The San Francisco; Sunday Call
Sleam Trawling
in Drake's Bas
Jack Jungmeyer
THE yield of the sea which is
daily displayed in the Inviting,
brine odorous fish stalls of San
Francisco Is taken and brought
to market with a picturesque detail of
labor that attaches to the garnering
of no other food staple of this locality.
Because the deep sea fisherman can not
be generally observed while engaged
In making his catch, the average land
'ubber has but a very indefinite idea
of how the work is carried on. The
following- paragraphs will throw some
I'ght on the important part the steam
-awler plays in supplying the local
markets, and^glve an account of the
manner in which he takes his toll, of.
the deep.
Drakes bay, some 40 miles north of
San Francisco, is one of the most fa
mous fishing banks of the world. On
the level stretch of submarine sand ly
ing between Double Point and Point
Reyes the choicest edible fish of the
Pacific feed and school by millions.
This bank has been systematically
lished for the 20 years at the
least, and still the supply of marine
life frequenting that sheltered sweep
of v/atcr seems inexhaustible. The daily
catch taken from near Point Reyes and
brought to the bay cities' markets
e mounts to about 10 to 12 tons of edible
tea food. On Drakes bay the crew
of a steam trawler will throw away,
as unmarketable more fish from one
lift of the great seine than are taken
In one haul by any single crew of fish
ermen in any other part of the world.
This will serve to illustrate the meas
ure of reward the local fishermen reap
in return for their toll.
Two San Francisco fish companies
engage in steam trawling along this
6ection of the coast. Each of these
firms maintains two trawling vessels
and crews of expert fishermen at
Drakes bay and that general vicinity
the year round. These vessels supply
the great bulk of fresh salt water fish
*\u25a0 trought to the local markets. It was
through the courtesy of one of the
firms that I "vi;as permitted to accom
pany one of these fishing crews on their
dally trip to the banks end watch
them at their work.
A Bteam trawling vessel is simply an
ordinary, stanch tug, so rigged that it
can drag a gigantic seine along the sea
bottom and can hoist the net, when
filled, with the greatest degree of cer
tainty and dispatch. The tugs are of
such build and tonnage that they are
enabled to maneuver with rapidity un
der the most trying condition of sea or
weather. The system of steam trawl
ing, the only one in any measure ade
quate to supply the enormous, demand
for sea food, was Introduced some 30
years ago from the Mediterranean
coatt. The crews' that man these ves
sels, too, are drawn from those old, old
fishing grounds of southern Europe —
Italians, Sicilians, Spaniards and
Greeks. Their swarthy faces and alien
ways seem to flt peculiarly with the
fishing In which they are so expert.
There was* but one man of the crew,
with whom I fared up to the. fishing
• banks, who could speak English -that
was intelligible — the mate.
A gigantic pocket net, attached by
means of long hawsers to the winch
. drums of two tugboats, and dragged
along miles* of sea bottom for hours, at "a
time, gathering in its meshes everything
that lies or swims In its path, from the
transparent Jelly fish and the ungainly
crab to the -arrogant 100 pound/ cod-^
\u25a0«tfcat Is the 'mechanical detail of trawl-"
TZS- The human element In the
demands strong men— men whom.; the
sea can not cow nor, bully. Not. infre
quently the day's work resolves • Itself
Into a bitter, earnest, long sustained
• fight between the crew \>t the vessel
end a Ditching sea for possession 0/ the
expensive net, doubly precious with its
burden of living weight. Hidden rocks
and the prevalent coast fogs add their
element of danger, always threatening.
Cold winds mean suffering, .and the
long hours of this labor rasp away at
the fisherman's | nerves until it becomes*
presumption to expect patience or good
\u25a0will of him in his dealings with his
fellows'. There is, however, something
about the work, a certain freedom and
exhilaration, which keeps a man's'
spirit buoyant -and eager, for its task.
It seldom occurs that the - seasoned
trawler deserts his nets for some other
and easier mode of life.
