REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. CXXXIX 



The cauiiiiig of salmon is the most imjiortant industry depending on 

 the fisheries. In 1895 there were 47 establishments in operation. These 

 employed over 33,300 persons, and represented an investment of more 

 than $2,760,000. The fresh salmon utilized amounted to 04,048,000 

 pounds, for which $1,968,000 was paid. The canned goods comprised 

 955,000 cases, holding 48 one-pound cans or the equivalent, the market 

 value of which was $4,224,000. The extent of this industry in each 

 State is outlined in the following table : 



Summary of the salmon-canning industry of the Pacific States in 1895. 



LOBSTER INQUIRIES ON THE PACIFIC COAST. 



As noticed in the last report of the division, some special inquiries 

 relative to eastern lobsters on the Pacific coast were begun by the 

 writer in the latter part of the fiscal year 1895-96. The inquiries were 

 especially addressed to the region of Monterey Bay, where the largest 

 plants of adults, young, and eggs had been made in 1888. 



The supposed capture of lobsters in this locality has from time to 

 time been reported, but no specimens have ever been seen by persons 

 competent to identify them. No apparatus adapted to the taking of 

 the eastern lobster is used here or elsewhere on the western coast 

 where lobsters have been planted, and the absence of results may rep- 

 resent simply a lack of knowledge. 



There is a widespread belief on the Pacific coast, especially in Cali- 

 fornia, that, through an oversight, the lobsters brought from the East 

 were planted with their claws tied together, and that consequently all 

 must have soon perished by starvation. This story, originally told as 

 a joke at the expense of a member of the California Fish Commission, 

 has by many come to be accepted as a fact. It is hardly necessary to 

 say that there is absolutely no foundation for the rumor; the lobsters 

 were not tied in any way whatever during transportation from the East, 

 and they were deposited under the most favorable conditions. 



While at San Pedro, Cal., in June, 1896, the writer secured 3 lobster 

 traps that had been constructed by an eastern lobster fisherman some 

 years before. These had been set for the spiny lobster, but had been 

 discarded as being non-effective for that species. The traps were sent 

 to Monterey for the purpose of setting them in that bay for eastern 

 lobsters. After securing the services of a local boatman and fisherman, 

 there was begun a series of trials for lobsters in various parts of the 

 bay. Fresh rock-cod and flounders were used for bait and the lobster 

 traps were rigged and set as on the New England coast. The experi- 



