REPOKT OF THE COMMISSIONER OF FISHERIES. - 17 



The catch of mackerel, including fresh and salted fish, for the calen- 

 dar year 1905 amounted to 19,110 barrels of the former and 28,221 

 barrels of the latter, representing a value of $599,132. Of the total 

 catch of fresh mackerel 15,961 barrels were taken in waters off the 

 coast of the United States, the remaining amount, 3,176 barrels, in 

 waters contiguous to the British provinces. The amount of salt 

 mackerel taken by American vessels off the coast of the United States 

 was very little more than the catch in waters oil' the British provinces, 

 there being 11,173 barrels taken in the former region and 11,051 bar- 

 rels in the latter. 



Halibut. — The condition of the halibut fisher}^ has changed but little 

 in the past 3'ear, there being about the same number of vessels 

 employed and these resorting to the same gi'ounds as in the last few 

 years. The grounds lie to the northward of Newfoundland and off 

 Labrador, the most remote along the latter coast being in the vicinity 

 of Cape Chidley. An occasional trip has been taken to banks lying 

 otf the coast ot Greenland and Iceland. Unless new banks are dis- 

 covered or halibut become more plentiful on the old grounds, this 

 fishery in the Atlantic is likely to suffer a serious decline in the near 

 future. The fishing grounds of the Pacific, however, continue to be 

 prolific, and the annual catch there now largely exceeds the Atlantic 

 product. 



Cod. — From the watei's of Alaska and Okhotsk Sea there were taken 

 11,568,000 pounds of cod, an increase of 1,361,000 pounds over the 

 catch of 1901. The value of the catch is estimated at $665,560. The 

 fish were landed at San Francisco and at Puget Sound ports, where 

 they were cured, prepared for market, and shipped to various sec- 

 tions of the United States, several carloads finding a market in New 

 Enghmd. 



During the past year less cod were taken on the Grand Banks than 

 in former years, man}' vessels resorting to fishing grounds off' the coast 

 of Lal)rador. Several large fares were caught in that region, and 

 present aspects point to a larger fleet there in the coming season. 

 Fishermen attribute the scarcit}' of cod on certain portions of the 

 Grand Banks to the unusual amount of " white water" which appeared 

 on several occasions during the sununer of 1905, and they as a rule 

 devote but little time to fishing on grounds Avhere there are large areas 

 of discolored water, having learned by experience to expect but few 

 fish there. 



Salmon. — The salmon pack of Alaska in 1905 amounted to 1,889,915 

 cases of canned salmon, 7,565,000 pounds of dry-salted and mild-cured 

 salmon, or 102,098,330 pounds in all, with a value of 16,567,875. This 

 output is an increase of 1,106,883 pounds over that of 1901. The pack 

 of the Pacific coast States was equivalent to 1,126,228 18-pound cases, 



