

This net is used to catch cigarfish, herring, mackerel, bluefish, pompano and mullet, according to the season. Between six and nine men make a crew. The net is carried on the stern of a northwest Florida seine boat, which varies in length from 30 to 45 feet. Along the northwestern coastline of Florida large schools of migrating fish come in very close to the beach, where they are accessible to seining operations. The fisherman usually cruises offshore of the fish, observing the speed of the school.

The boat then speeds up, running ahead of the fish. The stern of the seine boat is swung in towards shore and a fisherman jumps overboard with a staff and a bridle, the set is made around the school. The crew members begin "pulling down," enclosing the fish in a bag. The fish are then brailed out of the bag by means of a washtub.

d. APALACHICOLA SEINE

The Apalachicola seine is 1200 to 1800 yards in length, 100 to 180 meshes deep, 1¼ to 2 inches stretched mesh. The webbing is made of #12 or #15 tarred cotton seine twine. A bag is attached at the center of the net. It is used to catch mullet and accounts for a considerable production.

The seine is stacked on the stern of a four-oar seine boat 28 feet long towed behind a power vessel, which is well equipped and up to 50 feet in length. From nine to twelve men make up a crew. The seine boat is equipped with a well amidship and forward of the seine, so that it can be propelled with an outboard motor if the occasion warrants.

When a school of mullet is sighted the net is rowed around the school.

The gear is "pulled in" by the men using a special harness strapped about the waist. Alternately they walk into the water, wrap the harness line about the corkline and walk backwards 20 to 30 feet up the beach. Three to five men work as a team. The lead line is held to the bottom by a fisherman who stays inside the net throughout the hauling. The captain wades around the outside of the net, freeing the lead line when it becomes hooked on obstacles on the bottom. After the fish have been enclosed in the bag the fishermen use a very unique method of removing them. The lead line of the bag is hooked to the gunwale of the seine boat and the fish are crowded by taking tucks in the net. When the fish are sufficiently crowded they will jump into the skiff.

Sometimes the captain will notice several schools of fish working along the shoreline. In order to take as many fish as possible he will run out about half the net and wait until large numbers of fish have entered the open end. Then before they become alarmed and escape, the boat is rowed to the beach, cutting off escapement.

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[Pages 24 and 25]

2. PURSE SEINES

a. BALLYHOO SEINE

Ballyhoo are a favorite bait for sailfish, kingfish, and dolphin in Florida. They are captured by a small seine, 200 to 300 yards in length, 1½ to 2 inches stretched mesh, 120 to 150 meshes deep. The netting is made of #9 or #12 cotton seine twine. The net is a float seine, with three inch diameter metal rings tied to the lead line at intervals of about five feet. The rings extend for 10 to 25 yards on either side of the center of the net. A line is passed through the rings and spliced to the lead line several feet past the last ring.

The seine is carried on the stern of a mullet or mackerel launch.

Schools of ballyhoo are sought at the edge of the clear offshore water. At times they are found in abundance near the shore, when the clear oceanic water flows near the land. When ballyhoo are located the seine is set around the school. Lines 100 feet in length are attached to the end of each wing. The net is towed for 15 or 20 feet through the water to put a strain on the net. The fishermen then turn off the power and begin pulling in the lines over the stern. The wings are pulled in until the purse lines are reached. The purse line is drawn in to close the bottom of the net. Thus fish are concentrated into a wall of the net and brailed out. Two or three men fish in a crew. Fifty to 100 pounds a set is considered to be a good catch. It takes approximately 10 minutes to complete the operation.

b. MENHADEN PURSE SEINE

This gear may be used only in the capture of menhaden and other non-food fish which are to be reduced to fish oil and meal. Repeated investigations have shown that food and sport fish are not taken in any appreciable amounts by the purse seines (Gowanlock, 1949; Baughman, 1951). During 1952 about fifteen (*Greer, personal communication) purse seine gears operated in Florida waters landing over 130,000,000 pounds of menhaden.

The menhaden purse seine used in Florida is usually about 1200 feet in length, and from 50 to 110 feet in depth. The bunt, or central portion of the seine, is about 100 feet in length and is made of 20/12 cotton twine. The two wings are made of #9 and #15 cotton seine twine.

The stretched mesh measures 1¾ inches. Two 4½ inch diameter seine corks are attached every foot along the cork line. The bottom line is weighted with leads and six inch diameter manila purse line is passed through the rings.

The vessel used in the menhaden fishery is a single screw, diesel powered, wooden ship, about 70 to 150 feet in length. The vessel has two houses, one forward and one aft of the hold. Two purse boats are carried, one on each side on davits near the stern. Half the seine is stowed on each of the purse boats. A crew of eighteen to twenty men work on the menhaden vessels. When a school of fish is sighted the large vessel stops and lowers the purse boats into the water. The net is set with the small boats. A "tom," which is a heavy lead weight, usually of 600 pounds, is used to keep the lead line parallel with the cork line during "pursing" operations. After the bottom of the net is closed the mother ship is moved alongside and the catch is taken aboard. In the

*U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

24

 

 

(Courtesy R. J. Ederer Co.)
FIGURE 11. Hauling in webbing in a purse seine operation.

past a large brailer swung from the outrigger was used for this purpose.

Recently, large pumps have been used to transfer the fish from the net to the hold, greatly increasing the efficiency of the operation. The capacity of the pump is 3000 gallons of water a minute at 300 r.p.m. One boat reportedly pumped 750,000 menhaden in 36 minutes (Anon., 1935). Figure 11. Drawing of the pursing operations.

