REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 179 



Factories designed for the eaiiuiii.1;' aud packiiijjf of oysters have been 

 established in every State, and have always resnlted in an increased 

 out|»nt, owing to the convenient market and ready sale afforded the 

 fishermen. 



The following table will convey a clear idea of the large advance that 

 has taken place in the oyster fishery of each State since 1880 : 



Statement of the yield of oysters in the South Atlantic States in ISSO, 1SS7, ISSS, 1S89, 



and IS'JO. 



GULF COAST. 



For a nnmber of years the investigation of the fisheries of the States 

 bordering on the Gulf of Mexico had been contemplated, but the in- 

 quiry was deferred from time to time owing to the small force available 

 and the more, urgent need of studies in other coast regions. By the 

 1st of January, 1801, however, the opportunity for inaugurating this 

 work seemed favorable, and accordingly four agents, Messrs. W, H. 

 Abbott, Ansley Hall, E. E. Race, and C. H. Stevenson, were detailed 

 to examine aud report on the fisheries and related industries of this 

 region. The fisheries of no other section of the ITnited States had 

 received less attention and very little information was at hand bearing 

 on their present condition, extent, and resources. The results of the 

 inrpiiry weie therefore awaited with interest. Three months were con- 

 sumed in work, during which time the agents canvassed tlie entire 

 coastal region from Key West to the Eio Grande. 



The reports of the agents show that in 1890, the last year covered 

 by the investigation, 11,752 persons were employed in the fisheries of 

 the Gulf States; the capital invested amonnted to $2,078,202, and the 

 value of the catch was $2,138,675. Comparing these figures with the 

 returns from the New England, Middle Atlantic, and Pacific States, 

 the fisheries of tliis region are much less extensive. It is not in their 

 present condition, however, that their importance chiefly consists, but 

 rather in their recent phenomenal growth and the possibilities for still 

 greater development. The fishery resources of the Gulf States are 

 very extensive. Few sections of the country are better supplied with 

 desirable marine food and economic products, including fish, reptiles, 

 ■molhisks, crustaceans, and sponges. Tlie utilization of these has as 

 yet ])een incomplete, but the past growth of the industry and the pres- 

 ent attention it is receiving will doubtless greatly advance the fishing 

 interests in the near future. 



