FISHERY INDUSTRIES OF THE UNITED STATES, 1930 313 



eries gave employment to 18,470 fishermen or 26 per cent less than 

 in 1925, the most recent year for which records are available prior to 

 1929. Of the total number of fishermen employed during 1929, 2,586 

 regular fishermen were engaged on vessels, and 7,063 regular and 8,821 

 casual fishermen were employed in the shore and boat fisheries. Their 

 catch amounted to 274,673,437 pounds, valued at $11,580,628. This 

 is a decrease of 18 per cent in the catch and 17 per cent in the value 

 of the catch as compared with the quantity and its value for 1925. 

 Of the total catch in 1929, 169,064,502 pounds, valued at $4,633,493, 

 were fish; and 105,608,935 pounds, valued at $6,947,135, were shell- 

 fish and miscellaneous products. 



Based on the value to the fishermen, oysters with a production of 

 43,113,598 pounds of meats, valued at $4,890,786, were the most im- 

 portant product. Shad were second with a production of 9,525,686 

 pounds, valued at $1,602,105. Other products of importance were: 

 Blue crabs, 60,177,504 pounds, valued at $1,467,898; menhaden, 



Figure 18.— Yield of principal fishery products in the Chesapeake 

 States, 1929 



Bay 



99,229,250 pounds, valued at $823,020; squeteagues or "sea trout," 

 11,388,751 pounds, valued at $487,096; croaker, 16,620,836 pounds, 

 valued at $413,199; butterfish, 6,443,502 pounds, valued at $383,218; 

 and hard clams, 986,491 pounds of meats, valued at $374,160. Other 

 products were valued individually at less than $300,000. 



The industries related to the fisheries of the Chesapeake Bay States 

 gave employment to 8,868 persons; of whom 855 were engaged in 

 transporting fishery products, 6,498 were in the wholesale trade and 

 received $2,727,048 in salaries and wages, 1,459 were in the manufac- 

 turing industry and received $599,327 in salaries and wages, and 56 

 were fishermen who prepared fishery products and are duplicated in 

 the total number of fishermen employed as shown above. There 

 were 450 estabhshments in the wholesale trade handling primary 

 products and 58 establishments in the manufacturing industry. The 

 latter manufactured products, valued at $2,887,647, consisting prin- 

 cipally of menhaden products, oyster-shell products, and canned ale- 

 wife products. In addition, the fishermen prepared fishery products 

 valued at $13,624. Most of these products were salt fish prepared 

 from ale wives and eels. 