B. STOP NETS

A stop-net may be defined as any net used in cutting off the mouth of a bay, bayou, arc of a beach or other body of water during the falling tide, or for longer periods, in an effort to strand or gill trapped fish or make them accessible for driving or cast netting. Stop netting is illegal in Florida, but the law is confusing and not completely enforced.

In practice the stop net may be run with gill, trammel, seine netting or with a net especially hung-in as a stop net. The practice of hanging-in nets solely for use in stop-netting has, due to the high cost of materials and the increased effectiveness of law enforcement, become unprofitable in most areas. Nets which are normally used singly for seining or gilling may, on occasion, be hooked together and run as a single stop by combined crews.

Stop-netting is not a single method of fishing; there are almost as many variations as there are fishermen. Four of the most common methods are discussed below.

1. DRY STOP

For most efficient operation the dry-stop is fished during the period of very low tide; the winter low spring tides are most favorable, but

25

 

[Pages 26 and 27]

other low tides may be fished. Since, as the term dry-stops indicates, the bottoms encompassed by the net are uncovered or nearly so, working a medium low tide restricts the set to a smaller area.

The net normally consists of a number of sections, each 200-400 yards long (Figure 12). These sections are joined together to make a single net of variable length. A total net length of three miles is common, but this may be less or may be as long as five miles depending on local conditions. It should be noted that dry-stops are frequently run with nets totaling but a few hundred yards. The methods employed in these stops are similar to those used in the large sets and, therefore, the small operations will not be considered in the following description.

The net is usually set across the entrance to a shallow bay at high slack tide. Each end of the net is secured to the shore. Small stakes may be placed in the bottom along the arc of the net. The cork line is supported by the stakes to prevent it from being towed under by the weight of the fish, floating algae or the tidal current. If deep creeks enter the bay from adjacent highlands these are cut off with small nets stretched from bank to bank.

Once set, the net is allowed to remain in place until the bay bottom, except for shallow channels and pools, is exposed on the low tide.

At this stage large numbers of fish are concentrated near the center of the net and in any shallow pools which lie within the set. Many fish are stranded on the exposed bottom and others are gilled in attempting to follow the outgoing tide.

The fishermen gather as many of the stranded fish as possible, but

FIGURE 12. Stop netting operation: a, is the area in which fish were collected; b, is the area where fish were observed but not collected; c, is a small creek with a net at its mouth; i, is an island.

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frequently they are unable to pick up all those that have been stranded within the net. Soft bottom may force the crew to abandon any fish that are not in the immediate vicinity of the net. The commercial species and placed in skiffs and the trash fish are left. When the available fish have been boated the nets are taken up and the gilled fish are removed.

In an operation of this type nine men work for a period of 18 to 24 hours from the time the net is first set until the net and all available fish have been picked up.

2. STOP GILL NET

The stop gill net is an entangling net that is set on a shallow flat or across a stream or bayou. It is usually supported by stakes driven into the bottom so that the pressure of water, fish and floating material will not move the net from its fishing position. At times the fishermen use a regular mullet gill net in this fashion.

3. DONKEY STOP

This method requires a net similar to that used in the drystop, but it is not restricted to periods of low water. Also, the operations can be completed in about five hours by a crew of three to five men.

After one end is anchored ashore the net, carried in a shallow draft or tunnel stern boat, is towed offshore in a wide sweep until the entire net is overboard. The end is then secured to a power-head or a donkey engine aboard the boat. The boat is then used to drag the free end toward shore. When a depth of about 10 inches is reached the boat is turned back towards the anchored end of the net. When the circle is almost complete the boat is anchored and the donkey engine is used to haul in the net. The "hauling in" is accomplished by means of a rope bridle between the donkey engine and the net. As each section of the net is pulled up to the boat the bridle is detached and secured to the offshore end of the next section. Some net sections are detached and boated, but the remainder are hauled by hand past the boat and beached.

This procedure continues until the fish are concentrated in a short arc of the net. If there is a good catch the fish are hauled ashore as with a beach seine. With a small catch the fish may all gill or may be brailed aboard with the net.

The donkey stop, sometimes referred to as haul-netting or dragnetting is an efficient fishing method.

4. BAYOU OR RIVER STOP

This is a small operation which can be completed by a crew of two or three men in less than four hours. The usual practice is to cut off a branch of a river or bayou with a short net, two to four hundred yards long, stretched from bank to bank, about two hours before expected low tide.

The fish swim down-stream with the falling tide, meet the net and turn back up-stream to settle in deep water or holes. At low water the crew will then surround each hole or settling area with a single deepmeshed net. The cut-off net is now taken aboard. The fish in the circled areas are stampeded so that they gill, or they may be fished out with cast nets.

The bayou stop is popular since it requires only a small amount of

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[Pages 28 and 29]

gear, a small crew, and is not limited to periods of extremely low tides.

Much has been said concerning the damage that stop-netting may do to both the fish and the water bottoms involved. For a discussion of this problem and for descriptions of other methods of stop-netting, the reader is referred to the paper by Idyll (1949).

