414 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 



Comparative summary of the fisheries of the United States in 1880 and 1892 — Continued. 



States. 



Gulf: 



Florida 



Alabama . . 

 Mississippi 

 Louisiana . 

 Texas 



Persons employed. 



1880. 



2,112 

 015 



186 



1,597 



601 



1892. 



4,335 

 618 

 1,721 

 4,068 

 1,277 



Capital invested. 



1880. 



$362, 563 



38, 200 



8,800 



93,621 



42, 400 



1892. 



$1, 377, 057 

 135,290 

 434, 710 

 719, 876 

 319, 122 



Total 



Pacific : 



California ... 



Oregon 



Washington 

 Alaska 



Total 



Great Lakes : 

 New York 

 Peiinsvlvania. 



Ohio.' 



Michigan 



Indiana 



Illinois 



"Wisconsin 



Minnesota — 



Total 



Grand total . 



Value of products. 



1880. 



$564, 819 



119, 275 



22, 540 



392, 610 



128, 300 



1892. 



$1, 103, 809 

 154. 871 

 245, 699 

 681, 284 

 313, 832 



5, 131 



3,094 

 4,483 

 3,096 

 6, 130 



16,803 



12, 019 



5,426 

 4,200 

 4,296 

 2,849 



545, 584 



2, 993, 080 1, 227, 544 2, 499, 495 



1, 139, 675 2, 526. 962 



687, 000 2, 220, 667 



474,708 1,590,481 



447, 000 2, 535, 703 



1,860,714 3,044,731 



605,302 868,406 



417,932 ( 934,940 



2,661,640 2,410,848 



16,771 



922 

 114 



046 

 781 



52 

 300 

 800 



35 



5, 050 



131,426 



1,498 

 403 



2, 738 



3, 343 



94 



386 



1,225 



51 



9,738 



182, 376 



2,748,383 8,873,813 



5,545,588 I 7,258,925 



59, 050 



24, 700 



473, 800 



442, 665 



29, 360 



83, 400 



222, 840 



10, 160 



697, 847 



283, 238 



1, 874, 900 



1,458,884 



21, 549 



429, 545 



481, 374 



170, 743 



154, 870 

 43, 450 



518, 420 



716, 170 

 32, 740 

 60, 100 



253, 100 

 5,200 



256, 506 



211,122 



618, P83 



934, 005 



21, 693 



23, 836 



399, 272 



6,238 



1,345,975! 5,478,080 1 1,784,050 2,471,355 



37, 958, 040 58, 242, 708 



38, 683, 348 45, 312, 818 



One of the most instructive and important comparisons which may be made is 

 that which exhibits the present and past condition of the shad fishery. The shad is 

 the most important river fish of the Atlantic seaboard, and has been the subject of 

 more extensive fish-cultural operations than have been undertaken in the interest of the 

 preservation and increase of any other fish. The maintenance and increase of the 

 supply of shad in recent years, in the face of an enormous annual catch, are, without 

 question, attributable to artificial propagation carried on by the National and State 

 fish commissions. The results achieved are among the most noticeable in the annals 

 •of fish-culture. From the following table it will be seen that the aggregate yield of 

 shad in 1880 was 18,074,534 pounds, valued at $995,700. At that time the fishery in 

 some of the principal rivers and coast waters was in an unsatisfactory condition and 

 had been showing positive symptoms of a decline for a number of years. It was pre- 

 dicted in some regions that, under the conditions and methods then prevailing, the 

 practical suspension of the fishery was imminent. It was about that time that the 

 results of extensive fish-cultural operations were manifested. The supply of shad 

 became greater and the abundance has steadily continued to increase, until in 1892 the 

 yield amounted to 38,830,977 pounds, for which the fishermen received $1,879,688. 

 While it is impossible, on the Atlantic coast, accurately to gauge the effects of propa- 

 gation methods and to distinguish between the results of natural and artificial increase, 

 the establishment of a shad fishery along the Pacific coast as the immediate sequence 

 of relatively insignificant plants of fry in two or three rivers affords a reasonable basis 

 for claiming the dependence on fish-culture of the Atlantic shad fishery. 



