60 REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONER OF FISHERIES. 
FISHERIES OF LAKE PEPIN AND LAKE CooprerR (Mississippi River) ry 1914—Con. 
Items. Lake Pepin. Lake Cooper. 
Products by apparatus—Continued. 
With trap nets— Number.| Value. | Number. | Value. 
GatHSH TS 2 ee ei siame cere ele ee haere ee eaters pounds. . 235 $15 ||: 2. Scoees|easeeees 
cRresh-water Grim) fess sos oo eh Me seat ea oct ee Goto 3, 400 69) |e acts adware oe 
NotaleA Ses ssocl eR a tn See ee 3, 635 80!) .ssse 2s Soemeeee 
Gernvanrcarpis socaeae mck Nee nee oe eee eer eEee ren aeEas =e 
Piketh 8.0 cedien Atle ddereeceeteeed eed s yt gars kat 2 tet 
SL) aa aim ielwlainlw ale letetorala [= winlelateintmintele ale mis \=ialsla\era m= m= 'ale/atata 
Product by species: 
Black: basseckin cn te eiec- eames << tees camer oten: eee 
Buflalofish s35-25— ooo o2 eGo eel eee e eee ae aoe d 
German carp. - - - 
Mooneye, fresh... 
Mooneye, smoked.. 
ef pe Re By Ae ta ie OE Blt 2 3) SS 
Quillback, or white carp 
Spoonbillicat, onpaddlefishiee: Sass sae eee eeecs sere do.... 8,877 SOT s3 rors ee 
Sturgeon; lake... 7 [255526 2 SRSA oes se ee cia dozen 1, 067 129 1,900 121 
SW <a Rae ahaa Sec SSBddne abuiaa" TSQeeneabon se oe nase oeneRe do....| 18,340 439 4,640 164 
Spbbat is Smeetonigc -daunetsc dose case neonisnisebeccuseeaD Sece doi.s 50 5 50 3 
Totals ccc <2 GNI: Me ESN. oF ang. eo Seen 758,670 | 33,719 | 661,135 | 23,300 
CRAB INDUSTRY OF MARYLAND AND VIRGINIA. 
The blue crab is one of the most valuable fishery resources of 
Chesapeake Bay. In no other body of water is this species so abun- 
dant and important. The increasmg magnitude of the fishery -has 
occasioned much concern among those solicitous for its future wel- 
fare, and there has been much discussion of the necessity for restric- 
tive measures in Maryland and Virginia. The Bureau desired to 
give the States full and reliable data on which to base any needed 
action; and accordingly it placed its agents in the field on November 
15, 1915, and on December 21, 1915, was able to issue a printed bul- 
letin containing detailed statistics of the industry for the calendar 
year 1915. This bulletin, which was very favorably received because 
of its timely appearance and valuable contents, was distributed to 
State legislators and fishery officials, to crab fishermen, dealers, and 
canners, and to all other interested persons. 
In Maryland the growth of the hard-crab industry has been quite 
marked during the past few years, owing to the increasing number of 
firms engaged in shipping crab meat. The soft-crab fishery has 
scarcely more than Held its own. The crab industry of this State in 
1915 gave employment to 7,312 persons, of whom 4,053 were engaged 
in the shore or boat fisheries, 41 on fishing and transporting vessels, 
and 3,218 in the wholesale trade and canning industry. The invest- 
