FISHERIES OF THE MIDDLE ATLANTIC STATES. 



41 



gill nets are used in the ocean for taking bluefish and squeteague, and 

 gill netting for mackerel assumes some importance during the spring. 

 In past years large catches of white perch and striped bass have 

 been made with gill nets in Barnegat Bay, but the catch in 1904 was 

 very light, and a decline has been noticeable for several years. In 

 Cape May County gill nets are employed in taking menhaden, which 

 are used as bait on hand lines. 



Seines. — The most important species taken in seines are menhaden, 

 shad, squeteague, white perch, and striped bass. The seine catch for 

 Ocean and Monmouth counties far exceeds in value that of all the 

 other counties combined, a fact due to the large catch of menhaden 

 for fertilizer factories located near Tuckerton, in Ocean County, and 

 at Port Monmouth, in Monmouth County. Seines are used under the 

 ice in Barnegat Bay for white perch and striped bass. Profitable 

 catches have been made in the past, but the decrease in the abundance 

 of these two species has had a depressing effect upon the fishery. The 

 catch in 1904 was 29,969,443 pounds, valued at $176,551. 



Eel and lobster pots took 371,545 pounds, valued at $31,454; fyke 

 nets, 535,998 pounds, valued at $31,130; stop nets, 369,300 pounds, 

 valued at $29,352; and bag nets and other forms of apparatus, 347,140 

 pounds, valued at $35,730. 



The following tables give in detail the quantity and value of 

 products taken in the vessel and shore fisheries by each form of 

 apparatus : 



Statement, by Counties, of the Catch by Dredges, Tongs, Rakes, etc., in 



New Jersey in 1904. 



