﻿140 
  REPORT 
  OF 
  COMMISSIONER 
  OF 
  FISH 
  AND 
  FISHERIES. 
  

  

  being 
  deemed 
  the 
  only 
  means 
  by 
  ^vliitli 
  they 
  can 
  keep 
  the 
  market 
  from 
  being 
  over- 
  

   stocked. 
  Little 
  do 
  our 
  people 
  appreciate 
  the 
  fact 
  that 
  one 
  of 
  the 
  best 
  and 
  most 
  

   sought-for 
  fish 
  in 
  the 
  East 
  is 
  always 
  here 
  at 
  hand 
  and 
  is 
  to 
  be 
  obtained 
  many 
  months 
  

   in 
  the 
  year 
  at 
  a 
  price 
  which 
  places 
  it 
  within 
  the 
  reach 
  of 
  all. 
  

  

  Notwithstanding 
  a 
  very 
  active 
  Jisliery, 
  the 
  striped 
  bass 
  continues 
  to 
  

   Increase 
  in 
  abundance, 
  as 
  shown 
  by 
  a 
  greatly 
  augmented 
  catch. 
  The 
  

   receipts 
  at 
  San 
  Francisco 
  during 
  eacli 
  of 
  the 
  recent 
  years 
  liave 
  been 
  

   abnost 
  double 
  those 
  of 
  the 
  i^receding 
  year, 
  and 
  in 
  1895 
  nearly 
  twice 
  as 
  

   much 
  striped 
  bass 
  as 
  shad 
  was 
  sold 
  in 
  the 
  San 
  Francisco 
  market. 
  This 
  

   fish 
  is 
  very 
  popular 
  in 
  California, 
  is 
  generally 
  regarded 
  as 
  one 
  of 
  the 
  

   best 
  of 
  food-fishes, 
  and 
  from 
  i)resent 
  appearances 
  its 
  capture 
  will 
  in 
  

   time 
  constitute 
  one 
  of 
  the 
  principal 
  fisheries. 
  A 
  comparison 
  of 
  the 
  

   (piotations 
  of 
  the 
  New 
  York 
  and 
  San 
  Francisco 
  markets 
  discloses 
  the 
  

   interesting 
  fact 
  that 
  striped 
  bass 
  are 
  selling 
  at 
  a 
  much 
  lower 
  price 
  on 
  

   the 
  Avest 
  coast 
  than 
  in 
  the 
  East. 
  

  

  A 
  comparison 
  of 
  the 
  receipts 
  of 
  striped 
  bass 
  in 
  San 
  Francisco 
  for 
  

   several 
  years 
  is 
  given 
  in 
  the 
  following 
  table. 
  It 
  is 
  seen 
  that 
  the 
  quan- 
  

   tity 
  during 
  the 
  first 
  half 
  of 
  1800 
  was 
  more 
  than 
  in 
  the 
  whole 
  of 
  1893 
  

   and 
  1891 
  and 
  only 
  20 
  per 
  cent 
  less 
  than 
  in 
  1895. 
  

  

  Striped 
  bass 
  received 
  in 
  the 
  San 
  Francisco 
  market. 
  

  

  The 
  market 
  value 
  to 
  the 
  fishermen 
  of 
  the 
  shad 
  and 
  striped 
  bass 
  

   taken 
  in 
  the 
  Pacific 
  States 
  between 
  1888 
  and 
  1890 
  (to 
  July 
  1 
  ) 
  was 
  about 
  

   $192,000, 
  of 
  which 
  $112,000 
  represents 
  shad 
  and 
  $80,000 
  stri])ed 
  bass. 
  

   The 
  aggregate 
  expense 
  of 
  introducing 
  these 
  fish 
  to 
  the 
  Pacific 
  Coast 
  

   was 
  under 
  $5,000. 
  

  

  Catfish 
  and 
  carp 
  on 
  the 
  Pacific 
  Coast. 
  — 
  These 
  fishes 
  continue 
  to 
  increase 
  

   in 
  the 
  waters 
  of 
  the 
  Pacific 
  States 
  to 
  which 
  they 
  have 
  been 
  acclimatized; 
  

   and 
  while 
  the 
  demand 
  is 
  much 
  less 
  than 
  the 
  su])ply, 
  the 
  consumption 
  

   seems 
  to 
  be 
  growing 
  yearly. 
  In 
  the 
  first 
  six 
  mouths 
  of 
  1890 
  the 
  receipts 
  

   by 
  San 
  Francisco 
  dealers 
  were 
  much 
  larger 
  than 
  for 
  any 
  previous 
  

   corresponding 
  period, 
  and 
  in 
  the 
  case 
  of 
  the 
  carp 
  greatly 
  exceeded 
  the 
  

   total 
  receipts 
  during 
  any 
  other 
  year. 
  As 
  the 
  dealers 
  restrict 
  the 
  quan- 
  

   tities 
  shipped 
  in 
  by 
  the 
  fishermen, 
  it 
  is 
  apparent 
  that 
  the 
  consumption 
  

   is 
  increasing 
  in 
  San 
  Francisco. 
  While 
  no 
  figures 
  are 
  now 
  at 
  hand 
  for 
  

   points 
  on 
  the 
  San 
  Joaquin, 
  Sacramento, 
  and 
  Columbia 
  rivers, 
  it 
  is 
  

   thought 
  that 
  the 
  sales 
  of 
  both 
  of 
  these 
  fish 
  were 
  larger 
  in 
  1895 
  and 
  1896 
  

   than 
  previously. 
  The 
  California 
  fish 
  commissioners 
  say 
  that 
  "these 
  

   fish, 
  though 
  little 
  considered 
  by 
  most 
  of 
  our 
  people, 
  furnish 
  food 
  for 
  a 
  

   large 
  number, 
  and 
  figure 
  to 
  a 
  large 
  extent 
  as 
  a 
  market 
  fish." 
  

  

  