apparent sharp decline in gross yield between 

 1919 and 1924 was followed by a continued 

 low level of catch to 1933 and (2) practically 

 the entire catch since 1919, and probably 

 before, has been made by floating traps (fig. 

 3, table 12). In the canvass years, from 1889 

 to 1919, the average annual catch for Rhode 

 Island was 6 million pounds. This exceeded 

 the annual catch of either New York or New 

 Jersey for the same period. Since 1919, 

 however, the annual yield has averaged 1.5 

 million pounds, which is considerably below 

 the New Jersey catch but somewhat higher 

 than the New York catch for the same period. 

 This significant change in yield between 1919 

 and 1924 could have resulted from a reduced 

 amount of gear or a decrease in abundance 

 or availability of the fish or both. Although 

 complete statistics are not available, private 

 records of trap operators and files of the 

 Rhode Island Division of Fish and Game indi- 

 cate that between 1919 and 1924 the number 

 of floating traps decreased approximately 40 

 percent and by 1933 had declined an additional 

 35 percent. Leading producers attributed the 

 decline in traps, especially after 1924, largely 



to the inability of fishermen to dispose of their 

 catch at profitable prices rather than to any 

 decreased supply of fish. This opinion is sup- 

 ported by the fact that there was no inter- 

 ruption in the practice of "pounding" scup 

 or complaints from the industry of scarcity 

 of fish during the period 1919-24. It does not 

 follow, however, that the decline in catch was 

 due entirely to a decline in fishing effort. For 

 instance, even though the number of trape 

 declined 40 percent between 1919 and 1924, 

 the total yield decreased approximately 

 86 percent. The decline in number of traps, 

 therefore, cannot be explained altogether by 

 a diminished market but must have been due 

 in part to an actual decline in abundance or 

 availability of scup. Since no biological ob- 

 servations on the catch were made from 1919 

 to 1924, it is not possible to say just how 

 much this decline may have been due to a 

 natural decrease in the supply of fish. 



The record of scup landings in Massa- 

 chusetts is also based on results of statistical 

 canvasses by the U.S. Bureau of Fisheries 

 during the period 1879-1933 inclusive (fig. 3, 



Table 12. --Catch of scup landed in Rhode Island by different types of gear 



from 1880 to 1933^ 



[In pounds] 



^ U. S. Bureau of Fisheries (U.S. Commission of Fish and Fisheries) canvas- 

 ses with the exception of 1908 when made by the U.S. Bureau of the Census. 

 2 Catch by gear not available. 

 ^ Includes catch by floating traps, wiers . 



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