PACIFIC COAST FISHERIES. 141 
The fishing industry is one of the most important enterprises of the 
; west coast, and in some sections is more prominent than all other 
branches of business. Compared with the other coastal sections of the 
United States, the States of the Pacific Coast, including Alaska, now 
| maintain fisheries that rank next to those of the New England and 
Middle Atlantic States in extent and importance. The value of the 
| fishery products is greater than in the South Atlantic, Gulf, and Great 
Lakes States combined. 
The inquiries of the Commission disclosed the fact that in 1892 the 
number of persons engaged in the fisheries of the Pacific States was 
16,929, of whom 5,403 were in California, 4,332 in Oregon, 4,310 in Wash- 
ington, and 2,884 in Alaska. The aggregate capital invested was found 
| to be $9,002,314. The shares of the different States were $2,526,746 for 
| California, $2,272,351 for Oregon, $1,593,567 for Washington, and 
$2,609,650 for ee The value of the catch was $6,245,192, a sum 
| representing the products as landed by the fishermen. Of this amount 
California is credited with $3,022,991, Oregon with $872,405, Washington 
with $931,568, and Alaska with $1,418,228. 
The chief ee constituting the aelaaat of the west coast fisheries 
are salmon, cod, herring, flounders, rockfish, smelts, whales, fur seals, 
crabs, shrimps, and oysters. The salmon are nearly as valuable as all 
of the other products combined. Next to these in point of value are 
whalebone, oysters, fur-seal pelts, shrimp, cod, flounders, crabs, herring, 
whale oil, rockfish, and smelt. 
Chief among the fishery industries of the Pacific States is the can- 
ning of salmon, which is prosecuted on a large scale in California, Ore- 
gon, Washington, and Alaska. In 1892, 56 canneries were in operation. 
These utilized 81,487,993 pounds of salmon, having a value of $2,376,037, 
from which 1,118,098 cases of canned fish, each holding 48 one-pound 
cans or the equivalent, were prepared, the market value of the canned 
goods being $5,294,032. 
| 
HueGu M. SMITH, 
Assistant in charge Division of 
Statistics and Methods of the Fisheries. 