Ill. IMPOUNDING GEARS

A. TRAPS

I . TWO-LEVEL CRAB TRAP

This crab trap is a rectangular box 24 inches wide and 22 inches in height. The trap is made of galvanized wire with a mesh size of one inch by two inches. The trap is divided by a baffle into an upper and a lower level. In the center of the lower level the bait is enclosed in a small wire mesh box. The crabs enter the lower level of the trap through two to four funnel shaped openings in the wall. After an attempt to get at the bait the crabs swim upward, pass through openings in the partition to the upper level, from which escape is difficult. Menhaden and some species of trash fish make good bait. One fisherman usually works from 95 to 125 traps. The traps are marked by buoys and usually placed in from six to 12 feet of water. They are picked up daily, the catch removed, and re-baited if necessary.

2. ONE-LEVEL CRAB TRAP

A few one-level traps are in use in Florida but the majority of the fishermen consider them inefficient. The one-level crab trap is of identical construction as the two-level trap, without an inner partition.

3. STONE CRAB TRAP

Stone crab traps are constructed of wooden laths with 1½ inch spaces between the slats. The overall dimensions are eighteen inches by one foot by one foot. The traps are weighted with a concrete slab in the bottom, buoyed, and usually baited with skate meat. The traps are set on shallow grass flats. They are usually pulled and re-baited every other day.

4. SLAT TRAP

Slat traps for catching spiny lobsters are constructed of wooden laths with 1½ inch spaces between the slats. The approximate overall dimensions are three feet by two feet by two feet. The traps are weighted with concrete, buoyed, and usually baited with grouper heads. The number of slat traps fished by one boat varies, up to a maximum of three hundred.

The traps are set along the reefs in water three to eighteen fathoms deep, and are pulled and re-baited at least every 48 hours.

5. ICE CAN TRAP

Ice can traps, also used to catch spiny lobsters, are discarded ice molds, open at one end. They are about four feet long, two and a half feet wide and eight inches deep. These cans are prepared for fishing by cutting several holes in the sides and bottom, just large enough to permit the drainage of water and accumulated sand when the can is lifted from the bottom. To prevent sharks from entering the trap, the sides at the open end of the can are sometimes crushed in. Ice cans are neither baited nor buoyed, and are usually set in water less than a fathom in

28

 

depth. Crawfish enter them for shelter, particularly in the daytime. Working from a skiff, the fishermen pull these traps about twice a week. It is illegal to use the ice can since so many small crawfish enter this gear.

B. LIFT NETS

I. CHANNEL NET

Higman (1952) described the channel, or lift, net for catching live shrimp for bait. This is a rectangular pipe frame, measuring 18 to 24 feet long by four feet wide. It is constructed of 1½ to two inch galvanized pipe. A tapered bag 18 to 20 feet long, made of ¾ to one inch cotton stretched mesh is hung to the frame.

In operating this gear the vessel is anchored in areas of strong current when shrimp are moving near the surface. The frames are attached to the sides of the boat and lowered into the water perpendicular to the flow of the current. The outboard portion of the frame is guyed to the mast and the bow to hold the gear in fishing position. The catch may be removed by lifting the gear from position or by taking the bag aboard by means of a line attached to the webbing, forward of the accumulated catch, which is removed by releasing a chain knot and opening the tail.

One boat can operate two of these nets. The live shrimp are placed in wells of circulating sea water.

2. BRIDGE NET

Bridge nets are used by some live bait fishermen in the Florida Keys (Higman, 1952). The mouth of the net is constructed of a one-quarter inch diameter frame, rectangular in form, measuring two by about 6 feet. The gear is sometimes up to 10 feet long. The ends of the frame are rounded and cotton webbing of one-half to three-quarters inch stretched mesh is hung to the frame. The net is fished with a long line attached to the net frame by means of a bridle. The gear is fished on the outgoing tide, the line being attached to the bridge rail. Tidal action holds the gear in fishing position, with about four to six inches of the frame above the water surface. The nets are hauled by hand at irregular intervals, the shrimp are sorted from the nets and the trash is discarded.

3. HOOP NET

The hoop net, used for catching crawfish, consists of a circular piece of netting supported by an iron hoop, up to six feet in diameter, in such a way that the net sags in the center. Bait is tied in the center of the net, which is lowered to the sea bottom by means of a rope line and bridle attached to the hoop. After varying lengths of time on the bottom the hoop net is hauled at a fast, steady pace so that crawfish attracted to the bait will be held in the sagging center of the net. It is only occasionally used in the Florida Keys and is fished from docks or from anchored boats.

In the St. Petersburg area a similar type hoop net is used to catch bait fish (Harengula sp.). The net is lowered until the hoop is about six feet under the surface and the fish are attracted to the net by "chumming" i.e. throwing chopped bait in the water. As soon as sufficient quantities have gathered the net is rapidly raised. The bait fish are carried in live wells aboard the charter boats.

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[Pages 30 and 31]

C. HAND NETS

1. DIP NET

There are three principal parts to a dip net. The hoop, which is made from a metal rod one-eighth to one-quarter inch thick, is bent into a circle with a diameter of 14 to 16 inches. A small bag of about one-half inch stretched mesh is attached to the hoop. The hoop is fastened to a pole which varies in length. In the case of a crab dip net the bag is very shallow and is made of larger mesh chicken wire.

When dipping for shrimp from high bridges, the pole may be as long as 25 feet. It is common practice to suspend a gasoline lantern from the bridge rail and dip the shrimp as they swim under the light.

2. BULLY NET

The bully net is a hoop net approximately 18 inches in diameter with the hoop attached at right angles to the pole. The bag is usually two feet deep and of 2½ inch stretched mesh. It is used to catch crawfish.