It was 3 o'clock on an extremely
cold and foggy morning when the. crew
whom I accompanied piled Into- the tug
at the foot of -Vallejo street wharf and
cast Off the ropes for. the;ruri\up to the
Marln county banks. Once ; outside ' the
heads of the gate,' with the Intermit
tent blare of the fog. sirens <dying away
at our stern; the eight or 10; fishermen
who ' made '\u25a0\u25a0, up ; the '• crew crawled': down
below - deck - and' finished -tholr i broken
night's sleep. -.".1 satlprbpped up In the
stuffy, hot little pilot, box ' with ' the
skipper, while the tug ; pelted through
the .rough: seas" for three* hours on her
northward course. At dawn we reached
Point Reyes, where we met; another
tug In every, way. similar to our own;
this -sister "-tug- was 'to assist 'ln' drag
ging the big net. two boats>being
necessary \u25a0 to accomplish the : trawl.',. The
big Sicilian rmata". bawled a \command
down Into the fo'c'sle and -the ; crew,
with an answering- volley of shouts,
tumbled out on deck -and Jumped to
their stations;. the day's 'work r had be
gun. ; In a moment all was excitement
and activity, ,- ' -. . -"
Casting the Net
Our sister tug came scuttling over, to
os to take a line our^mate heaved over
to tbeml For "a moment' the- two .ves
sels hung close.-heavlng'erratlcally on
the sea, the men of the crews •exchang
ing chaff and greeting,' while the cook
of our tug 'flung certain supplies -across
to his fello-nr "hasher ', of r tHe • other
crewl' " This /second tug, by ; the' way,
does ,riot leave" theflshlng'-grounds' at
all ; except .? on" Sunday,/ when ".the { run
down .to San! Francisco is made:forl.the
sake, of providing « social /diversion' for
the crew,- Sunday belng :^a ; day of Vest
for these J fisher fol k. *T.To . the ; . end of - the
line whic-h' our mate passed 'overHo'thj
second "tug Js attached Hne Vend 'of ' the
heavy ! rope! hawser >' which v carries *orie
wing 'of vthe *:blg' net carefully
In the : stern" of " our. boat.' \u25a0> The \u25a0 hawser
having . been ' \u25a0 made -> fast- ; to i the % winch
drum or* windlass of our^'sister trawler,
the : two t ;. tugs ".began 1;\u25a01 ;\u25a0' to*' steam; slowly
apart ' and. -at> the proper -moment ; .th3
cumbersome /n et ? was; "cast 'J overboard
and* allowed, to .sink, slowly "" r tq "•'the'j bot
tom. . 'We- were 'steaniinsr against- the
The Wholesale Method of
Harvesting the Sea by^ Which.
San Francisco Are Supplied
tide' so' that- the; weight of the water
would properly 'Open "and distend the
big mesh bag. -;Onqe : spread along the
sandy bottom of,-. the sea, , the net is
held openV and ..in" proper /position by
means of . an arrangement of sinkers
and cork floats.- .For 'the thr^e hours
following tho casting 'of the net the
tugs steamed ahead at* good speed
across the bank. Below Beas the vora
cious ; mesh mouth was, gathering Its
spoil, /accumulating every :T conceivable
specie of sea -creature, .not- by the
score, but by 'the .hundredweight* and
the ton," heaping them pellm.ill and in
dlscrlmlriately Into, the, farther, recesses
of, the, gigantic^- seine, I'where'.the'strug
gling, turmoil, of • glistening'; bodies ; be
comes'-Inextrlcably;entangled and held
untllithe^net is'llfted.f: ; v r .; -^ '
.Meanwhilei "*. the. ;^crew \u25a0*•. was' eating
breakfast. •' A^'large' basket \otlU fried
sariddabs; browned and-curled'with'fry
ing, 'was; carried' otit'on "the jfore"deck.'
