REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES 57 
This appears to have been largely at the expense of seines, the number 
of which was reduced by over 1,200, mostly of small size and chiefly in 
New York. Many more gill nets were found to be employed, the increase 
amounting to 6,701, valued at $139,952, the expansion of this fishery 
being due to the development of the shad and sturgeon fisheries in the 
Hudson and Delaware rivers. 
The outcome of the fishing industry presents a very gratifying 
increase, which is participated in by many important products. The 
aggregate augmentation in the value of the yield was $935,142, of 
which $591,674 is to be credited to New York and $343,468 to New 
Jersey. The catch of the following products among others has in- 
creased: Alewives, bluefish, butter-fish, catfish, eels, flounders, mullet, 
sea bass, shad, squeteague, sturgeon, tomcod, lobsters, quahogs, and 
oysters. The following are taken in smaller quantities than formerly, 
namely: Cod, mackerel, menhaden, scup, sheepshead, Spanish mack- 
erel, striped bass, soft clams, crabs, and terrapin. 
THE MACKEREL FISHERY. 
In May and June, 1893, the field force was placed in the New Eng- 
land States for the special purpose of making a detailed investigation 
of the commercial aspects of the mackerel fishery. This inquiry was 
in progress at the close of the fiscal year. 
Owing to the great attention the mackerel has recently been receiv- 
ing on account of the unprecedentedly long period of scarcity, it was 
important for the purposes of the Commission, in order to afford the 
best basis for determining the cause and extent of the scarcity, to have 
accurate and detailed information relating to the various topics which 
could be legitimately considered by this division. To facilitate the 
collection of uniform data, provision was made for having the agents 
obtain the statistics on two printed forms relating, respectively, to the 
fisheries carried on with vessels and to those carried on from boats and 
the shore. 
For the vessel fishery the following information was obtained for 
each vessel: Name of vessel, hailing port, rig, net tonnage, present 
value, value of outfit, number and value of each kind of fishing appa- 
ratus used, the number of crew specified by nativity and nationality, 
the kinds, quantities, and value of bait canght by the vessel or pur- 
chased in America or British provincial ports, the number of entries of 
foreign ports and the expenditures therein for each purpose, the lay 
of the crew, the quantity and value of each grade of mackerel taken in 
each region with each kind of apparatus, the fishing season in each 
region, the number of trips from each region and to each port, and the 
kinds, quantities, and value of other fish taken with mackerel. 
In the case of the shore and boat fisheries the information secured 
for each proprietor-fisherman included the number and value of each 
form of apparatus employed, the number and value of boats, the fishing 
season, the number, nativity, and nationality of the fishermen, the wages 
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