Carbone

This matter is before us upon an agreed statement of the case made by the parties and approved and certified by the district court pursuant to Rule 76, Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, 28 U.S.C.A.

The appellants, libelants below, were fishermen employed as members of the crew of the fishing boat, “Western Pride”. Under their contract with the owners of the vessel, their compensation was to be 61% of the proceeds from the sale of the fish caught after allowance of certain specified expenses. None of them owned any interest in the vessel or in its purse seine net. On October 12, 1949, the vessel put out from Los Angeles harbor to fish for sardines. It set its net and secured a substantial catch. While the net was in the water with that catch it was fouled by the respondent fishing boat “Del Rio”. The fouling was caused by the negligence of the Del Rio and resulted in the loss of the fish and damaging of the net. In addition, as a direct and proximate result of the fouling and damaging mentioned, the libelants not only lost their share of the proceeds of the catch then in the net but they also lost the means and opportunity for fishing during the period from October 12 through…