FISHERIES OF THE MIDDLE ATLANTIC STATES. S7 



Catch of Shad in Interstate Waters. 



Ale wife. — In the catch of alewives since 1901 there is seen an 

 increase of 5 per cent in quantity and 51 per cent in value, the latter 

 being due largely to the greater quantity salted by the fishermen. In 

 Cecil and Harford counties considerably less than one-half of the 

 catch is sold fresh. The fishing- season is so short and the quantities 

 taken are so large that except when salted it is often impossible to 

 dispose of the fish at any price. 



Menhaden. — Practically all of the menhaden show T n for the state 

 were taken by two steamers owned at "Crisfield and were utilized in a 

 factory situated near that town. Some also were taken with seines 

 in the shore fisheries of Worcester County. 



Striped bass and tvhite perch. — Compared with 1901 the catch of 

 striped bass in 1904 shows a decrease of 12 per cent in quantity and 

 an increase of 5 per cent in value. The quantity and value of white 

 perch are 20 per cent and 23 per cent respectively, an increase attrib- 

 uted to artificial propagation by the state and, more recently, by 

 the United States. 



The increase in the quantity of white perch is especially encourag- 

 ing when it is remembered that it had fallen off 51 per cent in quantity 

 between 1897 and 1901. The purse seine fishery for these two species 

 in Chesapeake Bay, which is operated mainly by men living at Rock 

 Hall, Kent County, shows a slight decrease in quantity but increase 

 in value. It is claimed by the fishermen, however, that a recent law 

 restricting the area of operations will make this fishery less profitable. 



Yellow perch. — There has been a decrease of 9 per cent in quantity 

 and an increase of 11 per cent in value of the yield of this species. 

 An increase is shown for Anne Arundel, Cecil, Dorchester, Talbot, and 

 Harford counties, but a decrease for Baltimore and Kent counties. 



Sturgeon and caviar. — Owing to a more vigorous prosecution of 

 gill-net fisheries in the ocean off Worcester County, the catch of 

 sturgeon in this region since 1901 shows a considerable increase 

 with a proportionate increase in the quantity of caviar prepared. 

 The total yield of sturgeon from Maryland waters, however, shows very 

 little change since 1901. Most of these fish were taken incidentally 

 with other species. 



