132 REPOKT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 



will be seen, however, that the increase has been due to the use of larger 

 numbers of traps per man. Considering the entire region, the average 

 catch per man was 7,229 pounds in 1880 and (5,374 pounds in 1892. 



Farther indication of a diminished supply of lobsters is seen in tbe 

 smaller average catch per trap. In 1880 the average quantity of lob- 

 sters taken in the New England States was 142 pounds per trap; in 

 1889 it was 180 pounds, and in 1892 it was 119 pounds. The figures 

 for Maine are 136 pounds per trap in 1880 and 115 pounds in 1892. In 

 1889, when the lobster fishery reached its height, it was 195 pounds, 

 against 193 in 1888 and 200 in 1887. In Massachusetts the average 

 catcb per pot declined from 149 pounds in 1880 to 121 pounds in 1892. 

 Tbe decrease was most marked in Ehode Island and Connecticut. In 

 the former the average was 194 pounds in 18S0 and 122 pounds in 1892, 

 while in Connecticut the average for 1880 was 349 pounds and for 1892 

 only 149 pounds. 



Tbe following comparative table shows tbe New England lobster catch 

 in the five years for which figures are available, and gives a clear idea 

 of the fluctuations which have characterized the fishery in each State: 



States. 



Maine 



New Hampshire 

 Massachusetts.. 

 Rhode Island ... 

 Connecticut 



Total 



Pounds. 



14,234.182 



250, 000 



4, :ur>. 410 



423, 250 



72:;, 885 



19, 940, 733 



£268, 739 



7,500 



158, 229 



15,871 



27, 145 



477,484 



1887. 



Pounds. 



22,916,642 

 142,824 



3,511,075 

 570, 039 



1,487,020 



28, 627, 600 



Value. 



$512, 044 



6, 208 



150, 204 



27,128 



82, 594 



784, 238 



Pounds. ! Value. 



21,694,731 

 136, 350 



3, 743, 475 

 588, 500 



1,477,226 



27, 040, 282 



$515, 880 



0,256 



172,936 



28,047 



85, 723 



808, 842 



The whale fisher ii . — Tbe whale fishery continues to be one of the most 

 important branches of tbe New England fisheries, although its impor- 

 tance is much less than formerly, owing to the scarcity of whales, the 

 withdrawal of vessels from the business, and the transfer of interests 

 to the Pacific Coast, where the conditions for carrying on the fishery 

 are better. New Bedford, which in 1880 had 123 vessels engaged in 

 whaling, in 1892 had a fleet of only 41 vessels, 17 of which made their 

 headquarters at San Francisco. The other 11 vessels, comprising the 

 New England whaling fleet in the latter year, bailed from Provincetown, 

 Boston, Edgartown, and New London. Tbe value of the vessels and 

 their outfits was $700,700, and the tonnage of the fleet was 9,537.60 net. 

 The crews numbered 1,409. The following table shows tbe rigs repre- 

 sented and the grounds resorted to by the vessels of each port. 



The yield of the whale fishery consisted of 211,235 gallons of whale 



