16 REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONER OF FISHERIES. 
Flounders.—The flounder fishery on both the Atlantic and Pacific 
coasts 1s increasing in importance. The catch landed at New Eng- 
land ports, of which Boston is the principal market, is about 
5,900,000 pounds annually, with a value of $150,000. The Middle 
Atlantic States produce a little over 3,000,000 pounds, worth $114,000, 
and the South Atlantic and Gulf States 400,000 pounds, worth 
$10,000. This is a total of 9,300,000 pounds for the Atlantic coast, 
while the Pacific States produced 4,550,000 pounds. The flounder 
eatch of both coasts has a value of approximately $360,000. 
Swordfish—The increasing demand for swordfish in the last ten 
years has directed considerable attention to this fishery. The catch 
in 1906 was 3,296,369 pounds, valued at $204,637, which is about 
twice the quantity and value of the catch two years previous. 
Halibut—On the Atlantic coast in the last ten years this impor- 
tant fishery has greatly declined. The catch in 1906, however, was 
considerably in excess of that of 1905, being 4,654,446 pounds, against 
3,715,776, a gain of 938,670 pounds and $78,436. The quantity of 
halibut landed at Gloucester in 1906 exceeds that landed at Boston the 
same year by 3,509,946 pounds and $232,468 in value. Of the total 
quantity, 635,881 pounds was salted, all of it marketed at Glouces- 
ter. The increase in the catch is attributed to the fact that the banks 
have not for a number of years been so extensively fished as for- 
merly, the fleet at the same time having decreased about two-thirds. 
The halibut has thus had time to reestablish itself. Up to the close 
of the fiscal year 1907 the catch on the Atlantic coast approximated 
that for the corresponding period of 1906. 
The large catches on the Pacific halibut grounds for the past fif- 
teen years have brought a considerable number of steam and sailing 
vessels into this fishery, and the grounds have been very thoroughly 
fished. A consequent scarcity of fish is said to have existed on some 
important grounds in 1906, but the increased yield of the Atlantic 
banks lessened the demand for Pacific halibut, and thus lmited the 
eatch for that year. The quantity taken is estimated to have 
amounted to about 11,000,000 pounds, however, which is 6,000,000 
pounds more than the catch on the Atlantic coast. 
Alaska salmon.—The new laws governing the fisheries of Alaska 
did not become operative until so late in the fishing season of 1906 
that they were without effect during that year, and the annual inspec- 
tion revealed practically unchanged conditions, though the several 
branches showed fluctuations in output. The pack of canned salmon 
was unusually large—the best since 1903—and the goods brought 
remunerative prices, making the season a prosperous one. The agi. 
tation concerning the meat-packing plants in Chicago led to some 
distrust in European markets of American canned salmon, but the 
exceptional care and cleanliness which prevails in the salmon-pack- 
