REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. . 59 
l THE NEW ENGLAND STATES. 
, Advantage was taken of the presence in the field of the agents 
| engaging in the canvass of the mackerel fishery, and investigations of 
; a number of other important fisheries of the New England States 
/ were undertaken. The time and force were not sufficient, however, to 
‘permit a canvass of all the commercial fisheries of the region. The 
study of these fisheries, like that of the mackerel fishery, was in 
) progress at the close of the fiscal year. 
The special branches of the industry which were made the subjects 
) of inquiry and report were the whale, menhaden, herring, alewife, shad, 
_ Salmon, smelt, lobster, oyster, clam, and scallop fisheries, sardine and 
lobster canning, and the manufacture of oil and fertilizer from men- 
haden. The statistics covering these fisheries were obtained in such 
form as to exhibit the extent of each, regardless of duplications of 
‘men and boats occasioned by their employment in more than one fish- 
ery. Descriptive notes for all these branches were required wherever 
changes in methods or conditions had occurred since the last inquiries, 
/and especially detailed notes were called for on the lobster and a few 
other fisheries. 
Perhaps the most important of the fisheries the canvass of which 
-was.undertaken is the lobster fishery. In my previous report attention 
was drawn to the great economic value of the lobster, to the very 
serious reduction in its abundance in recent years, and to the general 
interest taken in this fishery, whose condition affects a numerous 
population. As complete a study of the subject was planned as could 
properly be carried on by this division, and the collection of a very 
valuable mass of information is anticipated by the time the inquiry is 
completed. In addition to securing the usual statistical data for per- 
sons, boats, apparatus, catch, etc., the attention of the field agents was 
‘directed to the following topics for investigation and report: 
1. The changes in the methods of the lobster fishery since 1880 and in more recent 
years. 
2. The fishing season as compared with other years; the reasons for an extension 
or shortening of the season; the extent and origin of the fishery during the winter 
months. 
3. The extent of the fishery during the molting season; the catch and destruction 
of soft, unmarketable lobsters during that period. 
4. The depth of water and the distance from the land at which lobsters are now 
taken as compared with earlier years. 
5. Comparison of the present and past average size of lobsters; the present limits 
of size of marketable lobsters; the proportion of short lobsters to the total catch. 
6. Marked changes in abundance of lobsters in a given locality in recent years and 
the apparent reasons therefor. 
7. The relation of the catch to the quantity and character of the apparatus used 
and to the methods employed. 
8. A study of the laws in force and their apparent effect on the size and abun- 
dance of lobsters in a given locality; the efficiency of their enforcement and the 
extent of their observance. 
9. Consideration of the bait used in the lobster fishery—its source, nature, quan- 
tity, and value, and the relative effectiveness of different kinds. 
ib > 