In the daytime a fisherman, by means of a glass-bottom bucket, detects the "whips" or antennae of a spiny lobster projecting from beneath rocky ledges or marine growth. He then routs the lobster out with a probe and places the hoop over the animal so that the netting streams upward. As the hoop surrounds the lobster it jumps backward into the net and is thus trapped.

At night the bully net is used without a probe in water from three to five feet deep. A gasoline lantern is used to illuminate the bottom and the lobsters. Some years ago this gear was in common use in the Florida Keys, however, it is now infrequently employed.

3. CAST NET

Cast nets are handknitted and discoid in shape with a weighted circumference that sinks the net to the bottom when it is thrown. The lead line is closed by drawing in the "tuck" lines passing through the apex of the net.

Since the construction of a cast net in the usual manner is so time consuming, many fishermen cut eight or nine equal triangles from a sheet of webbing and lace them together to form a disc. A net made in this fashion can be completed in a few hours.

Fish may be captured by allowing the net to sink to the bottom, or they may be entrapped in mid-water. Many fishermen use this net to catch mullet from bridges in south Florida. The mullet swim near the surface and the net is thrown to cover a part of the school and "snatched" immediately so that it will only sink two or three feet before closing.

In the Halifax River, in Volusia County, one-half inch stretched mesh cast nets are used to capture shrimp for live bait. Areas are baited with crushed barnacles or oysters. A fisherman casts over a series of these places; storing his catch in a live well.

IV. DRAGGED GEARS

A. SHRIMP TRAWLS

A commercial trawl is a flattened conical bag tapered from the mouth to the tail, which is dragged over the sea bed. It is towed behind a vessel by two long warps at speeds of 2½ to 4 knots. The wings

30

 

of the trawl are attached to otter boards, or doors, set at an angle by chains, so that the force of the water against them will hold the net open.

The boards slide along the bottom on iron runners. The webbing at the top of the mouth of the net is attached to the head rope which is buoyed with floats. The bottom webbing is fastened to the foot rope which is weighted by chain or other heavy material. The head rope is above and in advance of the foot rope which causes the upper part of the net to hang above and ahead of the lower. Shrimp and fish which are startled by the advance of the foot rope, and which jump or swim suddenly upward, strike this overhanging portion and are swept back into the net.

Wings serve the same purpose on the side of the net. The catch is herded into the mouth of the net and is swept back into the bag or "codend." This is closed during fishing by a special knot, which is untied by a sharp jerk to empty the catch onto the deck of the fishing vessel (Figure 13).

(Courtesy U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service)
FIGURE 13. Emptying the "codend" of a shrimp trawl.

Two men are able to operate a shrimp boat, but more often three men make up a crew in the Florida fishery. When putting the net in the water the captain operates the boat, the first striker handles the winch and the second striker puts the tail of the net overboard, checks the lazy line (a line used to retrieve the bag of the net without pulling the whole net aboard), and sees that the gear descends without fouling. As soon as the boards are in the water the captain speeds up just enough so that they will clear his propeller, then he speeds up sufficiently to ensure that the net stays open. The Florida fishermen tow their rigs with lengths of cable from five to ten times the water depth. Drags are from 2½ to four hours duration, depending on the catch rate. In the fall of the year the east coast of Florida from Fernandina to Fort Pierce is the best fishing ground. Here the fishery operates by day on the white shrimp and on

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[Pages 32 and 33]

the brown shrimp by night. The winter and spring fishery is located near Tortugas, where the pink shrimp are taken at night.

Anderson, Lindner and King (1949), report that the shrimp otter trawl was introduced into Florida sometime between 1912 and 1915. Until that time the cast net and the haul seine had been the exclusive gear used in the shrimp fishery. It is believed that the first trawling took place near Fernandina on the northeast coast of Florida. The fishermen were quick to adopt the more efficient shrimp trawl which allowed them to fish in deeper waters, and the older methods soon lost favor. The early trawls ranged in size from 10 to 40 feet across the mouth. The trawls now in use vary in size from the try net, which is usually about 12 feet across and is used for locating concentrations of shrimp, to the vessels main trawl which is usually about 74 feet across at the mouth but which may have a spread of 100 feet.

Before 1949 practically all of the shrimping fleet was using the flat trawl with a maximum spread of about 40 feet. The flat trawl has leads on the bottom line and both the cork and lead lines are tied close to the trawl doors. This type of net digs into the bottom when it is dragged. Fishermen reported that they had to replace the bottom body of the net frequently because of wear. Soon after the Tortugas shrimping grounds were discovered in late 1949, Atlantic Coast fishermen brought the balloon trawl to Florida. This trawl is hung with chain on the bottom line, e.g., 15 inches of chain may be tied every 11 inches along the foot rope. The float and the bottom lines extend for about 20 feet from the wings of the trawl to the doors. This allows the top of the net to ride six to nine feet above the bottom of the net. This type of net is said to ride over the bottom, rather than digging in, and therefore causes less wear on the webbing and picks up fewer bottom organisms and less trash. Since there

(Courtesy R. J. Ederer Co.)
FIGURE 14. Florida flat trawl and try net being fished simultaneously.

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are a great many shells and crabs on the Tortugas grounds the flat trawls were quickly abandoned in favor of the new gear.

The gear used by the shrimp fleet has undergone continued changes recently. Years ago the nets were pulled by hand or by block and tackle.

The larger nets in use today utilize power winches for operating the gear. The depth recorder has become standard equipment on shrimp vessels as has the radio telephone. The size of boats has undergone a steady increase in the past five years.

