STATISTICS OF THE FISHERIES OF THE UNITED STATES. 



Statistics of the products of the clam fishery of the United States. 



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The shad is the most valuable anadromous fish of the Atlantic coast and one of 

 the most generally distributed food species. As shown by the following table, it is 

 the object of commercial fishing in all coast States except New Hampshire and those 

 bordering on the Gulf of Mexico. Even in the gulf region it occurs sparingly in sev- 

 eral States, where it has been artificially introduced, but it does not exist there in 

 sufficient abundance to constitute an economic commodity. In Pennsylvania, North 

 Carolina, and South Carolina it is the principal product of the fisheries, and in New 

 Jersey, Delaware, Virginia, and Georgia it is surpassed only by the oyster. The 

 fishery is most extensive in New Jersey, where the accredited catch is about 8,747,000 

 pounds, valued at $582,000. Two of the best shad rivers in the country mark the 

 boundaries of this State, and in them and their estuaries extensive fishing is carried 

 on. Virginia, Maryland, North Carolina, New York, Florida, Pennsylvania, and Del- 

 aware follow New Jersey in the order named as regards the quantity of the catch, the 

 output ranging from 1,110,000 pounds in Delaware to 6,498,000 pounds in Virginia. 

 The value of the yield, however, is greater in North Carolina than in any other State 

 save New Jersey, the rank of the other States in this respect being Maryland, Vir- 

 ginia, New York, Pennsylvania, Florida, and Delaware. 



The shad catch of the United States. 



