494 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 



are used in the bay off Betterton, Kent County. An average of those 

 used at this place is about 1,400 yards. Nets of this length consist of 

 sections of from 200 to 300 yards each, fastened together while fishing. 

 As. the nets are set about 3 feet under water it is very seldom neces- 

 sary to make any provision for the passage of vessels, as most of the 

 latter can go over the nets without injuring them. Occasionally, how- 

 ever, in the case of larger vessels or steamers, it is necessary to sepa- 

 rate the net to allow them to pass. Another advantage in setting the 

 nets under water is to prevent them catching logs or driftwood. In 

 fishing one man can handle a net from 50 to 100 yards long, while it 

 takes two men for a net varying in length up to 1,000 yards, or two of 

 the shorter ones. Three men are commonly engaged in handling the 

 longest nets used in the bay. In some localities drift gill nets are 

 fished exclusively in the daytime, while in others they are fished 

 during the da}^ in the early part of the season when the water is 

 muddy, and, later, when the water becomes clear, they are fished at 

 night, the men usually going out about midnight and remaining until 

 noon the next day. The nets are then spread out and dried before 

 using them again. 



A comparatively new and profitable style of net, called " buck net," 

 is used in a few localities. These are from 225 to 400 yards in length, 

 from 25 to 40 feet deep, and are fished in the open waters of Chesa- 

 peake Bay, the catch consisting principally of blue-fish and occasion- 

 ally a few Spanish mackerel. The net is hauled around a school of 

 fish, the latter gilling in it. A crew of about five men is required in 

 handling a net of this kind. 



Owing to the almost complete disappearance of sturgeon in the 

 rivers of the State, very few sturgeon gill nets are used; but in 

 Worcester County an increase in the catch of this species is shown, 

 due to an extension of the fishery by fishermen from New Jerse3^ 



Men. — The total number of persons engaged in the fisheries of 

 Maryland in 1901 was 36,260. Of this number, 16,880 are credited to 

 the shore fishery; 12,553 were engaged in oyster shucking and pack- 

 ing houses, crab houses, and other occupations incidental to the fish- 

 eries; 5,715 were engaged on fishing vessels, and 1,112 on transporting 

 vessels. One hundred and ten men were engaged both in the shore 

 and vessel fisheries. There has been a decrease of 6,552 since 1897 in 

 the total number of persons engaged in the State, this being due prin- 

 cipally to the decline in the oyster fishery. 



Investment. — The total investment in the fisheries was $6,506,066. 

 Of this, $2,297,515 represents the cash capital employed; $2,164,749, 

 the amount invested in shore and accessory property; $1,137,362, the 

 value of 955 fishing and 382 transporting vessels with their outfits; 

 $553,526, the value of 11,498 boats under 5 tons. The remainder 

 represents the value of the apparatus used. 