Bullis (1951) has given a comprehensive description of the shrimp trawls in Florida and the Gulf of Mexico. Figure 14 shows the flat trawl and the try net that are used by the fishermen in Florida.

I. BAIT SHRIMP TRAWL

The trawl used by fishermen supplying live shrimp for use in the sport fishery is a modification of the flat trawl used in the commercial fishery.

The bag is made of #18 or #20 cotton seine twine, 1¼ inch stretched mesh. The top and bottom bodies of the net are hung with 75 meshes to the head and the foot ropes. The top and bottom jibs are hung with 100 meshes, with equal jib sides of 50 meshes. The extension of the wings on the cork line is 11 meshes on either side. The wings are 39 meshes in depth at this point. The bottom body is set back 28 meshes so that it will ride behind the cork line. The net is hung with five meshes to a four inch tie. This means that 7½ inches of stretched mesh webbing is taken up for every four inches of cork and lead line. Plastic floats are placed on the cork line to hold the net up in the water. Sixteen links of one-quarter inch galvanized chain are tied every foot along the bottom line so that the bottom line is weighted with hanging loops of chain. The chain does not dig into the bottom but rather rides over it. This net effectively fishes a path about 25 feet wide.

The doors used are usually 47 inches long and 26 inches high. Strap iron of one-half inch thickness and 2½ inch width is attached to the bottom of each door as a runner. The purpose of the runners is to sink the doors, and to help hold them upright in an operating position.

This fishery is carried on at night in areas where the brown grooved shrimp (Penaeus aztecus) and the pink grooved shrimp (P. duorarum) occur. The boats are operated by one or two men. The trawl is let out behind the moving boat, which is usually gasoline powered, and 18 to 34 feet in length. The tows are of short duration (five to ten minutes) so that the shrimp will not be damaged. The catch is dumped on a sorting table, the shrimp placed in a live well and the remainder of the catch returned to the water. This fishery operates from Cedar Keys to the Florida Keys.

2. FRAME TRAWL

A frame trawl is constructed of a rectangular galvanized pipe frame with dimensions varying from six by four feet to twenty by two feet. The webbing is made of #6 or #9 cotton twine, three-quarter to one inch stretched mesh. The lower portion of the frame is sometimes equipped with sled runners of one-quarter inch galvanized pipe or with cylindrical rollers made of wood lath or with large diameter pipe. A small trawler, 22 feet in length, is able to fish two of these nets at the same time. One may be pulled on deck and the catch removed while the other is fishing.

Drags are of short duration because of the possible damage to the shrimp.

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[Pages 34 and 35]

The shrimp are placed in live wells with aerated, circulating sea water and are sold to the sport fishermen as bait. One or two men make up a crew. This fishery is carried on at night to catch the pink grooved and brown grooved shrimp in the shallow bays of west and southwest Florida.

B. DRAGS

I. SCALLOP DRAG

Scallops are caught in the bay areas of Lee and Bay Counties by means of dredges. This dredge is constructed of one-quarter inch triangular steel rod frame to which a cotton webbing bag is attached. The upright arms of the triangle are bent to an angle of nearly 90°. The height of the bent triangle is about nine inches. The base of the triangle, which is 28 inches wide, rides on the bottom and scoops up the catch.

To the apex of the triangle a three-quarter inch steel rod about two to 2½ feet long is welded. This forms the tongue of the drag, to which the towing line is spliced. The bag is hand-made of #24 to #42 cotton seine twine, usually 2¾ inches stretched mesh (Figure 15).

FIGURE 15. Scallop drag used in Pine Island area.

The boats used in this fishery are small, averaging about 16 feet in length, flat bottomed and powered with 6-10 h.p. air cooled gasoline engines. A culling board, measuring approximately two by five feet is placed on the stern. Two of the drags are fished simultaneously; one is pulled in by hand and emptied on the culling board while the other is in the water, Fishing is carried on from June to fall of the year, in two to four feet of water on sand and grassy bottoms.

2. SHELL DREDGE

A shell dredge is a metal frame measuring three feet long, 2½ feet wide and nine inches high, covered with one-quarter inch galvanized wire

34

 

screen. A steel plate two inches wide is attached at the mouth as a cutting edge. The dredges are used in the Pine Island Sound area to collect shells, sea horses and other marine life for the novelty business. Fishing is done with the same type of boat that is used in the scallop fishery.

3. PUSH NET

Push nets are constructed of wooden rectangular frames varying from three to ten feet in width and from two to four feet in height. A bag of one-half inch stretched mesh cotton webbing is hung to the frame. A handle, six to eight feet long, is attached to the wooden frame at the midpoint of the long side. A cross piece six to ten inches in length is fastened perpendicular to the handle so that the fisherman can push against the handle with his chest.

This gear is operated by the fisherman pushing the net in front of him, in three feet or less of water. The length of time that the fisherman operates his gear depends on the amount of shrimp in the area. The catch is usually emptied in the bow of the skiff that the fisherman drags behind him, and is sorted by someone in the boat. Fishing is usually done on grassy and muddy bottoms on both the east and west coast of Florida.

(See de Sylva, 1954, for a detailed report on this fishery.)

V. HOOK AND LINE GEARS

A. LINES HAULED BY HAND

There is an extensive hook and line bottom fishery off the northwest, west and central east coast of Florida, principally for the capture of red snapper and grouper.

