FISHERY INDUSTRIES OF THE UNITED STATES. 



71 



The investment in the fisheries of $4,222,043 includes 118 fishing 

 vessels, valued at 81,249,725, with a net tonnage of 3,437 tons and 

 outfits valued at $422,790; 37 transporting vessels, valued at $34,300, 

 w-ith a net tonnage of 289 tons and outfits valued at $18,225; 3,084 

 power, sail, row, and other boats valued at $307,773; fishing appa- 

 ratus employed on vessels to the value of $160,432; fisliing apparatus 

 employed in shore or boat fisheries to the value of $522,104; shore 

 and accessor}^ property valued at $1,347,644; and cash capital 

 amounting to $159,050. 



The products amounted to 210,501,750 pounds, valued at $2,978,- 

 708. The species of chief importance arranged in order of their 

 value were: Menhaden,' 179,910,599 pounds, valued at $1,306,489; 

 alewives, 14,483,820 pounds, valued at $401,219, of which 5,743,876 

 pounds, valued at $162,595, were salted; shad, 1,657,036 pounds, 

 valued at $376,696; squeteague or ''sea trout," 3,361,326 pounds, 

 valued at .$209,493; mullet, 1,128,029 pounds, valued at $91,075, of 

 which 315.350 pounds, valued at $38,341, were salted; ovsters, 

 1,518,734 pounds, or 216,962 bushels, valued at $70,280; black bass, 

 551,125 pounds, valued at $63,137; spot, 1.236,095 pounds, valued 

 at $56,299, of which 42,825 pounds, valued at $3,768, were salted; 

 hard clams, 197,576 pounds, or 24,697 bushels, valued at $46,598; 

 and striped bass, 286,528 pounds, valued at $46,030. 



Menhaden represents 85.46 per cent of the total quantity and 43.86 

 per cent of the total value of the products of the State in 1918. The 

 products of the fisheries exclusive of menhaden for various years 

 follow: 39,388.742 pounds, valued at $1,011,498, in 1890; 52,924,257 

 pounds, valued at $1,296,317, in 1897; 48,722,734 pounds, valued at 

 $1,708,241, in 1902; 44,010,000 pounds, valued at $1,706,000, in 1908, 

 and 30,591,151 pounds, valued at $1,672,219, in 1918. From the 

 foregoing it will be evident that the trend of production of food fishes 

 is downward and should be a matter of some concern to the State. 

 As indicative of the trend of certain of the important fisheries of the 

 State, the following table gives the comparative production figures 

 for various years: 



Products op Certaint Fisheries of North Carolina, Various Years, 1890 Ta 1918. 



Species. 



1918 



AleTTives 



Blueflsh 



Mullet 



Shad 



.Squeteaeufts or "sea trout 

 Striped bass 



Clams 



Oysters 



Pounds. 



1 1, i;<3, 820 



322, 744 



1,128,029 



l,a57,036 



3,361,326 



286.528 



Bushels. 



24,697 



216, 962 



An examination of this table reveals a very marked dechne in the 

 catch of bluefish, mullet, shad, striped bass, clams, and oysters, 

 while the fisheries for alewives anrl scuieteagues have fluctuated 

 comparatively little. In 1918 the catch of bluefish amounted to 

 only 25.69 per cent of that in 1908; of mullet, to only 22.25 per cent 

 of the 1908 r-iitch: of .shad, to only 42.04 per cent of the catch in 

 1908, anrl 25.23 per cent of the catch in 1902; of striped bass, to 



