Statistics and Methods of the Fisheries. 
Ce the establishment of the Bureau, the collection of 
fishery statistics has been a part of its work, as it is 
only by means of specially collected data that the effects of 
fish culture, the necessity for restrictive measures, the in- 
fluence of legislation, and the trend of different branches 
of the industry can be determined. In this division there 
is a small corps of trained agents who visit all fishing 
communities to obtain information regarding the number 
of persons engaged, the quantity and value of the prop- 
erty used, and the amount and value of the catch. his 
division also makes a study of the apparatus and methods 
employed in fishing, the manner of utilizing and preparing 
the catch, the financial relations of the fishermen, the whole- 
sale fish trade of the larger cities, and various other matters 
connected with the commercial fisheries; and, by means of 
correspondence and printed reports, disseminates among 
the fishing population useful information concerning the 
utilization of new or waste products, the best ways of pre- 
paring the catch, the most approved methods of other coun- 
tries, the opportunities for extending markets, etc. 
The latest canvasses show that the high-sea, coastwise, 
and interior fisheries of the United States give employment 
to more than 219,500 persons; involve an investment of over 
$88,000,000, and yield annually a product weighing more 
than 2,000,000,000 pounds, valued at nearly $57,000,000. The 
extent of the industry on each coast and in the interior 
waters is as follows: 
