174 



U. S. BUREAU OF FISHERIES 



shore fisheries may have diminished, which, rather than overfishing, 

 might account for the failing yield. 



Table 2. — -Number of persons engaged, number of boats and vessels, and total 

 investment in the Texas fisheries 



A study of the State records from 1901 to 1924, inclusive, in con- 

 trast with those of the Bureau of Fisheries, shows a general upward 

 trend of the fisheries throughout that period. From 1901 to 1904, 

 inclusive, there was a sharp increase in the number of pounds of fish 

 caught each year. From 1906 to 1915, inclusive, the catch remained 

 at about the same level. Of course, various minor fluctuations took 

 place, but on the whole the level remained constant. During the 

 war (1916 to 1918, inclusive) a great increase in the total tonnage 

 occurred, followed by a drop in 1919 and 1920. In 1921 there was a 

 sharp recovery, which continued to improve until the maximum yield 

 (exclusive of the forced fishing during the war) was reached in 1924. 



Table 3. — Yield of the Texas shore fisheries (omitting menhaden, red snapper, shrimp, 



and oysters 



[Data taken from Texas State reports] 



1 Not available. 



i A shrimp fishery was started in the winter of 1922, and great quantities were taken with otter trawls. 

 The big 1922 catch was listed with the fish and accounts for the sudden increase in quantity of products. 

 Prior to 1922 small quantities of shrimp were included, but from 1923 on they were listed separately, 1,239,305 

 pounds having been taken in 1923 and 1,792,284 pounds in 1924. 



VARIATIONS IN YIELD OF THE SHORE FISHERIES AT VARIOUS FISHING 



CENTERS 



The statistics of the yield of the various fishing centers are very 

 faulty because of the lack of a uniform system of recording tax re- 

 turns. The only places where reasonably reliable records were kept 

 were Galveston, Matagorda, Port Lavaca, Rockport, Corpus Christi, 

 and Point Isabel. These records are illustrated graphically in 

 Figure 2. 



