PROGRESS IN BIOLOGICAL INQUIRIES, 1026 563 
THE STATE OF AMERICA’S FISHERIES 
By O. EB. SErte 
Assistant in charge, Division of Fishery Industries 
The first thing we must face, in considering the status of our fisheries, is that 
we have an invisible resource. One can cruise timber and learn the remaining 
stand, and one can enumerate the acres of cultivated land, but the fisheries one 
ean not see. All we know about the fisheries is what the fishermen bring to 
market, and therefore, in considering this subject, we have to deal entirely with 
the fisherman’s catch. Moreover, it is only by a consideration of the past that 
we can understand the present or foresee the future, so that this discussion 
will deal largely with the record as it appears in the published statistics of the 
fisheries. 
Our first records of this nature were made in 1880, 46 years ago, when the 
first census of the fisheries was taken. Since then there have been periodical 
censuses of the various regions. I have charted (fig. 2) a picture of these 
censuses. 
The squares in the horizontal row across the top represent the years for which 
we have statistics of the fisheries of New England. You can see that they are 
scattered pretty well during the period. On the line below are the Middle 
Atlantic States. Below that are the South Atlantic, Gulf, Pacific coast, Great 
fener Seale: Weeweerny serio Seema soles eee | 
) 
1925 
\e80 
NEw ENGLAND Z 
MippLt ATLANTIC 
Soutw AyLasnc 
GULF oF MExico 
PAciFiC COAST 
| GREAT LAKES 
Mississivm Rvtr 
— oa Oe ee 
COMBINATION USED COMBINATION USED COMBINATIONLSED COMBINATION UstD COMBINATIONUSED COMBINATION USED COMBINATION USED 
As TOTAL FOR 1890 AS ICTAL FOR 1890 AS TOTAL TOR 16897 AS IOTAL FORIOCZ AS TOTAL FORISSD «AS TOTAL FORISID ASTOTAL FORISZ2 

Fic. 2.—Years for which statistics are available on the fisheries of the various geo- 
graphical sections of the United States, and combinations that were used in 
compiling totals 
Lakes, and Mississippi River. You will notice immediately that there are only 
two years for which we have the statistics of the whole country—1880 and 
1908. Even 1880 is incomplete because we haven’t the Mississippi River. The 
remaining years are so scattered that it is impossible to compile the statistics 
of the country for any one year to show the total yield; but as a substitute I 
have compiled those that apply most nearly to the same year and include all of 
the regions as indicated on the chart. It is an imperfect compilation, but it is 
the best available.* 
Referring to Figure 3, in 1880 the total yield of our fisheries, exclusive of 
Alaska, was less than 1,600,000,000 pounds. This has risen, with some fluctua- 
tion, to a total at the present time of nearly 2,200,000,000 pounds. The line 
of dashes represents the yield in the Atlantic coast section including the Gulf, 
which has fluctuated widely but shows an upward trend, running from about 
1,500,000,000 to over 1,600,000,000 pounds in recent years. You will also notice 
that the Atlantic coast yields the greatest poundage of fish. The Pacific coast 
has grown from about 50,000,000 to about 400,000,000, an increase of approxi- 
mately 800 per cent during the period covered. The Great Lakes and Missis- 
sippi River together have yielded about 150,000,000 pounds annually from 1890 
to the present time. 

*In order to provide comparable statistics in the various years, all salt fish appearing 
in the reports has been converted to the equivalent anfount of fresh fish. The statistics 
on oysters, clams, and scallops are in terms of meats, exclusive of shells. Statistics on 
Beer exrtery, shells, hides, oils, whale products, king crab (Mimulus), and frogs have been 
omitted. 
