SYSTEMATIC CATALOGUE OF FISHES. 57 



pounds, worth $18,094. In 1889 the total yield was 227,797 pounds, valued at 

 $5,754. The next year the catch fell to 175,210 pounds, worth $4,467. Seven 

 years later it rose to 371,625 pounds, for which the fishermen received $13,525. 

 In 1902, although the catch was only 134,125 pounds, the value of the fish was 

 $15,347, including caviar. Dare County now produces the great bulk of the 

 sturgeon placed on the market, the fish being caught in gill nets. 



This species is now much less abundant than formerly, and in North Caro- 

 lina has undergone the same diminution seen in other states. Whereas it was 

 formerly regarded as a nuisance, and ruthlessly destroyed and thrown away 

 whenever caught, it is now one of the most valuable of the east coast fishes; the 

 principal fishery is in Delaware Bay and River. It is caught in gill nets, pound 

 nets, seines, and other appliances, and may also be taken on set lines baited with 

 fish. Besides its flesh, which is marketable in a fresh or smoked condition, its 

 eggs are very valuable for use in making caviar, its swim-bladder is convertible 

 into a high-grade isinglass, and its skin is also utilized. 



In some of the large shad seines in Albemarle Sound it has sometimes hap- 

 pened during the past 7 or 8 years that not a single adult sturgeon has been 

 caught during an entire season, whereas, 20 years ago sturgeon were abundant 

 here and each season the shores were covered with dead fish for which there was 

 no sale. When the fishermen finally realized the value of the fish, they pursued 

 the fishery so actively that the species was almost wiped out in a short time and 

 has never been able to reestablish itself. According to Mr. Frank Wood, of 

 Edenton, in one season $50,000 worth of sturgeon caviar was prepared in the 

 Albemarle region. 



The sturgeon is by far the most valuable fish, individually considered, inhab- 

 iting the waters of North Carolina or, in fact, the Atlantic coast of the United 

 States. A full-sized female with roe will now often bring the fisherman $80; and 

 it is a matter of record that in 1906 a North Carolina fisherman who caught 47 

 large sturgeon in salt water received for them over $2,500 after deducting all 

 expenses of shipment. 



It is incumbent on the state to take prompt and radical measures to prevent 

 the further diminution in the supply of this excellent fish, and to restore it to 

 something like its original abundance, if this is now possible. Besides prohib- 

 iting absolutely the killing of any examples under 3 feet long, it will probably be 

 desirable to stop the destruction of large fish for a term of years. Supplemen- 

 tary to these restrictive aids, the state or the general government should under- 

 take the artificial propagation of the sturgeon on several of the rivers where the 

 fish is still found. 



27. AOIPENSER BREVIRO STRUM LeSueur. 

 "Sturgeon"; Short-nosed Sturgeon. 



Acipenser brevirostrum LeSueur, Transactions American Philosophical Society, i, 130, 1818. Yarrow, 1877 

 216; North, New and Neuse Rivers. Jordan, 1887, 26; Beaufort region. Jordan & Evermann, 1896, 

 106,pl. xxi.fig. 46. 



