THE FISHERIES OF NORTH CAROLINA. 



GENERAL IMPORTANCE AND EXTENT. 



The abundance of fishes and the pecuharly favorable conditions prevaihng 

 in the coastal regions, combined with a mild climate, have permitted the develop- 

 ment of fisheries of great variety and extent. At a comparatively early period 

 in the history of the state certain branches of the fisheries l^ecame important, 

 and in- recent years attained greater extent than elsewhere; while the general 

 progress of the industry has been such as to place North Carolina in the front 

 rank among the fishing states. In the coastwise sections fishing has long been 

 a leading industry, and in few other states has there been so large a population 

 so entirely dependent on the water for a livelihood. Among the South Atlantic 

 States, North Carolina is far in advance in all phases of the fisheries; in fact, as 

 regards the number of persons engaged, the amount of capital invested, and the 

 quantity and value of the annual yield, this state exceeds all the others combined. 



No general fishery statistics have been gathered for a number of years, and 

 the latest information pertains to 1902. In that year, according to the official 

 returns of the United States Bureau of Fisheries, 1,100 persons were engaged 

 in the vessel fisheries, 433 persons in the transportation of the catch to market, 

 10,059 persons in the boat and other fisheries, and 3,163 persons in the various 

 shore industries dependent on the fisheries, a total of 14,755. In the same year 

 188 vessels were employed in fishing and 199 others in transporting the catch, 

 these with their outfit being valued at $361,000. The boats used in the shore 

 fisheries numbered 6,470, with a value of $222,150. The apparatus of capture 

 comprised 965 seines worth $85,460, 107,190 gill nets worth $236,255, 2,980 

 pound nets and weirs worth $228,610, and minor nets, lines, dredges, tongs, rakes 

 and other appliances valued at $22,850. The foregoing sums added to the value 

 of the shore property and cash capital, gave a total investment of $1,973,440. 

 The catch and value of the different classes of animals were as follows: Fish, 

 58,900,675 pounds, $1,354,073; turtles and frogs, 48,570 pounds, $12,229; crus- 

 taceans, 287,600 pounds, $17,353; mollusks, 8,347,885 pounds (1,171,880 bushels), 

 $356,005; a total of 67,584,735 pounds, which sold for $1,739,660. 



THE PRINCIPAL FISHES. 



In the foregoing systematic catalogue, the economic importance of each 

 species of fish has been referred to. Of the 347 species therein listed, about 90 

 are of present commercial value and figure to a greater or less extent in the 

 markets; but the fishes which give to North Carolina its prominent position 

 as a fishing state are comparatively few in niunber. Conspicuous among the 