Every; man., helped -^himself, -stripping
the; r flaklng; flesh;' from'' the';;bones;-,with
his fingers. and. filllrig t hls mouth. -; Great
loaves - ' of . French^ bread ,; two \f eet '(• in
length ,'^vere^ ; brought ; "?outr?each- ; man
broke Toff 'a ; .chunk Awl th"; his i raw,,- wet
hands -\u25a0 and " guarded • 1 1 vwolfishly/.where
he ' satf; -For.: a ; ; time tlio many mouths
were stuffed. beyond ltheabllity, to talk.
Even the: voluble ; south European
tongues. -must perforce : .\, remain /silent
while this; gormandizing went on.Then
followed S a long pull 'at' the wine jugs,*
and ; another r and : still ; another, r Now
tliat< hunger, was ; satisfied and the
mouths were empty, the tongue of joke
and . gibe was . loosed. _ How the chaff
flew ! How • the * laughs • crowded one
upon the other to echo "out along the
troughs of: the. sea*/ answered laugh for
laugh by the croak :,'of ; the gulls and
the murres that ; pitched . erratically
and In ever increasing "'numbers about
the boat, awaiting the lifting \of the
net and-the casting aside of the tithe
that would be theirs.
At 12 o'clock the boats began, to ap
proach each other obliquely, prepara
tory to raising the net. The other; tug
swung slowlyaround us and passed us
the hawser it had been pulling. - The
rope end -was: then "fastened to our
winch drum, after having been fed
through a hoisting tackle suspended
from a boom that extended out to the
rail of the tug along the after quarter.
The hawser we had been pulling during
the drag of the net was already simi
larly attached. ;The maneuvering of
the tugs had closed the mouth of the
net by twisting one wing of the open-
Ing across the other. Tliese prelimin
aries arranged to the satisfaction lof
our mate and skipper, the hoisting of
the great seine with Its unknown quan
tity and quality of fish was begun.
Steadily and very slowly 6n account
of the weight' of the bag the winch
w.ound up the hawser which was passed
to* the fore deck and; piled up there .so
that It would not Interfere with the
sorting of the catch on the after deck.
In perhaps .five minutes the ends of
the net appeared above the tide and
the great' bag ,was ; suspended iand held
there, 'washing "slowly, in the ? swing: of
the'wayes.'. -Then: the 'crew's -real work
began,- landing- thevcatch- and sorting,
it ihr. the ; biris ; oh the/ after I decks. '--.\
;.Tlie transfer of tlie^flsh fromVthe bag
to ; tne deck -of the : tug.'ls f accomplished
by- means -of dip - nets s attached to -,' long
handles, ',-$ .It; requires "the/strength of at>
least; two,' meril-arid '.frequently .that 'of
three ; to. llftQne r : of;thes'edJp. nets: when
they ; are, filled -Iwlthisqulrmlng. sea :'llfe.
The ; larger * fish!-are : often-' gaffed Sby.
means.Vof ; long if spike* d£ poles % and
brought 'aboard..- ;When]a\ big; seine \u25a0Is
well* fllled";with vfish^lt ; requires \ t ronv
4 0 minutes \ to* . an . hour j for) the J men -to
empty, lt; * Af te'r/thejbulk'of ,the weight
has been" A taken out- of ;the bag.iso that
the'boom' and- tackle F, -will;; stand^the
strain^ the/net Us. hoisted jbodlly aboard
andjemptled^of v Its'!, remaining J burden
within ' a ' fewl?mlnutes.r \u25a0;' In >.* rough
weatherithe?laboriof JeniptylngUhe net
becomes
pltchVof the J boat :hurls H the;; men 'about
. thet: slippery';; deck 1 ; with Ta>; seemingly
'malignant I violence; 5 tlie ;• ; . washes
and *;swlrigs ."aboutj.in^ unknown i'arid
Incalculable r j}, angles) ,. • the 6 fishV.'sP 11 !
from" r-ther -the : ;mo;uth; ,of ;. the : ; bagoin
quantities; "and-the" team;, wotk >*of
the men' , is.", necessarily disturbed.
