REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OE FISH AND FISHERIES. CLXIX 



fleet, the fur-seal and sea-otter vessels and boats, the sldn boats of the 

 aborigines (kaiaks, bidarkas, oomiaks, etc.), the cod and halibut fleets, 

 salmon vessels and boats, the market fleet, oyster vessels and boats, 

 dories and sharj)ies, and Chinese Ashing craft. 



Report upon the Participation of the U. S. Fish Commission in the Centennial 

 Exposition, held at Cincinnati, Ohio, in' 1888. (Report, 1888, pp. 869-885.) 



In comi)any with the other Government departments and bureaus, 

 the U. S. Fish Oonimission took part in the commemoration of the one- 

 hundredth anniversary of the settlement of Cincinnati. The exhibit 

 was prepared, installed, and conducted under the direction of the 

 assistant in charge of the Division of Fisheries, and may therefore be 

 appropriately referred to as a part of the work of this office. The 

 report reviews the origin and objects of the Exposition, cites the legis- 

 lation in pursuance of wbich the Federal (lovernment participated, 

 and gives a detailed account of the scope, preparation, management, 

 and results of the Fish Commission exhibit. The work of the princi- 

 pal branches of the Fish Commission, viz, the Division of Scientific 

 Inquiry, the Division of Fish-culture, and the Division of Fisheries, 

 was appropriately illustrated by models, photographs, sketches, charts, 

 specimens, apparatus, publications, statistics, etc. One of the most 

 entertaining features of the exhibit was the aquarial display of live 

 fish and other animals, and the hatching of 45,000 eggs of the California 

 salmon ( Oncorhynchus chouicha). 



NOTES ON THE COMMERCIAL FISHERIES. 



During the year many matters of interest and importance have 

 arisen in connection with the economic fisheries. Some of these will 

 be dealt with in the regular reports of the division and need not here 

 be referred to; others, howevei-, of special interest, may be briefly 

 noticed in this iilace. While no complete investigation of the fisheries 

 of the entire country has been made for the past year, the office has 

 kept well informed on the most prominent features of the industry 

 through its agents and correspondents. Owing to the methods and 

 the season of their prosecution, it will be necessary to regard the 

 fisheries with reference to the calendar year 1891, instead of strictly 

 observing the period covered by this report of the division. 



THE FISHERIES FOR GROUND FISH. 



The great bank and ocean fisheries for cod, haddock, halibut, etc., 

 prosecuted from New England ports did not present any specially 

 striking features which would distinguish the i^ast season from the 

 conditions in recent years. 



For the market fishery, which is centered at Boston, the year 1891 

 was a very favorable one. The ground fish for which the fishery is 

 prosecuted were very abundant in the 'South Channel; and on the 

 "Goldiug Ground," situated 10 miles oft' Swampscott, had<lock were 

 found in greater numbers than for many years. The largest single fare 



