180 REPOliT OF COMMISSIONEK OF Flbll AND nSHERlES. 



The prominent features of the fisheries, as disclosed by the inquiry, 

 maybe chiefly mentioned, as follows: The larj;c foreij;n element cn- 

 ftiifjed in the industry, amountini^ to about 25 percent, the aliens beinj; 

 most numirons in Lcmisiana, where they constitute one-third of the 

 lisliinj;- populaticm; tlie predominance of seines :is ;i means of capture, 

 gill nets and lines being- important oidy in Florida, and p(nind nets, 

 trap nets, and fyke nets, whi<5h are so extensively used in some other 

 regions, not being used; the presence of a large Heet of lug rigged 

 vessels in Louisiana, a type which is peculiar to the Gulf region; the 

 recent establishment of numerous factories for utilizing raw products 

 of the fisheries, es])ecially oysters, turtles, and shrimps; tlie extent ol" 

 the oyster fishery (which is the most important and yielded $796,001*), 

 the sponge fishery (the output of which had a value of $438,092), the 

 mullet fishery (valued at $238,528), the snapi)er Jishcry (which brought 

 the fishermen $134,710), the squeteague fishery (which yielded $122,570), 

 and the shrimp fishery (worth $108,811), 



The only previous examination of the fisheries of these States ad- 

 dressed to (utmplete statistical information was undertaken in 1880 by 

 Mr. Silas Stearns in connection with the work of the U. S. Fish Com- 

 mission in behalf of the Tenth Census. Although other inquiries have 

 since been made by this Commission covering various phases of the 

 fisheries, the report of Mr. Stearns is the only one that essays to be 

 complete or affords an opi)ortunity for comparing the past and present 

 conditions of the industry. Since 1880, the fisheries of the Gulf States 

 have undergone an im]»ortant advance in nearly every feature. The 

 increase in the number of fishermen amounted to 0,021, or 129 per cent; 

 the increase in investment was $2,432,708, or 446 iier cent, and the 

 incrensc in tlu^ value of the catch was $1,211,131, or 99 per cent. The 

 fisheries of J\lississippi have grown at an unprecedentedly rapid rate, 

 the proportional increase in the three foregoing particulars being 825 

 per cent, 4,840 per cent, and 990 i)cr cent, respectively. The importance 

 of the oyster in this region is made manifest by the statement that 

 nearly half of the aggregate increase during the past decade, viz, 

 $504,802, represented that molluslv, and that in every State the output 

 of this product has been conspicuously augmented, a ccmdition due in 

 no small degree to the establishment of canning and packing houses. 



POTOMAC KIVEB. 



In May and rlune, 1891, a canvass of tlie fisheries of the Potomac 

 Ivivcr and its tjibutaries was made by Mr. W. A. Wilcox. At the time 

 of the inquiry the most important fish were being caught and a favor- 

 able opportunity was thus afforded to meet the fishermen and iusi)ect 

 the means and mclliods enq)loyed. The investigation had special refer- 

 ence to the condition ol' the shad fishery, but also related to all other 

 branches. Mr. Wilcox began work at the mouth of the river and 

 continued his inquiries as far as the Little Falls, 3 miles above Wash- 



