﻿REPORT 
  OF 
  THE 
  COMMISSIONER 
  OP 
  PISHERIES. 
  17 
  

  

  was 
  a 
  decided 
  improvement 
  over 
  the 
  corresponding 
  period 
  of 
  1913. 
  

   The 
  netters 
  fishing 
  on 
  the 
  shores 
  of 
  the 
  United 
  States 
  and 
  the 
  seiners 
  

   resorting 
  to 
  the 
  shores 
  of 
  Nova 
  Scotia 
  had 
  a 
  fairly 
  successful 
  season. 
  

   In 
  June 
  a 
  prominent 
  feature 
  of 
  the 
  fishery 
  was 
  the 
  taking 
  of 
  small 
  

   mackerel 
  m 
  much 
  larger 
  quantities 
  than 
  for 
  a 
  number 
  of 
  years 
  along 
  

   the 
  entire 
  coast 
  from 
  Cape 
  Cod 
  to 
  Portland. 
  

  

  Swordfish 
  were 
  more 
  plentiful 
  in 
  1913 
  than 
  usual. 
  The 
  entire 
  

   swordfish 
  fleet 
  did 
  well, 
  and 
  some 
  of 
  the 
  vessels 
  made 
  large 
  catches. 
  

   On 
  July 
  4 
  the 
  schooner 
  Topsail 
  Girl 
  landed 
  242 
  swordfish, 
  the 
  result 
  

   of 
  three 
  weeks' 
  fishmg, 
  probably 
  the 
  largest 
  number 
  of 
  fish 
  of 
  this 
  

   species 
  ever 
  brought 
  in 
  by 
  one 
  vessel 
  m 
  one 
  trip; 
  but 
  this 
  record 
  was 
  

   exceeded 
  on 
  August 
  4, 
  when 
  the 
  schooner 
  Edmund 
  F. 
  Black 
  landed 
  

   274 
  swordfish. 
  The 
  prmcipal 
  fishmg 
  ground 
  for 
  vessels 
  in 
  this 
  fishery 
  

   from 
  Massachusetts 
  and 
  Maine 
  ports 
  is 
  Georges 
  Bank, 
  although 
  large 
  

   numbers 
  of 
  swordfish 
  are 
  taken 
  along 
  the 
  entire 
  coast 
  from 
  Block 
  

   Island 
  to 
  the 
  Strait 
  of 
  Canso. 
  The 
  season 
  for 
  this 
  fishery 
  is 
  chiefly 
  

   from 
  June 
  to 
  September, 
  and 
  Boston 
  is 
  the 
  principal 
  market 
  for 
  the 
  

   catch. 
  The 
  quantity 
  of 
  swordfish 
  landed 
  at 
  Boston 
  and 
  Gloucester 
  

   by 
  American 
  fishing 
  vessels 
  m 
  1913 
  was 
  2,375,920 
  pounds 
  fresh, 
  valued 
  

   at 
  $195,727, 
  and 
  5,000 
  pounds 
  salted, 
  valued 
  at 
  SI 
  50. 
  Nearly 
  aU 
  of 
  

   the 
  vesseis 
  in 
  this 
  fishery 
  are 
  fitted 
  with 
  auxiliary 
  power, 
  which 
  enables 
  

   them 
  to 
  fish 
  over 
  a 
  large 
  area. 
  The 
  apparatus 
  used 
  is 
  a 
  harpoon. 
  

  

  The 
  winter 
  gill-net 
  fishery, 
  which 
  is 
  carried 
  on 
  at 
  Gloucester 
  and 
  a 
  

   few 
  other 
  ports 
  on 
  the 
  New 
  England 
  coast, 
  employed 
  about 
  40 
  vessels, 
  

   practically 
  the 
  same 
  number 
  as 
  in 
  1913. 
  In 
  the 
  early 
  part 
  of 
  the 
  

   season, 
  i. 
  e., 
  m 
  October 
  and 
  November, 
  the 
  fleet 
  was 
  very 
  successful, 
  

   large 
  quantities 
  of 
  pollock 
  bemg 
  taken 
  in 
  a 
  comparatively 
  short 
  time. 
  

   The 
  catch 
  of 
  cod 
  and 
  haddock 
  by 
  this 
  method, 
  however, 
  was 
  small, 
  

   and 
  in 
  consecjuence 
  a 
  number 
  of 
  vessels 
  abandoned 
  the 
  fishery 
  early 
  

   in 
  the 
  spring. 
  Although 
  a 
  few 
  vessels 
  did 
  fairly 
  well, 
  the 
  fishery 
  as 
  

   a 
  whole 
  did 
  not 
  compare 
  favorably 
  with 
  the 
  previous 
  year. 
  

  

  The 
  otter-trawl 
  fishery, 
  which 
  centers 
  at 
  Boston, 
  was 
  carried 
  on 
  

   with 
  greater 
  activity 
  than 
  m 
  previous 
  years. 
  Three 
  new 
  steamers 
  

   have 
  been 
  added 
  to 
  the 
  fleet 
  since 
  July, 
  1913, 
  increasing 
  the 
  number 
  

   to 
  9, 
  in 
  addition 
  to 
  which 
  one 
  vessel 
  operatmg 
  out 
  of 
  New 
  York 
  

   sometimes 
  landed 
  her 
  catch 
  at 
  Boston. 
  The 
  number 
  of 
  trips 
  made 
  by 
  

   the 
  otter 
  trawlers 
  m 
  1913 
  was 
  326, 
  an 
  increase 
  of 
  31 
  over 
  the 
  previous 
  

   year. 
  The 
  total 
  amount 
  of 
  fish 
  landed 
  at 
  Boston 
  was 
  14,366,283 
  

   pounds, 
  against 
  15,025,150 
  pounds 
  landed 
  in 
  1912, 
  a 
  decrease 
  of 
  

   658,867 
  pounds. 
  The 
  fishery, 
  as 
  in 
  previous 
  years, 
  was 
  chiefly 
  con- 
  

   fined 
  to 
  Georges 
  and 
  the 
  South 
  Channel, 
  although 
  during 
  the 
  spring 
  

   months 
  a 
  number 
  of 
  trips 
  were 
  taken 
  on 
  the 
  Western 
  Bank 
  and 
  a 
  

   portion 
  of 
  the 
  catch 
  was 
  landed 
  at 
  Portland, 
  Me. 
  The 
  French 
  fleet 
  

   of 
  otter 
  trawlers, 
  operating 
  on 
  Grand 
  Bank, 
  St. 
  Pierre 
  Bank, 
  and 
  

   Quereau 
  Bank, 
  consisted 
  of 
  about 
  30 
  steamers. 
  

  

  The 
  operations 
  of 
  the 
  Boston 
  trawlers, 
  which 
  had 
  been 
  under 
  investi- 
  

   gation 
  during 
  the 
  previous 
  year, 
  were 
  again 
  subjected 
  to 
  close 
  scru- 
  

   tiny, 
  and 
  during 
  the 
  first 
  half 
  of 
  the 
  fiscal 
  year 
  agents 
  of 
  the 
  Bureau 
  

   were 
  constantly 
  engaged 
  in 
  recording 
  the 
  large 
  and 
  small 
  fish, 
  market- 
  

   able 
  and 
  unmarketable, 
  taken 
  at 
  each 
  haul 
  of 
  the 
  net. 
  The 
  field 
  

  

  