278 REPOKT OF THE COMMISSIOIN^ER OF FISHEEIES. 



outfit, $3,075; 115 boats, valued at $7,270; fishing apparatus on ves- 

 sels and boats, vahied at $11,137; shore property, $10,370, and cash 

 capital, $S,000. The products of the vessel and shore fisheries aggre- 

 gated 1,593,013 pounds, for which the fishermen received |50,003. 



The statistics for 1902 compared with those for 1S98 show a large 

 decrease in the quantitv, but a slight increa,se in tlie value of the fish- 

 ery products. The decrease is almost Avholly in the line fisheries, both 

 vessel and shore. The total catch with this form of apparatus in 1902 

 was 757,450 pounds, against 2, ■451,950 pounds in 1898. The great 

 decline in the line fisheries was due in a large measure to the ravages 

 of the dog-fish, which appeared in increasing numbers on the coast, 

 devouring man}' of the food fish and driving others away, thus practi- 

 cally putting an end to the line fishing. In some localities trawl-line 

 fishing has been abandoned entirely, and but little hand-line fishing is 

 undertaken. 



The products of the vessel fisheries in 1902 aggregated 386,350 

 pounds, with a value of §12,500. Of the various species taken, cod 

 represented nearly half of the entire catch, amounting to 150,000 

 pounds, with a value of $4,500. The catch of mackerel has more than 

 doubled since the last canvass, and in ^alue leads that of an}^ other 

 species taken in the vessel fisheries. 



The yield of the shore fisheries was 1,206,663 pounds, with a value of 

 $37,503. As ill the vessel fishery, cod is the leading species in the num- 

 ber of pounds taken, and is next to lobsters in the value of the catch. 



The lobster fishery has increased considerably in importance since 

 1898 and is now the most valuable fishery in the state, the catch in 

 1902 amounting to 128,463 pounds, with a value of $14,863. The 

 fishermen employed numbered 56, using 46 boats valued at $1,510 and 

 7 launches valued at |2,800. 



The season for catching lobsters lasts about five or six months, 

 depending somewhat on the weather. Usually the season begins 

 between April 15 and May 1 and continues until September 30 or the 

 middle of October. 



The various localities where the fishery is prosecuted are llye Beach, 

 Great Boars Head, Little Boars Head, North Beach, Hampton Beach 

 and Hampton River, Rj^e Harbor, Isle of Shoals, Newcastle, and 

 Portsmouth. 



At Hampton Beach 12 men were engaged in the fishery, setting 480 

 pots, and the catch amounted to 12,857 pounds, valued at $1,800. 

 The depth of water fished in varies from 6 to 7 fathoms inshore, and 

 from 10 to 14 fathoms outside. The pots are set from 2 to 5 miles 

 ofi'shore. 



Between Hampton and North Beach, including Little Boars Head 

 and Great Boars Head, 275 pots were fished by 7 men, the catch 

 amounting to 9,649 pounds, valued at $965. 



