32 Rejyort of the Americwi 



missiouers in Minnesota, Illinois, Maiyland, Virginia, North Carolina, 

 and possibly Iowa. 



Numerous statistical publications in reference to the fisheries of the 

 Old World and the New have made their appearance, although mosti}' 

 relating to 1872. We have also a very elaborate communication from 

 Dr. Francis Day on the fresh-water lisheries of India, and another b}' 

 the Minister of Marine and the Fisheries of Canada. It is to be 

 regretted that no provision is made b}' the United States government for 

 the collection and publication of accurate and exhaustive details on this 

 branch of industry, so ably worked up b}' France, Norway, and other 

 foreign nations. 



The special fisheries of the world have been prosecuted with their 

 average success. The herring has furnished provision and emploj^ment 

 for immense numbers of people both in Europe and America. The 

 Astrachan herring {Alosa caspica^) a species probabl}' like our fresh- 

 water herring or alewife, which was, up to the j-ears 1854 and 1855, only 

 used in extracting the oil, has taken a prominent place as a food fish 

 since that time. The Russian name, bescheuJca (the furious fish,) seems 

 to have incited a prejudice against it ; but through the efforts of Mr. 

 Baer, and a board of commissioners appointed to investigate the fish- 

 eries of Russia, the prejudice was largely overcome, and, under the name 

 of herring, as a salted fish it has become an important element in the 

 Caspian fisheries. In 1858 there were salted in the rivers of Astrachan 

 43,000,000 of this fish. The number in 1871 was 140,000,000 ; and in 

 1872, 160,000,000 ; while in 1872 only 30,000 were used for oil. 



The cod fisheries of both the Atlantic and Pacific have also been 

 abundantly worked. The occurrence of cod in immense numbers in the 

 Pacific is a fact of recent appreciation ; and it is satisfactory'' to know 

 that, should the supply" from the Atlantic be at all seriousl}' impaired, the 

 deficiency can be made up from the ^Pacific. According to a San Fran- 

 cisco journal, 583,000 cod-fish were taken by seven vessels off the coast 

 of Alaska in the summer of 1873. No estimate can at present be 

 formed of the captures oft" the Banks of Newfoundland and the coast of 

 Norway. New cod banks have lately been discovered off the coast of 

 Spitzbergen. 



The trade in frozen herring off the coast of Maine and in the Ba}' of 

 Fund}' continues to be of great importance. This comparatively new 

 interest has been increasing graduall}- for many 3^ears, and now employs 

 a large force during the winter season. The fish are taken in gill-nets 

 and immediately frozen, and then shipped to the western markets of 

 Portland, Boston, New York, etc. The Bay of Fundy is particularly 

 favorable for this trade ; and the recent establishment of a signal station 