According to Camber (1955) the snapper fishermen use #54 and #96 hard lay untarred net twine for the hand line. Two, sometimes three, three-foot gangens are fastened at the end, each with a hook. The hooks are Kirby #3, #4 and #5. The hand lines average about 100 fathoms in length and when not in use are coiled in small wooden tubs. The sinker used is a 3¾ pound or more "patent" pear-shaped weight. When fishing, the fisherman flings the line out from the vessel with a swinging motion to prevent tangling. The lead is raised just off the bottom so that the fisherman is able to feel the fish when they touch the bait. When a fish bites, the hook is set with a sharp jerk, which raises the lead two or three feet. Then the line is held in this position for a few seconds in hope that a fish will take the other hook. The baits used are fresh or salted squid, cigarfish, herring, menhaden and skipjack. Handlining is inefficient in deep water or areas of strong current since the heavy cotton line is very resistant to water flow and the hauling in of long lines is very laborious. The expansion of bottom fishing to new grounds has been brought about by mechanization of the fishing gear and the use of wire line.

B. REELED LINES

I. MECHANICAL

Several types of mechanical reels have been developed recently. One of these reels, described by Siebenaler and Brady (1952) is pictured in Figure 16. This reel is used extensively on the east coast of Florida by the bottom fishery fleet.

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[Pages 36 and 37]

(1) Deck flange (2) Lower post 2 (3) Adjustable collar clamp (5) Upper post (4) Reel assembly (6) Shock absorber (7) Boom (8) Pulley
FIGURE 16. A manually operated reel used in snapper and grouper fishing.

A hand-operated deep sea fishing reel of another type has been developed and installed aboard many vessels fishing out of ports on the west coast of Florida. This is a hand operated wheel with a V-belt attached to the reel. The wire line is run through a sheave suspended from a spring. A bicycle coaster brake is attached to the driving drum. When the fisherman wishes to brake the line he reverses the direction of turn of the driving wheel, in the same manner that a bicycle is braked. Skilled

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fishermen claim that they can greatly increase their production with this reel.

2. POWER OPERATED

a. ELECTRICAL

Electric reels were introduced into the red snapper and grouper fishery late in 1950. The reel's weight is about 60 pounds and it is mounted on the ship's rail when fishing begins; at other times it is stored out of the weather. The reels are plugged into a 120 volt electrical system for power. The advantages claimed by the fishermen are that the electric reels make it possible to explore deeper water for fish, permit faster fishing (fish are brought to the surface two or three times faster by this method) and allow for a more sustained fishing operation. The reel also makes fishing much less laborious.

b. GASOLINE

Dupre (1953) has described a power reel developed by Jacob Biebighauser. The reels are mounted on the railing of the vessel and connected to a gasoline driven line shaft by a chain drive. Each reel has its own clutch and brake mechanism. The power reels have been reported to be at least twice as efficient as handlining.

C. POLES AND LINES

The pole and line fishery is practiced in all parts of Florida for many species of fish. The speckled trout is probably more sought by commercial pole and line fishermen than any other species. Bamboo poles 12 to 18 feet in length without reels are used by the fishermen. The length of the line and leader is usually the same as the pole or slightly longer.

The boats used by the fishermen are 14 to 16 feet in length, usually powered by a 6-10 h.p. air-cooled engine. The boats are usually equipped with small live wells in which bait, live shrimp or pigfish (Orthopristis chrysopterus), are held. Fishing is done from an anchored boat. A fisherman can operate as many as three poles, depending on his skill and how the fish are biting.

A commercial fishery for snook with pole and line is carried on in south Florida from bridges, at night. The pole is of stout bamboo about 16 feet in length. The line and leader wire are slightly shorter than the pole and must be strong enough to handle fish up to 25 pounds. Live shrimp, mullet and herring are the favorite bait. The fishermen walk slowly along the bridge with the live bait in the water. The snook are usually found near pilings and under bridges. A considerable catch is accounted for by this method.

A commercial pole and line fishery for sheepshead (Archosargus probatocephalus) operates along the east coast of Florida from New Smyrna to Melbourne. The pole is from eight to 12 feet in length. A wooden spool is attached near the butt of the pole, on which the fisherman wraps his line by hand when retrieving fish.

A small boat, 14 to 16 feet in length, powered by a 5-10 h.p. outboard motor, is used in this fishery. The bait best suited for catching sheepshead is the fiddler crab which is abundant along the salt water marsh beds. Sheepshead are found in 10 to 15 feet of water along mangrove shorelines or around pilings of docks and bridges. They are famous

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for their bait stealing abilities, but are readily caught by experienced fishermen. Mangrove snapper are also taken by this fishing method but not in great abundance.

D. TROLLING GEARS

Trolling is a method of fishing in which a bait is pulled through the water by a moving boat.

Trolling is an important method of catching kingfish along the southeast of Florida and off the Florida Keys during the winter months. The fishermen troll with .022 or .024 inch diameter wire line and 6/0, 7/0 and 8/0 hooks, using strip, cut bait, spoons or squid. Some use a 8/0 hook with unravelled manila line tied to the eye of the hook. When a kingfish strikes the fisherman pulls it in, coiling the wire line at his feet. The fish is thrown into a wooden box as the hook is shaken free from its mouth.

The boats are from 20 to 30 feet in length, manned by one or two men fishing with two to five lines. The trolling speed considered to be most effective is two to four knots.

