CRAB INDUSTRY OF CHESAPEAKE BAY. 7 
The Annual Report of the Commissioner of Fisheries for the fiscal 
year ended June 30, 1916, shows that, in 1915, there were 10,290 
persons engaged in the industry, the invested capital amounted to 
$852,777, and the value of the catch was $981,807. 
The statistics collected during the course of the present investiga- 
tion, and quoted below, present certain details of interest concerning 
the size of the crab industry in 1916. 


Licensed crabbers. Catch. 
Dip net 
States. see) Dealers. 
trop ARE, Dredge. Hard. Soft. Total. 
scrape. 
Number.| Number.| Numher.| Pownds. Pounds. Pounds. 




Mery lamer atta Wer Te CA ae ee 221 | 21,334,500 | 6,637,610 | ¢ 27, 972, 110 
A EC eg Saas Sa Cees Se Ie ee 61,055 83 49 | 16,343,010 | 1,234,140] 17,577,150 
CL 5 tle Lg as a 4,673 83 270 | 37,677,510 | 7,871,750 | 45,549, 260 
a These figures represent 894 dip net, 1,661 trot-line, and 1,963 scrape licenses. 
b Dip net, trot-line, and scrape crabbers are not licensed separately in Virginia. 
¢ The figures for the catch in Maryland are based in part on estimation, as it was found to be impossible 
for the author to visit all the smaller crab dealers, owing to the demands made upon his time by the more 
important features of the investigation. 
Although the figures given in the preceding table for Maryland are 
based in part on estimation, it is felt that they represent the true con- 
ditions fairly accurately. The entire number of crab houses was 
known and the catch handled by the smaller houses, which were not 
visited, was estimated from that handled by houses of about the same 
capacity which were visited. It is safe to say that the catch in 1916 
was smaller than that secured during 1915. 
CRABBING GROUNDS AND LOCATION OF DEALERS. 
The number of crabbers found at the different grounds furnishes 
something of an index of the relative abundance of crabs existing at 
that place and of the general adaptability of the region to their 
capture. For that reason, data showing the number of crabbers and 
crab dealers licensed during 1916-17 in the several tidewater counties 
of Maryland and Virginia are presented in the following table. The 
counties in the respective States are arranged in the order of the num- 
ber of crabbers in each, those having the most being placed first. 
LicENSED CRABBERS AND DEALERS IN MARYLAND AND VIRGINIA, 1916-17. 
MARYLAND. 


Licensed crabbers. 
Counties. ae R EE Lee If EE IL | 2 ealers: 
Dip net. | Trot-line.| Scrape. | Total. 

Number. | Number.| Number.| Number. | Number. 
37. 97 829 


OTHE ROE 5 SRS a ae ee 75 1,301 97 
SSO MESLOE a. Sem oie ee ance Om one pate cee eeice 126 729 21 
PGP ATG Ole se so ceacs 5. oe 322 sae eeh oso. toe oe 116 421 9 
Talbot 1 312 20 
St. Marys 270 12 
Queen Anne 195 8 
Cnt. =3-5= 160 3 
Calvert 92 10 
Baltimore 5] Se eee 
Baltimore City 33 38 
WO CESLGr son) Pee ee eee a rh ae 24 2 
AGirarlés ©- 222 ee eee ee ee ent oon 2 12 1 
MV ICOMLICOS sii2 Se seeet. bomen sae ee PERCE hue tree ess tl eyo. ee Gio 2. Se 
SDOtAl «2 aos sea een. Sek chat. Aon 894 | 3,618 221 



160695°—20——15 
