BUREAU OF FISHERIES XXI 



NEAV ENGLAND FISHERIES 



Landings of fishery products by American fisliing vessels at Boston 

 and Gloucester, Mass., and Portland, :Me., during 1927 amounted to 

 263,849,573 pounds, valued at $9,404,511, and exceeded the amount 

 landed for any year for which statistics are available. Avhile the value 

 of the products 'was greater than any year except 1918. 



COD FISHERY ON THE EAST COAST OF NORTH AMERICA 



During tlie last 30 years the total annual catch of cod on the east 

 coast of North America by Newfoundland, France, Canada, the 

 United States, and Portugal has averaged over 1,000,000,000 pounds. 

 There have been fluctuations over this period, but on the whole the 

 catch appears to have neither increased nor decreased. The full 

 report on this fisherv is published as Bureau of Fisheries Document 

 No. 1034. 



PACIFIC COAST HALIBUT FISHERY 



In spite of the serious decrease in abundance of halibut, and due 

 to increased intensity of fishing, the 1927 catch on the Pacific coast 

 was 3 per cent great'er than that of 1926 and 11 per cent more than 

 in 1925. The totals for both the Canadian and American fleets were 

 approximately as follows: 1925, 49.844,000; 1926, 53,779,000; 1927, 

 55,175,000 pounds. 



SHAD AND ALEWIFE FISHERIES OF THE POTOMAC AND HUDSON RIVERS 



In 1927 the shad fishery on the Potomac was prosecuted by 682 

 fishermen and yielded 222,321 fish that weighed 686,581 pounds, 

 valued at $113,825 to the fishermen. The catch of alewives amounted 

 to 11,608,067 fish, with a weight of 4,645,365 pounds, valued at 

 $50,588 to the fishermen. 



On the Hudson River the shad fishery was carried on by 268 

 fishermen and yielded 110,284 fish that weighed 358,055 pounds, 

 valued at $63,650. This yield represents the largest catch in any 

 year for which statistics are available, from 1910 to the present, but 

 is less than half as large as for that year. 



FLORIDA SPONGE FISHERY 



In 1927 the quantity of sponges sold on the sponge exchange, 

 Tarpon Springs, Fla., was 414,417 pounds, valued at $865,510. Of 

 the amount sold, 252,463 pounds, valued at $752,435, were large wool; 

 35,413 pounds, valued at $61,973, small wool: 65.429 pounds, valued 

 at $32,714, yellow; 50,495 pounds, valued at $14,139, grass: and 

 10,617 pounds, valued at $4,249, wire. 



FISHERIES OF THE MIDDLE ATLANTIC STATES 



In 1926 the fisheries of New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and 

 Delaw^are employed 9,953 fishermen, which is 3 per cent less than 

 in 1921. The catch amounted to 168,012,495 pounds, valued at 

 $12,456,256, whicli is a decrease of 50 per cent in amount and an 