I As the seine is being; lifted thousands :
of sea'' fowl; begin to gather from every
quarter until" theValrabouti the,; boat; is
a i veritable> feathery turmoil. Their
shrill cries, ; lusty/ for UheTspoil^ of fthe*
hunt, mount. to deafening. clamor as the
net (to^show abovel the>sea { and
the glistening sides -of the ; enmeshea
creatures begin to. flash- in, futile efforts *
to escape.-- The- birds r'converge quickly I
' above the . bag ' and -so j thickly.- do' they i
mass, for the - coming feast that their
wings ; frequently, interlock andy throw .
them helpless in the water. • The fish- •
ermen- with • difficulty -keep them : from
. plunging 'into. : the ,= very .mouth- of -the
net. : • ; The smaller «: fish, washed " from }
theliief: from 'time 'to time,;; reappear
lna v twinkling, under .the-onslaught of
the • f eatliered.'i host! ;.;-.\u25a0 For perhaps halt
an - liour the -.^fish,:. which r are ; thrown
aside by; the trawler aressnapped. up by
the : hungry -gulls; >',mv r res/- terns and
hell divers. •" Gorged -.finally,' the; birds'
retire •- to Vgreater^. distance . and | only
pick. up the: tidbits for-'which .they may;
still/ have ; zesj:/'. There \ ls "something
positively- revolting -in 'the- lusty eager- \u25a0
\u25a0 ness N with; which -the fisher V.fowl;. fowl ; await
the v helpless^ prey ." ; in .whose capture
.they have played no l part.* '\u25a0': ;• ' • .^
,*• This incidental -feature of the. trawl
s.tands-out'.yery'prominent in":.my mem- 1
: ory. r .of the-? day, spent^at-- Drakes.; bay; -
so inseparably associated with;the' lift
ing of ; the "net- is thethronging of the'
birds that It. becomes" an 'lntegral part
of the- fishing. • - ,f : ;\u25a0 ; ,' ".;'..'.-.
.While/ the . transfer of ithe fish- from
the seine to the sorting -pens on. the
after deck was 'being effected, the
members" 1 of the crew accompanied the
movements of their toiling bodies with
strange rmusical. cries,- set- 'in- crude
rhythm to the swing of the sea; -toil
songs the joy of the; hunter
In the abundance of his spoil. The men
who sorted the catch began to^address
the fish they handled In whimsical
terms^of -approval or condemnation, as
their peculiar fancy prompted;- the dog
sharks and "stingarees" were viciously
flung aside with explosive malediction
for having burdened, .the net's with
their worthless bodies! while the highly
prized, edible creatures received a bless
ing of extravagant approbation as they
were consigned to their respective bins
and crates. The ardor of these Medi
terraneans In their work .was a child
like thing. It was as though they were
playing rather than tolling. -
i Sorting thecatch is the most strenu
ous work of the trawler. .To the ob
server It Is the most- Interesting fea
ture of the fisherman's, day. The men
handling J the dip nets throw the fish
Into. the. sorting pens until the finny,
squirming mass rises about the -knee 3
of other . crewsnien, > whose: duty^ It Is to
selectTthe^marke'tabie '.species roth; the
worthless ; bodies. .o^ The , sortfef s" . plungo
their."; gigantic ; scobp^ 'shovel^> into" : the
floundering,' wallow j about-th'eir .knees,
rest\the.;flll^dr scoop's on. the; tug's; rail,
throw asldelwha^is worthless land 1 pitch
Into, .various. ;Bmalleri;blns-"arid" ; crates
placed about the deck ;wlthlri easy reach
the^ marketable: varieties, of
.The'crates'-arebithenjcarrled below, deck
arid>thelr^burden' : :durnped./jinto> zinc
lined {conjpartments, j which (occupy; all
the , space ;v;; v ; abaft ; thel. wh,eelh'ouse. j The
work Jsiperform'ed^withr. that" rapid-e'er
tainty;and iease .whlchrcomes It rom -more
thah/longilridividual;experience..X,ltfis
a'dlsplay of blood 'herltagelbequeathed