Trolling for speckled trout has become increasingly important in recent years in Florida. Bamboo poles are used with varying lengths of line and with small feathers or spoons as lures. The one man operated boats are 16 to 18 feet in length, powered with an air-cooled motor. A .small square box is mounted in the center near the stern, with its top about five inches below the railing of the boat. Five pieces of three inch diameter neoprene steam hose, six to eight inches in length are bolted by one end to the top of the box. The butt ends of five poles are placed in the steam hose openings. Stops or arresters are placed at appropriate points along the railing to maintain the poles in fishing position. A pole points outboard on each side of the boat. One pole is directly astern, and two poles are placed at 45° to the others. The fisherman trolls slowly along shorelines and over grassy flats, tending five lines.

Trolling is also practiced by snook fishermen on the southwest coast of Florida during the spring. During that time of the year the snook school together. A 2000 pound daily catch is not unusual for one boat.

Some commercial mackerel trolling is carried out during the winter months in the Miami area and in the Keys, but it is not very important in the commercial production of mackerel in the state. Many of the mackerel netters catch individual fish by hook and line to learn what size of mackerel are in the area before setting their nets.

The troll fishery in Florida has not been mechanized to any extent.

Some fishermen along the central east coast use a manually operated reel while trolling for kingfish. For a further description of this reel and the fishery see Siebenaler and Brady, 1952.

E. TROT LINES

The trot-line is the most popular gear used in the Florida blue crab fishery. It consists of a single main line of 5⁄32 or¼ inch manila, stretched along the bottom for a length ranging between 800 and 2,000 yards. Each end of the main line is anchored and buoyed. The gear is fished on the bottom in water between five and 30 feet deep.

The most successful baits are pieces of beef hide, bull noses, pig snouts, eel and cow lips. The baits are attached to the mainline by means

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of slip knots at intervals of three to five feet, depending on the abundance of crabs.

The trot-line is a one-man gear and is fished from a small skiff equipped with a line roller or line guide near the bow. The trot-line is set out in a more or less straight line. Once set the fisherman continually works the line by running his boat slowly along the set so that the main line passes over the line guide. As the bait clears the water the crabs clinging to the bait, are caught in a dip-net and emptied into barrels or other containers aboard the crab boat. Re-baiting when necessary, this procedure is continued until the end of the trot line is taken aboard and stored in baskets.

F. SHARK CHAIN LINE

The shark chain line is not in use in Florida at present, since shark fishing is no longer profitable. The following description of shark fishing gear has been taken from the "Guide to Commercial Shark Fishing in the Caribbean Areas" (Anon., 1945):

The "chain set line consists of a ground line made up of sections of 3⁄16-inch galvanized chain, 600 feet long. At 30-foot intervals along this chain, six feet of 3⁄16 inch galvanized leader chain, together with swivel and hook, are attached with heavy harness snaps (sometimes called snap hooks) to the main line. The line is anchored at both ends and marked with flag buoys at the surface. One boat can tend two or three lines 1,200 to 1,800 feet long per day."

There were several variations of the chain set line. One of these was a, method of attaching each hook line to a separate buoy and allowing 2½ times the length of the hook line between buoys to prevent tangling.

Shark fishing was carried on all along the coast of Florida until the shark plant in Salerno was closed.

VI. MISCELLANEOUS GEARS

A. OYSTER TONGS

The legal mechanical device for the taking of oysters in Florida is the hand tongs. This consists of two modified rakes joined by a pivot, located about one-third of the way between the rake and the shaft ends.

The teeth range in number from 10 to 14 and serve to tear the oyster free from the bottom attachment. A basket-like enlargement of the teeth serves to hold large numbers of oysters until they can be brought to the surface. Tongs used in Florida range from 10 to 16 feet long.

Tongs are lowered rapidly in the open position with the shaft ends three to four feet apart. When the rake reaches the bottom the oysterman works the shafts back and forth until he can close the tongs by bringing the shafts together. The tongs are then hauled, hand over hand, to the surface, and the oysters are released onto the culling board or deck.

The boat is usually anchored over an oyster bed and tonging continues until no longer profitable. The anchor line is then slacked off a fathom or two and tonging is resumed until several bushels of mixed shells have been boated. Before tonging continues these are culled and the dead shells and small oysters are returned to the bar.

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B. GIGS

Gigs are two or three pronged spears used in shallow water. Some crawfish have been taken by this method but it is not favored by the fishermen because of the damage done to the crawfish.

Gigs are used in the commercial flounder fishery which is carried on along the upper east and west coasts of Florida. The skiffs used in this fishery are 12 to 14 feet in length, powered by an outboard motor. Fishing is done only at night. A gasoline lantern is attached to the bow with a shield to prevent light from shining in the eyes of the fishermen.

The gig is attached to the end of a stout pole 14 to 16 feet in length. When fishing, the motor is not used as the boat is pushed along by means of a pole. When the light strikes the flounder it lies motionless on the bottom and it may be easily speared. In some areas the fisherman walks while towing his boat. Favorite spots for floundering are along the edges of oyster bars in water one to three feet in depth.

C. SPONGING DEVICES

Hooking is the common method for gathering shallow water sponges in Florida. Hook boats having a normal crew of one or two men gather sponges generally inside the four fathom contour. Fishermen locate sponges with the aid of a glass-bottom bucket; they are then freed from the bottom and pulled to the surface with a hook secured to a long pole.

In deeper waters sponges are harvested by divers working from an especially equipped diving vessel which varies from 36 to 50 feet in length.

Although the complement of a diving vessel varies, the minimum crew required for a successful and efficient operation is five men. The crew members consist of two divers, a line tender, an engineer and a deckhand.

