130 



U. S. BUREAU OF FISHERIES 



Yield of Nonfood Fishery Products 



The yield of nonfood fishery products in the United States and 

 Alaska in 1929 amounted to 469,000,000 pounds, vahied at $5,303,000. 

 The most important products in this group were menhaden and 

 fresh-water mussel shells. The menhaden is manufactured into 

 scrap and meal for use asiertilizer or in animal feeding and into oil 

 which is used extensively in the making of soap and paint. Fresh- 

 water mussel shells are utilized chiefly in the manufacture of pearl 

 buttons and novelties. Other important products in the nonfood 

 group were whale products, king crabs, and sponges. 



Yield of the Marine Fisheries of the United States, By Gear 



With respect to the weight of the catch in the marine fisheries of 

 the United States, 7 types of gear accounted for 88 per cent of the 

 total. In order of their importance they were: Purse seines, which 

 accounted for 28 per cent of the catch; lampara nets, 18 per cent; 

 otter trawls, 15 per cent; lines, 13 per cent; pound nets, 6 per cent; 

 and dredges and gill nets, each, 4 per cent. 



Considered according to the value of the catch, 10 types of gear 

 accounted for 91 per cent of the total. In order of their importance 

 they were: Lines, which accounted for 17 per cent of the value; otter 

 trawls, 16 per cent; dredges, 15 per cent; purse seines and pound 

 nets, each, 9 per cent; gill nets and tongs, each, 7 per cent; pots and 

 lampara nets, each, 4 per cent; and haul seines 3, per cent. 



Yield of the Fisheries of the United States, 1880 to 1929 



Only one complete survey for statistics of the commercial catch 

 of fishery products in the United States has been made during the 

 50 years from 1880 to 1929, that being Id 1908. However, during 

 this period from 5 to 24 annual surveys have been made in the indi- 

 vidual geographical sections. It is apparent, therefore, that data 

 are not available to compute an actual trend of the fisheries during 

 the past half century. It is possible, however, to compute average 

 annual yields from the figures obtained in those surveys which have 

 been made by prorating the yields for the intervening years. The 

 table presented on page 143 is the result of such computations. 



Figure 8.— Yield of the fisheries of the United States, 1880 to 1929 