to jthese TBwarthy.i tollers: <?t .the; Pacific
by • generation after< generation of 'Medl-'
terranean'; fishery folk I who v wefe_:« born
andlwho idled; among {their; nets; : * : '; ' '
'4 Five > tons >is r : riot an Juri'usual i haul > for
bneVdrag.^oft' the^net;iri : "a*' quiet' sea.*- Of
this^bulk^ however.V of ten .half ref
queritly'*.'three-fourths^afe t -*u'nmarket^
ableiflshi t The, seine Scan; not
mate lln : .i making ', itsVcatch; > everything
that*.; lles*>? before); it i^is -enmeshed -J and
brought 1 to?the ; surface.^.: ln ; winter,^ on
account] of [a. : gr eater, scarcity / of , fish ; on
all-v the 'bankfl.v those 7 / which- ; would -.in
more favorable seasons be discarded on
: . account : ; of \ size': : or undesirabillty are
frequently "of • necessity kept to:round
:"] out- the market : supply. During the
- season lot X*ent this" •is : especially true.
• Ordinarily but two drags of the net are
. made* every : day, the first lasting "from
about; B in the morning _ to 12 at noon,
and the \u25a0 second taking ,up the . greater
• portion :'of the .afternoon. In stormy
\u25a0weather, when Mhe schools* of fish are
-broken and scattered, three "and 'four
and frequently- more trawls are neces
sitated to secure even the -minimum
bulk of sea.food "with which the mar
kets must be* replenished. During such
stormy seasons the boats often remain
; out during. the greater part of the night
*as* well as the day. At such times- the
strain on the men becomes cruel In' the
, extreme.-,- • They do not sing at their
-work ; now; thei^. eyes get hollow and
.theirriimbs sag. under the stress of the
'long sustained .^effort's with ; the seine.
>:They crowd anxiously toithe rail when
"the netls drawn up.peerlng into the
"lifted, bag ; for the result of the trawl,
' with : a suspense that 'isTalmost tragic,
-so; Intense tt > Is • it — hoping for the big
-.haul that* will relieve them of ..their
-heart breaking labors for a time. and
permit them a half day In their bunks.
Rough Men and a Hard Life
*7 Lack of sleep, the disappointment in
7"cldent upon >a poor day's haul and the
nervous tension under which the men
. labor at times- of ten breed* strange and
savage feuds among the fishermen.
They are settled only with the flowof
blood or jri. violent orgies* of one!na
ture or- another. During the winter
months .the.; men are never In their
best temper.. On stormy days the net is
likely to ibreak' and to sink -In to the sea
with its precious -burden if the most
expert care Is not exercised in- winch
ing it up after the; trawl— the one;real
tragedy to the steam trawler;. the mate
himself under the general' depression of
weather, arid his* patience .sorely tried
with the arduous detail of his /duties,
is apt to, blame, hfs men; far. faults of
which they do -not feel themselves
guilty; the skipper has trouble in mak
ing his craft obey his will, and every
fcavage Instinct in every man's breast
swells strong. Trouble follows of a
certainty. , ; .-.
- The. second drag^of the seine had.
been completed— on ' the day I visited
Drakes . bay.. At '4 . o'clock the great
bag had' been emptied and the tug
had begun her race home. Below deck
in. their respective crates -quivered
thousands upon. thousands of selected
fish,' rock cod. sea 1 bass, 'sturgeon, bar
racouta,'halibut, smelt, tomcod, flounder,
sake, sole,, shad, sanddab,- herring and
whatnot, of . edible sea food. I stood
at the. bins" watching the last end of
the sorting; ; to me the, catch seemed
prodigious. ' The mate came below
deck and, -looked critically, at the re
sult of the day's work. \ln his eyes
the take seemed miserably short and
Insufficient;, very near the« minimum
he could ' afford to ' take to the city.
