REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONER OF FTSHEHIES XXIX 



year. The catch consisted h\rgely of siihnon, 15,711,200 pouncls, 

 V.'ihied at $1,209,855, beiiiiJ: hmded in 192;^. The king- or spring 

 sahiion furnished nearly half of this amount, coho or silver sahnon 

 abont one-third, and the remainder was divided between humpback 

 or pink, chnm or Keta, and sockeye or red salmon. The king- or 

 spring salmon has increased continuously since 1920, when the catch 

 amounted to o,209,()T0 pounds, as compared with the 7,363,900 pounds 

 in 1923. 



FISHERIES OF CALIFORNIA 



Thi'ough the courtesy of the California Fish and Game Commis- 

 sion the bureau has received statistics of the catch of tish, by species, 

 for California, and also the quantity of hsh imported into California 

 from Mexico during the calendar year 1923. The catch of fish taken 

 in tiie waters of California in 1923 amounted to 230,830,942 pounds, 

 as com])ared with 168,969,733 pounds the previous year, an increase 

 of 61,861.209 i)ounds, or 37 per cent. The species taken in the largest 

 (juantities were C^alifornia sardines or pilchards, 159,197,006 pounds; 

 ;ilbacore and tuna, 16,562,351 pounds; liounders, 10,485,431 pounds; 

 barracuda, 5,135,824 poinids; salmon, 7,090,260 pounds; and bonito 

 or skipjack, 5.057,84.^ pounds. 



The imports of fish from Mexico in 1923 amounted to 23,956,962 

 pounds, as compared with 12,146,066 pounds in 1922 and 6,699,817 

 pounds in 1921. These products are caught by fishermen having 

 their home ports in California and fishing in Mexican waters during 

 a portion of the year. The growth of this fishery is due largely to 

 the increased catches of all)acore and tuna, which in 1923 amounted 

 to 10,752,864 pounds, as compared with* 6,179,754 pounds the pre- 

 vious year, and bonito or skipjack, which in 192."'» amounted ,to 

 7,519.191 pounds, as compared with 1,792,592 pounds the previous 

 year. 



SHAD AXD AI.EWIFE FISHERY OF THE POTOMAC RI\'ER 



The sliad and alewife fishery of the Potomac River was canvaSvSed 

 for the calendar years 1922 and 1923. The statistics show that in 

 1922 it employed 832 fishermen, with a total investment of $190,532, 

 and produced 884,176 shad weighing 3,115,571 pounds, valued at 

 $420,022, and 11,367,000 alcM^ives weighing 4,546,800 pounds, valued 

 at $38,342. 



The sjime fishery in 1923 eniplo3^ed 888 fishermen, Avith an invest- 

 ment r)f 51^240,832,' and produced "^ 351,546 shad weighing 1,187,382 

 pounds, valued at $198,619, and 11,428,569 alewives weighing 4,570,- 

 828 pounds, valued at $49,421. 



Comparing these data with those of recent years, we find that the 

 number of fishermen has remained almost constant, while the catch 

 in 1922 was vastly greater and in 1923 was substantially smaller than 

 heretofore. 



FISHERIES OF THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER AND TRIBUTARIES 



A canvass of the fisheries of the Mississippi River and tributaries 

 was made for the calendar year 1922, and the summary of the re- 

 sults was published as Statistical Bulletin No. 607. The results of 



