STATISTICS OF THE FISHERIES OF THE UNITED STATES. 



405 



Statistics of special important products. — To facilitate the comprehension of the 

 extent of some of the principal fisheries prosecuted in the coast States, the following 

 tables, based on preceding ones, are presented. They relate to the catch of oysters, 

 whales, lobsters, crabs, clams, shad, alewives, bluefish, and squeteague. 



The oyster, the foremost water product in the United States, is the object of a com- 

 mercial fishery in every coast State except Maine and New Hampshire. In 12 States — 

 viz, Alabama, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, 

 New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Texas, and Virginia — it is the most valuable 

 fishery product taken. In each of 5 States — Connecticut, Maryland, New Jersey, New 

 York, and Virginia — its annual value is over $1,000,000. The output of the entire 

 country is about 28,000,000 bushels, whose value to the fishermen is $16,152,000. No 

 other object of our fisheries has received so much attention as the oyster and is so 

 generally cultivated by private individuals. Statistics of the oyster catch in each 

 State are shown in the following table: 



The oyster output of the United States. 







States. 



Alabama 



California 



Connecticut . . . 



Delaware 



Florida 



Georgia 



Louisiana 



Maryland 



Massachusetts. 



Mississippi 



New Jersey ... 



New York 



North Carolina 



Oregon 



Pennsylvania. . 

 Rhode Island . . 

 South Carolina 



Texas 



Virginia 



Washington . . . 



Total 



The pursuit of whales and porpoises is a commercial enterprise in 5 States, but is 

 comparatively unimportant in 3 of them. It is only in Massachusetts and California 

 that whaling is a conspicuous feature of the fisheries. The table shows that the 

 California whale fishery yielded a return of $1,006,662 and that of Massachusetts 

 $1,132,753. While a large part of the Massachusetts whaling fleet make their head- 

 quarters at San Francisco and cruise in the Pacific Ocean, the catch of the vessels has 

 been credited to Massachusetts, the California figures representing only the yield 

 of the vessels owned in that State. 



Statistics of the products of the whale fishery of the United States 



i Value of whales used by Indians for food. 



