14 COMMISSIONERS OF INLAND FISHERIES. 



THE COLLECTION OF DATA AND STATISTICS RELATING 

 TO THE COMMERCIAL FISHERIES. 



As mentioned in previous reports, every effort has been made to 

 make this branch of the Commission's work reliable and trustworthy, 

 but the absence of laws making returns compulsory has prevented 

 us from making this data as complete as might be desired. 



General Conditions of the Fisheries in 1915. 



Practically all branches of the fisheries were equally poor in 1915. 

 About the only noteworthy exception to this was the catch of lobsters 

 in which there was a considerable gain. 



"Stub trap" fishing within the Bay was extremely poor, although 

 some very large catches of butterfish were made late in the fall. 



Hand-lining was not exceptionally poor. Tautog were quite 

 plentiful and the usual fishing up the Bay was about average. 



Bluefish on the contrary were notably scarce, as were also sword- 

 fish and tuna. 



The following tables of the shipments of sea products from Newport 

 are submitted as heretofore. The number of barrels of fish shipped 

 in 1915 was considerably less than it was in 1914, although about 

 equal to that of 1913. 



