14 KEPORT OF THE COMMISSIONER OF FISHERIES. 



ceptionall}^ poor in 1906, owing to a continued scarcity of jfish, but 

 the outlook for 1907, as shown by the spring catch, was remarkably 

 favorable. The yield of halibut was smaller, but the catch of cod, 

 haddock, and other ground fishes was large. While the catch of 

 lobsters was less than formerly, there have been local evidences of a 

 greater abundance which are by many people regarded as a forerun- 

 ner of general improvement. The Pacific cod and halibut fisheries 

 showed a slight decline, but the salmon fishing and canning industry 

 exhibited some increase. The shad fishery on the Atlantic rivers in 

 the spring of 1907 was more productive than in the previous year, 

 owing to a greater abundance of fish, but the conditions are quite 

 unsatisfactory. The capture of increasing quantities of mature shad 

 on their way to the spawning grounds demands concerted movement 

 of the various States for protective legislation. In the most im- 

 portant of all our fisheries, the 03^ster, there is to be noted a healthy 

 condition, owing to growing dependence on cultivation. 



NOTES ON IMPORTANT FISHERIES. 



Boston and Gloucester. — A good criterion of the extensive New 

 England vessel fisheries is afforded in the trade centering at the two 

 great markets of Boston and Gloucester, where an aggregate of 

 170,401,210 pounds of fish, having a value of $4,072,362, was landed 

 by American vessels in 1906. Of this immense quantity 129,230,658 

 pounds, worth $2,808,228, were secured on grounds Ijdng west of the 

 sixty-sixth degree of west longitude — that is, directly off the New 

 England coast. 



Mackerel. — The total catch of salted mackerel in 1906 was approxi- 

 mately 10,448 barrels, valued at $171,970, which includes 4,376 bar- 

 rels taken on the Cape shore and in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. This 

 quantity falls short of the 1905 catch by 18,853 barrels. The catch 

 of fi-esh mackerel was 35,240 barrels, representing a value of $423,000. 

 This quantity was 14,672 barrels less than was taken in the previous 

 year. 



The condition of the mackerel fishery is viewed with considerable 

 alarm. The methods involve great expense, and the baffling move- 

 ments of the fish for the last few years, with consequent poor catches, 

 have caused heavy losses. The scarcity is widespread, according to 

 the annual report of the Boston Fish Bureau, which states that the 

 world's catch of salted mackerel in 1906 was but 99,137 barrels, di- 

 vided among various countries as follows : United States, 10,138 bar- 

 rels; Canada, 30,000 barrels; Ireland, 30,000 barrels; Norway, 28,999 

 barrels. The total catch of these countries in 1905 was 185,094 bar- 

 rels, or 85,957 barrels more than in 1906. 



God. — In 1906 there were landed at Boston and Gloucester 

 36,195,616 pounds of fresh and 18,323,093 pounds of salted cod, an 