When approaching or working over sponge beds the bottom is constantly sounded with an armed lead. The cavity in the bottom of the lead is either filled with soap, or gashes are cut into the lead to pick up samples of the bottom. The experienced sponge diver can readily identify potentially good bars by these traces. Wheel guards are secured to the hull before diving begins. These serve to form a basket-like cover around the propeller and prevent fouling of the air and life-lines. The divers, working in full diving dress, make alternate dives, with only one diver being overboard at any one time. The duration of each dive is variable, depending on the depth, water conditions and the availability of sponges.

In water of up to 12 fathoms, dives of three hours or more are not uncommon As the diver walks across the bottom he breaks the sponges loose from their attachment with the sponge hook. He places the sponges in a small meshed basket and when this is filled it is hauled to the surface by means of the diver's life-line.

During the late 1930's and the early 40's depths of 20 or more fathoms were frequently worked. Today, however, it is unusual to find divers working in depths in excess of 14 fathoms, and the majority of diving is confined to waters within the 10 fathom line. The trend toward inshore beds is partly explained by the scarcity of good sponges on the deep beds and also by the difficulties encountered in diving in deep water.

The natural sponges produced in the United States all come from the coastal waters of Florida. Tierney and Dawson (1950) reported that

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sponges occurred in commercial quantities all along the coast of Florida from Biscayne Bay south to Key West and along most of the west coast north as far as Carrabelle, before the sponge disease of 1939-1940. Another blight in 1948 further crippled the fishery and since 1950 the industry has been at a low ebb.

D. SPEARFISHING

Brady (1951) defined spearfishing as "catching fish by spears thrown or shot by persons swimming or wholly immersed in the water."

The spearfisherman is equipped with a glass face plate to enable him to see in the water. A pair of large rubber fins attached to his feet enable him to move about swiftly in the water. The spear gun that he carries propels a barbed metal shaft by means of rubber tubing. When a fish is sighted he approaches until his gun is within 5 to 12 feet of the fish and fires the spear. Snook, snappers and groupers are the fish sought most ardently by the commercial spearfishermen.

MISCELLANEOUS GEARS AND PARTS OF GEARS

BAG–(tail, codend of a trawl): The untapered terminal cylinder of the trawl, where the catch accumulates.

BAG–(pocket, bunt of a seine): Tapered webbing of a cone; or a section of a seine in which more webbing is hung in on each hanging than is in the wings. The catch accumulates in the bag as the seine is hauled ashore or pulled together in the water.

BELLY–(body): The tapered portion of a trawl that extends from wing to wing and from hanging edge to the point of body attachment.

BRIDLE–Lengths of cable or rope with the forward end secured to the warp and the after end fastened to the fishing gear.

BUOY–A floating device, sometimes lighted or otherwise marked, for supporting, identifying and locating fishing gear.

BRAILER–A large dip net slung from the ship's boom, or a smaller dip net operated by hand to transfer fish from a net to a boat.

CORK LINE–(top line, head line, float line): A line bearing floats attached to the upper portion of the net.

DOUBLE SELVAGE–Double twine, tied along the edge of netting to reinforce it.

DRAWSTRING–(draw line, codend line, tie line): A short line passed through rings attached to the last meshes of the bag of a trawl, and chain-slip knotted. After the bag is hoisted aboard the drawstring is untied and the catch allowed to fall on deck.

CULLING BOARD–A platform laid across a boat, either amidships or on the stern, on which the fisherman separates the useable part of the catch from the trash or undersize individuals. Used in the bait shrimp, shell, scallop and tong oyster fisheries.

DRIVING–A method of chasing fish in the desired direction by maneuvering the boat at high speeds.

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GANG HOOKS–Multiple hooks (usually two or three) fashioned with a single shank and eye.

GANGEN–A line suspended from the main line for attachment of hooks or bait, in long line and crab trot lines.

GRAB–A pair of jaws fastened to the end of a pole and capable of being cocked open; used to catch crawfish.

GRAIN–A spear-like device with two or more prongs; sometimes used to capture crawfish.

GULLIGAN STICK–A stout piece of broom handle about 15 inches in length, notched at one end and used to remove hooks from the mouths of red snapper and grouper.

LAZY LINE–A line passed through rings attached at the forward end of the tail of a shrimp trawl; the other end is tied to one of the trawl doors.

The lazy line is used to haul in the tail of a shrimp trawl and lift it over the deck.

LEAD LINE –(bottom line, foot line, ground line, chain line): A line bearing weights attached to the bottom of a net.

NIPPERS–Oval shaped rubber hand guards, used in hand line fishing to prevent burning or cutting of fingers.

SAVINGS GEAR–Unravelled manila line, tied along the bottom of a trawl.

Occasionally canvas or cowhide is used.

SNATCH HOOK–A gang hook with a weighted shank.

STAFF–A pole weighted on one end to which the cork and the lead lines are attached.

THROAT-(funnel): The forward part of the bag of a shrimp trawl.

TICKLER CHAIN-A chain attached to the doors of a trawl which drags on the bottom in front of the bottom line in order to frighten the shrimp into the net.

TWINE- The cordage of which net meshes are made or with which nets are repaired.

WARP-The cable or the line leading from the attachment of the bridle to the hauling winch.

WEBBING- (netting): The material from which nets are made. Webbing is a series of meshes, usually sold by the pound.

WING-The wings are the sides of trawls, cut straight along the bottom and tapered along the top attachment to the top body.

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