REPORT OF COMMISSIONERS OF INLAND FISHERIES. 17 



on a firm foundation, attention should be paid to the crab question, 

 which in the future is destined to become more and more important. 

 Another striking fact is the rapid increase in the shipment of sword- 

 fish. Each year finds more boats engaged in this hicrative fishery, 

 and the fishes were more abundant this j^ear than usual. The 

 market for horse-mackerel, which are still abundant in offshore 

 traps, and sturgeon, is also developing, and it is only a question of 

 time when the demand for sharks and dogfish also will become 

 insistent enough to attract the attention of enterprising fishermen. 



It seems strange that, as yet, no one has undertaken the capture 

 and marketing of the tilefish. In these days, when everything that* 

 comes to the hook is game or food, the neglect of this abundant 

 supply of fine food fishes right at our doors is surprising. The work 

 of Dr. Bumpus, formerly of this Commission and of the United States 

 Bureau of Fisheries, showing that there is an abundant market 

 for this fish and that it can easily be secured by fishermen from this 

 state, which was fully described in the 29th Annual Report of this 

 Commission for 1898, seems to have attracted scarcely any attention. 



The codfish season was better than usual this year. The scup 

 season was poor. The scup season at Block Island lasted several 

 days later than along the shore. This may be accounted for by the 

 later season this year, or perhaps because of the large run of pollock 

 which occurred offshore from Brenton Reef to Sakonnet about May 

 15th. This was the largest run of pollock for years. The flatfish 

 season was also very late, extending into May. 



On the whole, the line fishing in the ba,y was good; tautog, sque- 

 teague, scup, and flatfish were fairly abundant, and, for the first 

 time in several years, bluefish were taken in the upper waters of the 

 Bay. 



The menhaden season was a poor one. The factories could not 

 pay dividends. The epidemic among these fishes during the summer 

 of 1904 may be to blame for this scarcity. Plans were made to 

 continue the study of the disease this year. It was expected that it 

 would recur again, but these expectations were not realized. With 



