CXXXII REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 



The leading fishery is for sponges. It is prosecuted from Key West, 

 Tarpon Springs, Cedar Keys, and Apalachicola, being most extensive at 

 the first-named place. In 1895 the catch amounted to 300,120 pounds, 

 valued at $386,871, of which 231,272 pounds, valued at $363,107, were 

 sheepswool sponges. 



The next fishery in importance is for mullets, which are caught in 

 enormous (luantities along the entire coast of the State, but are most 

 numerous in Indian River and the southern part of the west coast. 

 The yield of fresh and salted mullet and mullet roe in 1895 was about 

 20,734,000 pounds, having a value of $311,000. 



The red-siiapper fishery, centered chiefly at Pensacola, produced 

 4,899,000 pounds of snappers and a large quantity of groupers inci- 

 dentally taken. The value of the snappers was $155,000. The yield 

 and value of other important products in 1895 were as follows : Green 

 turtles, 520,000 pounds, $28,500; oysters, 270,000 bushels, $61,723; 

 squeteague, 1,380,000 pounds, $30,700; redfish or channel bass, 722,000 

 pounds, $13,900; grunts, 678,000 pounds, $16,850; pompano, 615,000 

 pounds, $41,000; sheepshead, 1,180,000 pounds, $19,300; Spanish mack- 

 erel, 520,000 pounds, $24,000. 



FISHERIES OF GLOUCESTER AND BOSTON. 



The reports of the local agents of the Commission at Gloucester and 

 Boston, Mass., show that during the calendar year 1896 the fisheries 

 centering at those places were somewhat less extensive than in the 

 previous year. The quantities of fish which were brought in by the 

 American fishing vessels aggregated 130,673,766 pounds, having a value 

 as landed from the vessels of $3,286,898. The number of separate fares 

 was 6,407. 



Comparing these figures with those for 1895, it appears that there was 

 a decrease of 19,765,774 pounds and $264,794, with 1,084 fewer fares. 

 The falling off in receipts was shared by both ports. 



The vessel fisheries centering at Gloucester yielded 21,924,701 pounds 

 of fresh fish and 45,672,713 pounds of salt fish, a total of 67,597,414 

 pounds, having a value of $2,001,904. The aggregate receipts were 

 9,034,063 pounds less than in 1895, the decrease in value being $203,715. 

 The number of fares of fish brought into Gloucester was 2,220, of which 

 1,616 were from grounds off the New England coast, and 604 from the 

 eastern banks. Gulf of St. Lawrence, Greenland, and Iceland. The 

 former grounds yielded 33,604,727 pounds of fish, having a value of 

 $892,990, and the latter 33,992,687 pounds, worth $1,108,914. 



In the preceding year there were just 1,000 more fares, mostly from 

 the banks lying off the coast of IsTew England, which grounds yielded 

 38,531,754 pounds of fish, valued at $894,068, while from the eastern 

 grounds 38,099,723 pounds of fish were brought, having a market value 

 of $1,311,551. 



In the following table the receipts of the different fishes from each 

 ground are given. 



