206 U. S. BUREAU OF FISHERIES 



the crabbing industry and was furnished other interested persons, 

 and as a result during its last session the legislature of Virginia 

 passed a law for the protection of sponge and buckram crabs and 

 adequately defining the " peeler " crabs. It is fully expected that 

 these recommendations will be acted upon in Maryland, also, when 

 its legislature next meets. Arrangements have been made to carry 

 on the collection of statistics of the crab fishery with the cooperation 

 of the two States. 



Statistics of the mackerel -fishery. — One of the greatest difficulties 

 encountered in the important mackerel fishery of the Atlantic coast 

 is the extraordinary fluctuation in the abundance of this fish. The 

 uncertainty as to whether or not the fish will be abundant in any 

 season has caused great loss to the fishermen in outfitting themselves, 

 for fishing as well as alternate disastrous gluts and periods of scarcity 

 in the market, which can not be avoided unless some means of fore- 

 casting the supply can be devised. At present nothing definite is 

 known as to the nature of these fluctuations except with regard to 

 their magnitude, but fisheries science has progressed to the point 

 where the character and causes of such fluctuations make under- 

 standing and forecasting possible if suitable statistics on the amount, 

 character, and the fishing effort involved in producing the yield are 

 available. The foundation for obtaining such statistics was laid in 

 1925. The work done in that year necessarily was of a preliminary 

 nature, but as a result it was found that it will be necessary to take 

 two major series of statistics — the first on the fishing effort and the 

 yield, collected so as to permit of separate compilation for the vari- 

 ous fishing localities; and the second on the sizes of mackerel, based 

 on representative samples of the catch taken continuously throughout 

 the season in all of the more important regions. 



In making this preliminary survey advantage was taken of every 

 possible opportunity to cooperate with the division of scientific in- 

 quiry in the collection of biological data, and during the course of 

 the survey much material for a study of the life history of the mack- 

 erel and its migrations was collected. 



TECHNOLOGICAL INVESTIGATIONS 



Conservation should be applied to fishery products as well as to 

 fish life. If there be waste in preserving and marketing fish or in 

 making use of by-products, true conservation is not effected. The 

 bureau is doing much through technological research to bring about 

 more efficient utilization of fishery products by improving existing 

 and developing new and better equipment, methods, products, and 

 practices within the various branches of the fishing industry, and by 

 demonstrating the proper utilization of wastes and by-products. Few 

 realize the importance of well-directed, adequately supported tech- 

 nological research. Rapid progress in industry, and this applies par- 

 ticularly to the fisheries industries, depends largely on such work 

 combined with the application of sound business principles. 



Work was continued throughout the year on three major lines of 

 research — preservation of nets, canning of sardines, and utilization 

 of by-products. Steps also were taken toward improving American 

 methods of manufacturing caviar. Progress only will be reported 

 upon here, as these investigations were discussed at length in the 

 report for 1924. 