His face clouded with a frown and he
climbed slowly -up through the. hatch
to the deck, .where he ' stood gloomily
regarding the water. For '- the last
week. the dally hauls had hardly been
sufficient to keep the" fish stalls In even
moderate "supply. He .turned once and
looked Into, the, engine; room.. As he
did so. I saw;hls;face go purple with
some rage, and - 1. heard
him /curse horribly. He went below
presently," and. I "did riot .again see him
until I had climbed: the dock after we
had, landed.'at, the 'city.' At ".Intervals
on the run' home I, found myself specu
lating about that ;bloated hate I had
seen upon the Sicilian's face.- • That it
foreboded -some 7rtanglble* evil r^was
certain. '. '. . - '.'*'.'-. . ..." . .
' I ';was; climbing; the. spiling of ; : ; the
Vallejo' street wharf some.rnlnutes after
we had-;made : fast, just -behind "the
engineer. ;-, As I lifted^ myself; up .to the
dock and saw the Sicilian standing un
der the lighted area of an arc light and
looking . Intently - at- .the- engineer,
who* "had,: : ; Just gainedVhls ; feet
upon the planking. In a flash I -knew
tha,t the mate's curses -and {venom di
rected at the. engine room on .the home
ward .-trip .were -to be at least in part
explained -.within., the . next few min
utes;^; that \u25a0 they -were to be supple
mented -.and i brought to a. climax by
violence.?- \u25a0 -v \u25a0 • -1,
. .: There .were- no; preliminaries. The
two^men- rushed .- at^ eachiother ; in \»
frenzy.; of^ passion; .Inspired by l:knpw
not%w.hat ; ; misunderstanding over -their
day's 401 l. v Backhand forth along: the
slippery dock they staggered, grappling
for . advantage, . punching, biting j and
kicking,- : fairly, sobbing " with the: in
tensity -of their > anger. ,'\u25a0.. Blood- began
to flow.*;; None of us who looked on felt
warranted r I . to interfere ,-.in f.this, battle
we; did not -'-Presently- the
engineer began to -weaken; perceptibly,
and. as his. big antagonist Increased the
fury.'of the assault;, he broke away -and
fled ihtb.the shadows'.beyond the /wharf.
The.;hlg«Slclllan.,;Bpent and bloody; -sat
dowh.upon^^handy'flsh box and nursed
hls"«wounds.\ 7 I i noted, wl^h^ surprise
,that;,"hlss; bloody;-, discolored
had almost immediately upon the cessa
tion lo f .. h osti 1 1 1 ie.s ; settled ; into a <masK
'of % peaceful . -He had rid ,his
'boul,^ of ; the > black , ,f eud • he ' had • har
bored tthere.i\ Presently .he laughed— -a
hearty,",.' unrestrained y guff a w;' v - an:, ex
pression ', of ?the t "man's '< lnordl r.a t e pride
in-lhis'strength^and invincibility: Then
he went' about his work of superin
tending the crating of the fish and the
loading of the wagons that were to
transfer, the catch from the tug to the
company's Ice. lockers. He sang as he
worked. The nervous tension of a day
gone wrong had been relieved and all
was again right with the world!
Aside from being illustrative of a
dominating roughness and brutality In
the lives of deep sea fishermen, this in
cident is explanatory of that cost of
supplying the nsh markets which can
not be computed in dollars and cents;
it reveals the price paid by the of
ficers of the steam trawler in keeping
their men in that degree of subordina
tion which will insure proper co-opera
tion in the performance of their work.
Referring again to the incident re
lated above, I recall certain parts of a
conversation I had with the mate on
the homeward trip, previous to the fight
on -the dock, which may throw soma
light on the underlying causes which
led up to the battle. I had been .ask
ing him about the hardships of his life.
