REPORT 



To the Honorable the General Assembly of the State of Rhode Island and 

 Providence Plantations, at its January Session, 1916: 



The Commissioners of Inland Fisheries herewith present their 

 forty-sixth annual report, for the year 1915, which contains, as 

 required by law, data and statistics with respect to the fisheries 

 under their jurisdiction and such recommendations as they deem 

 expedient. 



Marine Fisheries. 



Taken as a whole the branches of the marine fisheries that are under 

 the jurisdiction of your Commission have maintained about an 

 average yield. Certain of them, however, — notable the "stub trap" 

 fishing within the bay and the catch of squiteague — have fallen 

 considerably below normal. The catch of lobsters on the contrary 

 exceeded that of the previous year by one hundred and seventy 

 thousand pounds and this occurred in spite of the increasing demands 

 of the past few years upon this industry. Furthermore, as the market 

 price was considerably higher, the value of this fishery was almost 

 exactly double that of 1914. Tables giving the amount of fish and 

 lobsters caught in this State are given in the body of this report and, 

 as in previous years, an account of the deep-sea fishing off Newport 

 is also given. 



Fresh Water Fisheries. 



The increased amount of rain-fall this past year has greatly 

 improved the condition of the ponds and streams of the State over 

 that of the past two years and they were therefore better adapted for 

 the growth and development of the fish with which they were stocked. 



