XXXII REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONER OF FISHERIES 



cording to these statistics the New England States employed 24,513 

 persons in their fisheries and related industries, of whom 15,983 were 

 fishermen, 1,922 were employed in the wholesale fish trade, and 6,608 

 in the canning, salting, smoking, and by-products industries. The 

 investment amounted to $28,561,824, of which amount $14,984,327 

 were invested in vessels, boats, and apparatus used in fishing, 

 $6,089,306 in the wholesale fish trade, and $7,488,191 in the canning, 

 salting, smoking, and by-products industries. The yield of the 

 fisheries aggregated 406,822,165 pounds, valued at $18,818,132. The 

 output of the canning, salting, smoking, and by-products industries 

 was valued at $14,253,831. 



The most important product of the New England fisheries in 1924 

 was the cod, the catch of which amounted to 89,218,355 pounds, 

 valued at $3,075,965, or 16.35 per cent of the total value of the fishery 

 products of these States. Lobsters ranked next, with a catch amount- 

 ing to 9,716,196 pounds, valued at $3,072,411. Other important 

 species were haddock, 93,518,826 pounds, valued at $2,656,900; 

 oysters, 11,301,829 pounds, valued at $2,070,006; mackerel, 26,653,363 

 pounds, valued at $1,519,438 ; flounders, 30,854,736 pounds, valued at 

 $1,339,076; clams, 7,961,000 pounds, valued at $1,065,531; halibut, 

 4,500,931 pounds, valued at $788,925; herring, 60,235,656 pounds, 

 valued at $661,679; and swordfish, 2,882,214 pounds, valued at 

 $527,726. 



Compared with 1919, the last previous year for which statistics of 

 this section were collecte'd, there was a decrease of 20.3 per cent in 

 the number of persons engaged, 29.6 per cent in the amount of cap- 

 ital invested, and 12.9 per cent in the quantity, and 5.1 per cent in the 

 value of the products landed by the fishermen. The outstanding 

 developments shown in the yield are the greatly increased haddock 

 and flounder landings and the continued decrease in the catches of 

 halibut, shad, and lobsters. 



BIOLOGICAL INVESTIGATIONS 



PROGRESS IX FISHERY RESEARCH 



A review of the progress made in fishery investigations during 

 recent years indicates that a distinct branch of scientific study that 

 may be termed " fishery science " has been developed. It is a branch 

 of aquatic biology and zoology, includes ichthyology and geograph- 

 ical distribution, is based upon oceanography and marine ecology, 

 and employs the methods of the biometrician and the student of vital 

 statistics as well. The emergence of this branch of science is the 

 result not only of the maturing and perfecting of scientific methods 

 with the resulting opportunities for practical application of knowl- 

 edge thus obtained but also of the growing recognition of the need 

 for conservation of natural resources. With increased facilities and 

 opportunities for recreation comes a decrease in food and game fishes; 

 with the increased facilities for commercial exploitation and a wider 

 utilization of sea foods comes a shortage of the sea fishes. More 

 efficient exploitation, the result of the economic development of the 

 fishing industry with its tendency toward concentration in larger 

 units and its employment of higher managerial and technical skill, 



