Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume VII.djvu/236

 228 FISHERIES of oysters, 36,741 ; and 30,548 hogsheads of pilchards, 86,319. Of the herrings, 451,015 barrels were sent to Germany, and 72,162 to Italy. The other fish is exported chiefly to France, Italy (which receives nearly all the pilchards), Belgium, Spain, and the Canaries. In 1871, 447,300 gallons of oil, valued at 57,- 514, the produce of foreign and colonial fish- eries, were exported. In Italy, in 1869, 29,- 385 men (including about 4,000 engaged in the coral fishery) were returned as employ- ed in fishing ; in 1870, 30,848 ; but these num- bers are believed to be below the truth. In the former year 8,346 men were engaged in the sea fishery, and the rest in the coast fishery. In fishing proper there were 11,219 boats of 37,733 tons, of which 9,817 of 25,414 tons were employed along the coast, 670 of 5,556 tons at sea, and 732 of 6,763 tons in foreign waters ; in 1870 the number of boats was 11,129, with an aggregate tonnage of 38,554. The foreign waters visited are chiefly those of the Austrian coast (Istria and Dalmatia) ; a smaller number of vessels frequent the coasts of Corsica and Provence in France, and the rest are em- ployed in the Grecian seas and along the shores of Algeria, Tunis, and Egypt. The richest Italian fisheries are in the Adriatic, especially near Chioggia and Venice, while the sea near Liguria is the least productive. The principal kinds taken are sardines and anchovies, par- ticularly in the Mediterranean, sword fish in the seas of Sicily, especially near Catania, and cuttle fish near the Adriatic coast of S. Italy. The tunny fishery, however, is the most impor- tant. It is carried on, chiefly in Sardinia and Sicily, by means of large fixed nets or weirs, called tonnare, of which there are 48. In Sicily the average catch is 15,000 tunnies, worth about $400,000 ; the average product of Sardinia is 25,000 tunnies, of a somewhat smaller size than those of Sicily, besides a considerable quantity sold in boxes, of which the exact value is not known. About 2,500 persons are employed in catching and preparing them for market. The artificial preserves of the Venetian territory, known as valli da pesca, those at Comacchio and elsewhere in the province of Ferrara, and various salt lakes or marshes of Sardinia and the Neapolitan territory, where the fish are carefully fattened, yield an important product. There are 173 of these preserves on the Venetian coast, of which 63 are in the lagoon of Venice. They give employment to about 1,000 men, nearly all of whom belong to Chioggia, and produce annually nearly 6,000,000 Ibs. of choice fish (eels, mullets, gold fish, &c.), worth about $325,000. Those of 'Comacchio produce an average of 2,650,000 Ibs. annually, of which about 1,800,000, chiefly eels, are carefully pre- pared in that city, and exported to various parts of Italy, and to some extent to Germany and Austria, producing a revenue of about $150,000. The other important preserves of Ferrara are those of Mesola, which produce about 650,000 Ibs. yearly, and those at the mouths of the Po. The principal Neapolitan lakes are Varano, which gives employment to 200 fishermen, and produces 5,500,000 Ibs. of fish a year, and Lesina, Salso, and Salpi, which together employ 52 fishermen and pro- duce 531,300 Ibs. ; others, whose exact pro- duct is unknown, employ 500 fishermen. The productive lakes and marshes of Sardinia are mostly in the S. and W. parts. The fish is con- sumed in the country, except a preparation of the roes of the mullet, which is sold to a con- siderable extent on the continent. Shell fish are cultivated in the gulf of Taranto, and oysters, mussels, &c., are shipped by rail to Naples and more distant points. At least 10,000 persons, including fishermen and work- men with their families, derive support from this source. The returns of the fisheries in the rivers and internal lakes of Italy are incom- plete, but the principal ones employ 1,344 boats and 3,202 men, yielding about 2,500,000 Ibs. of fish annually. The imports of fish for consumption in 1869 amounted to 564,000 cwt., valued at $3,500,000, of which 1,625 cwt. was the product of the national fishery, being a portion of the catch in foreign waters, the rest being sold directly to foreigners. Of the foreign imports 42,250 cwt. consisted of sardines, anchovies, &c. The exports were 36,900 cwt., valued at $279,500, of which 15,- 580 cwt. were the product of the national fishery and 21,320 cwt. of foreign fisheries. The foreign exports are chiefly from Austria, imported under a light duty and reexported to South America and other countries. The imports in 1870 were 622,000 cwt., valued at $4,245,000 ; exports, 31,100 cwt., valued at $256,000. In Austria in 1867 there were 1,032 boats engaged in fishing, having an aggregate tonnage of 3,001, and employing, 3, 643 men. Tunis has an important tunny fishery at Sidi Daud, 10 m. W. of Cape Bon. The season com- mences in April and ends about the middle of July, during which time about 200 men are employed. The tunny is either boiled and packed in olive oil, when it is known as sca- leccio, or preserved in salt. The oil extracted from the heads, bones, and other refuse is much used by tanners and curriers. From 10,000 to 14,000 tunnies are taken in a good season. In 1871 the yield of scabeccio was 3,200 barrels and about 200,000 Ibs. in tin cans, of salted tunny 8,000 barrels, and of oil 65,460 gallons, the whole being worth about $150,- 000. The demand for this fish is limited to the countries bordering on the Mediterranean, the product of the Tunisian fishery being taken mostly to Italy and Malta. The tonnare of Ras Zibib and Ghademse island are no longer in operation. Tunis also produces 5,000 or 6,000 cwt. of dried polyps or octopods, a name under which certain species of cephalopods are known in the Levant and Greek markets, where they are imported for use in Lent, not being included by the eastern church in the prohibi- tion against fish during seasons of religious ab-