CLXIV REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 



Summary lij fislibuj-ijrounds of the fishery producis landed at Gloucester, Mabs., in 1S91, 

 by American fishing vessels — Continued. 



Attention may very properly be called to the practical value of these 

 inquiries as rex)resented in the information shown in the x>receding 

 tables. The preservation of the fishing- grounds resorted to by the K"ew 

 England fleet is the most vital question connected with the fisheries of 

 that region, and it becomes a matter of great consequence to know their 

 condition from time to time, and if depletion is taking place to have 

 definite and accurate statistical data to serve as a basis for the deter- 

 mination of the extent of the deterioration, the special grounds and fish 

 which it affects, and the steps that may be necessary to prevent it. The 

 absence of such information as is here shown for an earlier year than 1889 

 makes all the wore desirable the careful, continuous study now going on. 