"We missa da sleep vera much," ha
said. **I got seex bambino up on da
hill, two vera small; dey maka cry
\u25a0 and holler some time all night w'en I
. get home from fish*. Dat keep me wake
Up . all night.- No sleep. Vera baa!
Nex* day I geta mad queeek, 'bout not
ing; and maybe den I drink a lit* too
much a wine, to make up for sleep. Den
I am mean a man aright! Get mad
likea bull for noting! Vera bad!" with.
a self-deprecatory shake of the head.
. The transfer of the fish from the
boat to the wagons on the wharf com
pleted the day's work for the trawlers.
It was nearly 8 o'clock when the last
box of the catch had been lifted from
the bins to the dock. The men hurried
off Into the deserted streets, most of
them climbing toward the lights on
Telegraph hill. "At 3 o'clock tomor
row!" the mate bawled after his de
parting crew, supplementing the order
with a volley of Italian commands.
Casting a last look at the crates of fish
ranged along the wharf ready for load
ing — his contribution and that of his
fisherman fellows to the city's food
supply— the big Sicilian, too. slipped
away Into the shadows, climbing the
slope to his six bambinos and his well
earned rest. " \
He and his crew had taught me a
new and lasting respect for the man
who fares out to fish; respect for the
courage, the self-reliance and the va
liant good cheer the trawley puts into
his arduous toll.
The Independent Fishermen
While the steam trawlers provide the
great bulk of San Francisco's dally
supply of sea food, the scores of little
craft that put out every morning from
Flshermans wharf bring In their aux
iliary contribution of from one to a
dozen crates each. These are the in
dependent fishermen— Greeks. Italians.
Frenchmen, Chinamen and all the folks
Inclined' to harvesting the sea — who
own and operate their own boats and
dispose of their catch usually by hawk
ing it about the streets. Sometimes
they contract to supply the smaller
markets, and during stormy weather
when the steam trawlers- can not op
erate in the open sea these hardy in
dependents cast their nets In the shel
tered pockets along the coast and sell
their catch at a handsome profit to the
larger- markets temporarily compelled
to patronize them. They fish with
pocket nets, net traps, line trawls ami
a dozen other contrivances known to
the resourceful toiler of the sea. The
majority of enterprising fishermen op
erate -from power launches, provided
with reels and apparatus for dragging
and hauling the nets, and built with
an- eye to both speed and safety In
rough weather. Even in a stiff sea
these, launches, may be "seen dancing
about outside the heads, advertising the
sturdy spirit of the independent fisher
man and giving evidence of a diligence
in. his; toil which Is not easily dia
couraged. Some of the less enterpris
ing individuals, perhaps unfortunate
ones, still operate with the old fash
ioned catboat and rowboats. Despite
these handicaps they manage to earn a
modest living when the run of fish 13
good.
The pocket netter ,»s the most suc
cessful - operator of this little fleet of
independents.. His. method of working
Is to cast a long net, hanging several
fathoms deep from cork supports, in
such a manner that a school of fish
swimming near the surface or " tne
water, is enmeshed- One end of the
floating seine is first "planted" and then
the launch rapidly carries the other
end' In a sweeping circle about the
schooling fisb. The net Is then slowly
reeled" aboard the launch, the bot
tom of the mesh trap being hauled
first in such manner that a gigantic
pocket is formed. The pocket netter
has the advantage over the steam traw
ler, in -that he is. not compelled to keep
outside Mie "three mile limit." which
the, latter must: regard; Dragging the
bottom of the sea; with a net is unlaw
ful; when carried on within" three miles
of the shore line* : , ;..* . • •v - .
Flshermans wharf has been a' ren
dezvous ,for \ these- Independent, sturdy
toilers .of the sea from the time the
present,; water front wag constructed.
The little fleet that cradles against lta
spiles, : however, is dwindling In ; recent
years. .The steam', trawler Is forcing
them; out of 'their former" profitable
business. -