﻿18 
  EEPORT 
  OF 
  THE 
  COMMISSIONER 
  OF 
  FISHERIES. 
  

  

  work 
  was 
  suspended 
  in 
  December, 
  although 
  much 
  desirable 
  informa- 
  

   tion 
  still 
  remained 
  to 
  be 
  gathered 
  ; 
  and 
  a 
  special 
  committee 
  of 
  Bureau 
  

   assistants 
  was 
  formed 
  for 
  the 
  purpose 
  of 
  considering 
  the 
  data 
  in 
  hand 
  

   and 
  of 
  making 
  a 
  general 
  report 
  on 
  the 
  subject 
  of 
  otter 
  trawling. 
  The 
  

   preparation 
  ot 
  the 
  report, 
  for 
  which 
  there 
  has 
  been 
  an 
  insistent 
  

   demand 
  ever 
  since 
  the 
  investigation 
  began, 
  will 
  be 
  pushed 
  as 
  rapidly 
  

   as 
  possible. 
  

  

  The 
  new 
  fish 
  pier 
  at 
  Boston, 
  the 
  construction 
  of 
  which 
  was 
  begun 
  

   in 
  1912, 
  has 
  been 
  completed, 
  and 
  the 
  44 
  fresh-fish 
  firms 
  at 
  T 
  Wharf, 
  

   where 
  the 
  fresh-fish 
  trade 
  has 
  been 
  carried 
  on 
  for 
  the 
  past 
  30 
  years, 
  

   moved 
  to 
  the 
  new 
  pier 
  on 
  March 
  29, 
  1914. 
  The 
  pier 
  is 
  1,200 
  feet 
  long 
  

   and 
  300 
  feet 
  wide, 
  and 
  has 
  connected 
  with 
  it 
  a 
  cold-storage 
  plant 
  with 
  

   a 
  capacity 
  of 
  1,000,000 
  pounds 
  of 
  fish. 
  There 
  is 
  also 
  an 
  ice 
  plant 
  

   from 
  which 
  manufactured 
  ice, 
  either 
  crushed 
  or 
  in 
  cakes, 
  is 
  furnished 
  

   to 
  the 
  dealers 
  and 
  vessels 
  as 
  needed, 
  being 
  conveyed 
  on 
  motor 
  trucks. 
  

   The 
  pier 
  is 
  equipped 
  with 
  the 
  latest 
  improvements 
  for 
  conducting 
  

   the 
  fresh-fish 
  business, 
  and 
  a 
  much 
  greater 
  quantity 
  of 
  fish 
  can 
  be 
  

   handled 
  daily 
  than 
  was 
  possible 
  at 
  T 
  Wharf. 
  This 
  pier, 
  the 
  best 
  

   of 
  the 
  kind 
  in 
  the 
  Western 
  Hemisphere, 
  is 
  the 
  most 
  noteworthy 
  

   improvement 
  in 
  the 
  New 
  England 
  fishing 
  industry 
  in 
  recent 
  years. 
  

  

  MENHADEN 
  INDUSTRY. 
  

  

  The 
  great 
  abundance 
  of 
  menhaden 
  in 
  the 
  coastal 
  waters 
  of 
  the 
  

   Atlantic 
  seaboard 
  and 
  the 
  peculiar 
  qualities 
  of 
  the 
  fish 
  led 
  many 
  

   years 
  ago 
  to 
  the 
  inauguration 
  of 
  an 
  industry 
  which 
  in 
  time 
  became 
  

   an 
  important 
  branch 
  of 
  our 
  fisheries. 
  The 
  taking 
  of 
  menhaden 
  for 
  

   conversion 
  into 
  oil 
  and 
  fertilizer 
  is 
  now 
  carried 
  on 
  from 
  Maine 
  to 
  

   Florida, 
  and 
  ranks 
  as 
  one 
  of 
  the 
  leading 
  fisheries 
  of 
  the 
  country. 
  

   Menhaden 
  caught 
  incidentally 
  in 
  the 
  shore 
  fisheries 
  are 
  utilized 
  also 
  

   in 
  large 
  quantities 
  as 
  bait 
  in 
  tne 
  line 
  fisheries 
  for 
  cod, 
  mackerel, 
  

   bluefish, 
  and 
  other 
  species, 
  and 
  smaller 
  quantities 
  are 
  used 
  as 
  human 
  

   food. 
  

  

  A 
  special 
  investigation 
  and 
  statistical 
  canvass 
  of 
  the 
  menhaden 
  

   industry 
  was 
  undertaken 
  in 
  1913, 
  and 
  full 
  data 
  for 
  the 
  previous 
  calen- 
  

   dar 
  year 
  were 
  obtained 
  by 
  agents 
  who 
  visited 
  every 
  fisliing 
  center 
  

   and 
  every 
  factory. 
  No 
  detailed 
  or 
  complete 
  information 
  had 
  been 
  

   collected 
  for 
  five 
  years, 
  and 
  no 
  general 
  report 
  on 
  the 
  subject 
  had 
  

   been 
  issued 
  for 
  many 
  years 
  preceding. 
  Meanwhile, 
  popular 
  interest 
  

   in 
  the 
  fishery 
  has 
  grown, 
  and 
  local 
  opposition 
  has 
  continued 
  because 
  

   of 
  a 
  belief 
  that, 
  in 
  fishing 
  for 
  menhaden, 
  great 
  injury 
  is 
  done 
  to 
  other 
  

   fishes 
  associated 
  with 
  or 
  predatory 
  upon 
  the 
  menhaden. 
  

  

  From 
  the 
  table 
  which 
  follows, 
  it 
  will 
  be 
  seen 
  that 
  in 
  1912 
  the 
  

   menhaden 
  industry 
  gave 
  employment 
  to 
  3,735 
  fishermen 
  and 
  2,159 
  

   persons 
  on 
  shore, 
  who 
  received 
  $1,579,000 
  in 
  wages. 
  The 
  vessels 
  

   used 
  numbered 
  118 
  steamers 
  and 
  29 
  gasoline 
  motors, 
  and 
  274 
  purse 
  

   seines, 
  valued 
  at 
  $271,000, 
  constituted 
  the 
  sole 
  means 
  of 
  capture. 
  

   There 
  were 
  in 
  operation 
  48 
  factories, 
  a 
  majority 
  of 
  them 
  located 
  in 
  

   Virginia 
  and 
  North 
  Carolina. 
  The 
  total 
  investment 
  in 
  fioating 
  and 
  

   shore 
  property 
  was 
  over 
  $7,908,000. 
  

  

  The 
  number 
  of 
  menhaden 
  utilized 
  in 
  the 
  factories 
  was 
  over 
  one 
  

   billion, 
  valued 
  at 
  $2,210,000. 
  This 
  catch, 
  which 
  weighed 
  637 
  million 
  

  

  