EEPORT OF THE COMMISSIONER OF FISHERIES. 13 



the vicinity of Beaufort were studied, also, in the hope that, as the 

 algae of Japan support a profitable industry, it may be possible to 

 develop the corresponding resources of the United States. 



EXPLOKATIONS AND SURVEYS. 



North PacifiG and Japan. — At the beginning of the fiscal year the 

 Albatross^ which had been dispatched in May on a cruise to investi- 

 gate the salmon fisheries and the distribution of fishes in the north 

 Pacific, had reached Hakodate, Japan, and from that time until she 

 returned to San Francisco Bay she was steadily employed in that 

 work. The results accomplished were of high scientific importance 

 and the voyage w^as prosperous in every respect until the night of 

 November 21, when, homeward bound, the commanding officer, Lieut. 

 Commander L. M. Garrett, U. S. Navy, was lost overboard. Captain 

 Garrett took command of the vessel on October 3, 1904. He had 

 previously served as executive officer, and his familiarit}^ with the 

 ship and her work rendered him a valuable officer. His untimely 

 death under such peculiarly distressing circumstances was a source of 

 profound regret to the Bureau. 



Sehago Lahe^ Maine. — ^During the summer and fall of 1906, in con- 

 tinuation of the general plan for the biological and physical study of 

 the principal fresh waters of New England, a party carried on inves- 

 tigations in Sebago Lake. Many artificially hatched salmon and 

 trout have been planted in this lake and contiguous waters, and 

 the locality affords a good field for the investigation of the effects of 

 fish culture in modifying the fauna. The habits of the local Sal- 

 monidse, their food, breeding, and environment, were the subject of 

 particular study. 



Lake Maxinkuckee., Indiana. — The investigations which have been 

 conducted at Lake Maxinkuckee at intervals for a number of years 

 past were continued from July to November of the present fiscal year. 

 The food, parasites, and diseases of fishes and the habits of the fresh- 

 water mussels received special attention. The mussel investigations 

 are of particular importance in view of the depletion of the natural 

 beds of the Mississippi Valley under the demands of the pearl-button 

 industry. This industry is now yielding an annual product worth 

 about $5,000,000. 



COMMERCIAL AND STATISTICAL INQUIRIES. 



The commercial fisheries of the United States, exclusive of its 

 insular possessions, at the present time represent an investment of 

 nearly $90,000,000, which yields an annual income of nearly 

 $60,000,000. The general condition of the industry is good and the 

 trend is upward, although a few important branches are in a state 

 of established or impending decline. The mackerel fishery was ex- 

 48889—09 1 



