340 



U. S. BUREAU OF FISHERIES 



tion in the requirements or definition of some of these miits in the 

 various States the problem becomes even more complex. 



All bivalve mollusks are reported in pounds of meats in the detailed 

 catch tables presented in this report. In addition, there are included 

 supplementary tables for most of the sections, wliich give data on the 

 production in bushels. These supplementary tables also give the 

 production of certain other shellfish, such as crabs, in number. 



Oysters. — Probably the greatest problem in presentation of fishery 

 statistics in uniform units of measure is in the case of oysters. Usually 

 the production of oysters on the Atlantic and Gulf coasts is reported to 

 Bureau agents in bushels; and prior to the data obtained for the year 

 1930 conversion from bushels to pounds of meats was effected on the 

 basis of a uniform yield of 7 pounds of meats to the bushel. However, 

 recent investigations have shown considerable variation from this 

 figure. There follows a table which gives the results of these studies 

 of the measures used for oysters in the various States and of the 

 average yields per bushel. This table presents the factors that have 

 been used in the oyster statistics given in this report. 



Measures and yields of oysters 



State 



Massachusetts.- 

 Rhode Island... 



Connecticut 



New York 



New Jersey 



Delaware 



Maryland 



Virginia-- 



North Carolina. 

 South Carolina- 

 Georgia.. 



Florida 



Alabama 



Mississippi 



Louisiana 



Texas 



Capacity of 

 State 

 bushel 



Cubic inches 

 2,150.4 

 2. 150. 4 

 2, 1.50. 4 

 2, 150. 4 

 2, 257. 3 

 2, 257. 3 



2, 801. 5 



3, 003. 4 

 2, 801. 9 



4, 071. 5 



2, 753. 4 



3, 214. 1 

 2, S2fi. 2 

 2, 826. 2 

 2, 148. 4 

 2, 700. 



Variation from United 

 States standard bushel 



Cubic inches 



+106.9 

 +106. 9 

 +650. 1 

 +853. 

 +651. 5 



+1,921.1 

 +603. 



+1, 063. 7 



+675. 8 



+675. 8 



-2.0 



+549. 6 



Percent 



+5.0 

 +5.0 

 +30.2 

 +39.7 

 +30.3 

 +89.3 

 +28. 

 +49.4 

 +31.4 

 +31.4 

 -0.1 

 +25.6 



Market oysters 



Yield per 

 State 

 bushel 



Pounds of 

 meats 

 6.57 

 6.96 

 6.81 

 7.00 

 8.70 

 7.88 

 6.24 

 6.32 

 5.58 

 4.74 

 5.88 

 3.57 

 3.29 

 2.22 

 4.32 

 4.41 



Yield per 



standard 



bushel 



Pounds of 

 meats 

 6.57 

 6.96 

 6.81 

 7.00 

 8.29 

 7.50 

 4.79 

 4.53 

 4.28 

 2.50 

 4.59 

 2.39 

 2.50 

 1.69 

 4.32 

 3.51 



I Data for the Chesapeake, and the South Atlantic and Gulf States are for 1934. Other data are for 1933. 



Other mollusks. — The following table shows the conversion factors 

 for various mollusks, other than oystefs, used in this report. 



Average yields of certain mollusks in pounds of meats per bushel ^ 



> Data for the Chesapeake, and South Atlantic and Gulf States are for 1934. Other data are for 1933. 



