38 report of commissioners of inland fisheries. 



The Location of Fish-Traps within the Waters of Nar- 



RAGANSETT BaY, AND THE COLLECTION OF DaTA BEAR- 

 ING • UPON THEIR Ownership. 



The collection of data under this head was begun in 1898, when 

 there were already more than one hundred traps in the Rhode Island 

 waters exclusive of Block Isand. For ten years our reports have 

 published charts showing the position of the traps and a table indi- 

 cating their ownership. The table giving the summary for the ten 

 years is interesting in showing the steady increase in number of traps 

 in various locations and as a whole. 



The increase in the number of traps includes the year 1907. It is 

 particularly noticeable in the offshore traps, where the number 

 has doubled in the last three years. During the scup season a cordon 

 of these large traps is spread about the mouth of the Sakonnet river. 

 To form the outer edge of this cordon, traps, each with a leader 

 one-half mile long, are stretched in a nearly perfect arc from Seal 

 Rock to a point south-southeast of Sakonnet Light. The remaining 

 traps are interspersed within this arc in such a way as to fill up the 

 gaps in the outer row. (See chart.) 



FISH TRAPS SET IN RHODE ISLAND WATERS AND LIST OF 



TRAP OWNERS. 



Table Showing Number and General Distribution of Fish- 

 Traps Since 1898. 



The following arbitrary divisions have been made for the sake of 

 convenience: 



I. Providence River.— South, to a line joining Warwick Point and 

 Popasquash Point. 



II. Greenwich Ben/. — South of Providence River division in west 

 passage to a line drawn east and west touching soutliern part of 

 Hope Island. 



