28 FISHERIES OF THE MIDDLE ATLANTIC STATES. 



The Menhaden Industry of New Yokk in 1904. 



Items. 



No. 



Value. 



Factories 



Cash capital 



Persons in factories 



Persons on vessels 



Menhaden received 



Tons of dry scrap prepared. 



Gallons of oil made 



Steam vessels fishing 



Tonnage 



Outfit 



Seines 



Sail vessels fishing 



Tonnage 



Outfit 



Seines 



218 



797 



184,208,000 



12, 138 



1,155,539 



a 33 



2,866 



$400,600 

 180,000 



362, 162 

 274, 720 

 237, 149 

 413, 100 



141,423 

 33,900 

 6,300 



2,295 

 1,150 



a These vessels also supplied menhaden to factories in Rhode Island, Delaware, and Virginia. 



Bluejisli. — Of the food fish, the bluefish is the most important, 

 the catch in 1904 amounting to 11,413,786 pounds, worth $556,527. 

 In 1901 the yield of this species was 9,350,502 pounds, worth $473,- 

 366. Most of the catch is taken by vessels sailing from Fulton Fish 

 Market, New York City. 



Squeteague. — The yield of squeteague, or weakfish, shows an 

 increase from 2,346,683 pounds in 1901 to 6,339,600 pounds in 1904, 

 which is the greatest percentage of increase among the prominent 

 species. The squeteague were taken principally in the pound-net 

 fisheries of Suffolk County, and by seines carried on the market 

 fleet sailing from New York City. The yield by pound nets increased 

 between 1901 and 1904 from 1,671,241 pounds to 3,730,690 pounds, and 

 by vessels from 24,000 pounds to 1,761,375 pounds. This large increase 

 in the vessel catch is due to the introduction of purse seines in that 

 fishery, to which cause should also be credited the increase in the 

 catch of scup from 804,589 pounds to 1,493,828 pounds. 



Shad. — The shad fishery, prosecuted almost entirely in the Hudson 

 River and the waters at its mouth, shows a remarkable falling off, 

 the yield decreasing from 3,432,472 pounds in 1901 to 498,119 pounds 

 in 1904. Nearly all other species of fish taken in those waters also 

 show a considerable decrease in the yield. It should be noted that 

 the shad returns for 1901 were unusually large, being greater than 

 for any other year since 1888; but the normal catch for the Hudson 

 in recent years has approximated 2,000,000 pounds, so that the yield 

 in 1904 is only about 25 per cent of the average. The price received 

 by the fishermen averaged nearly 30 cents per fish, whereas formerly 

 it was less than half of that amount. 



