436 REPOET OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 



the text and compiling the statistics in the office. The general prep- 

 aration and arrangement of the report was under the direction of 

 Mr. Ansle}^ Hall. The results of the inquiry, which in this report 

 are presented in detail, have already been published in condensed 

 form in Statistical Bulletin No. 131. 



The fisheries of the Middle Atlantic States in 1901 ^ gave employment 

 to 93,661 persons, of whom 70,923 were fishermen and 22,738 were 

 shoresmen in the wholesale fishery trade, oyster canneries, and other 

 shore industries related to the fisheries. Maryland emploj-ed in its 

 fisheries 36,260 persons, Virginia 29,325, New Jersey 12,030, New 

 York 11,564, Pennsylvania 2,484, and Delaware 1,998."^ The last gen- 

 eral investigation of the fisheries of this group of States was for the 

 year 1897. In connection with that canvass statistics for New York 

 and New Jerse}^ were also obtained for 1898. Since 1897 there has 

 been a decrease in the number of persons employed of 3,074. There 

 was a decrease of 6,552 persons in Mar3^1and, 464 in New Jersey, and 

 394 in Delaware, but this was parth^ ofl'set b}^ an increase in each of 

 the other States. 



The total capital invested in 1901 was $25,080,371. The investment 

 in New York was $9,444,271; in Maryland, 16,506,066; in Virginia, 

 $3,633,104; in New Jersey, $2,729,571; in Pennsylvania, $2,110,162, 

 and in Delaware, $657,197. Compared with 1897 the investment has 

 increased $4,973,900, or 24.73 per cent. About half of this increase 

 is in New York and the remainder is distributed in various amounts 

 in all the other States, the largest percentage in any State being 61.15 

 per cent in Delaware. 



The number of fishing and transporting vessels employed was 3,721, 

 valued at $3,657,103. Their net tonnage was 54,761 tons, and the 

 value of their outfits was $1,088,706. There has been a decrease in 

 the vessels of 153 in number, and of 3,554 tons in tonnage, but an 

 increase of $339,080 in the value. The number of boats in the shore 

 fisheries was 36,237, valued at $2,023,880. The apparatus of capture 

 was valued at $1,713,454, the shore and accessory property at 

 $9,561,356, and the cash capital amounted to $7,035,872. 



The products of the fisheries aggregated 819,046,576 pounds, valued 

 at $17,485,500. New York derived from its fisheries 228,092,285 

 pounds, valued at $3,894,270; New Jersey, 117,930,964 pounds, valued 

 at $4,755,522; Pennsylvania, 6,029,538 pounds, valued at $251,491; 

 Delaware, 5,835,186 pounds, valued at $203,372; Marj^and, 82,975,245 

 pounds, valued at $3,767,461; and Virginia, 378,183,358 pounds, 

 valued at $4,613,384. The most important species in the fisheries of 

 these States is the oyster, the yield of which was 19,749,677 bushels, 

 valued at $10,287,556, representing nearly 59 per cent of the total 



"In the present report, it should be noted, the statistics for New Yorli and Pennsylvania do not 

 include the fisheries of the Great Lakes and other interior waters within the boundaries of these 

 States. 



