110 American Fisheries Society 



note that the catch in the Gulf States of black drum increased 

 from 136,053 pounds in 1890 to 2,011,288 pounds in 1918, 

 and of groupers from 427,781 pounds in 1890 to 5,935,825 

 pounds in 1918. Were it possible to continue such demon- 

 strations, the use of these and other neglected fishes such as 

 the haddock, sablefish, rockfish, whiting, etc., would be greatly 

 extended and the number of markets handling such fish largely- 

 increased. 



DEVELOPING USE OF BY-PRODUCTS AND UNUTILIZED PRODUCTS 



Only the briefest mention can be made of the Bureau's va- 

 ried activities in this field in increasing the production of fish 

 leather, meal, oil, scrap, the saving of the scales of native fishes 

 for the production of essence d'orient which is used in the man- 

 ufacture of artificial pearls, the drying of shark fins, an oriental 

 delicacy, the greatly extended use of oyster shells for poultry 

 grit, the recovery of old salt and brine for reuse, and the like. 

 It has recently been determined that tuna oil is superior to 

 linseed oil as a drying oil, and a number of inquiries have been 

 received from paint and varnish manufacturers desirous of 

 obtaining supplies of this oil. Last year fish and shrimp meal 

 in excess of 2,500 tons was produced in the south Atlantic and 

 Gulf region for the first time and, if necessary equipment 

 can be obtained, it is expected that about double that amount 

 will be produced this year in these regions, or as much 

 as was produced in the entire United States until recently. I 

 believe the possibilities of using this material for feeding pur- 

 poses by fish culturists merit serious consideration, partic- 

 ularly in view of the rising prices of feeds in use. As indic- 

 ative of the increasing importance of this phase of the indus- 

 try, it may be noted that while in 1890 the value of the by- 

 products of the Gulf states fisheries was practically negli- 

 gible, in 1918 the production amounted to 17,409,496 pounds, 

 representing a value to the fishermen of $310,682. 



