REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONER OF. FISHERIES. 13 
the vicinity of Beaufort were studied, also, in the hope that, as the 
alge of Japan support a profitable industry, it may be possible to 
develop the corresponding resources of the United States. 
EXPLORATIONS AND SURVEYS. 
North Pacific and Japan.—At the beginning of the fiscal year the 
Albatross, which had been dispatched in May on a cruise to investi- 
gate the salmon fisheries and the distribution of fishes in the north 
Pacific, had reached Hakodate, Japan, and from that time until she 
returned to San Francisco Bay she was steadily employed in that 
work. The results accomplished were of high scientific importance 
and the voyage was prosperous in every respect until the night of 
November 21, when, homeward bound, the commanding officer, Lieut. 
Commander L. M. Garrett, U. S. Navy, was lost overboard. Captain 
Garrett took command of the vessel on October 3, 1904. He had 
previously served as executive officer, and his familiarity with the 
ship and her work rendered him a valuable officer. His untimely 
death under such peculiarly distressing circumstances was a source of 
profound regret to the Bureau. 
Sebago Lake, Maine.—During the summer and fall of 1906, in con- 
tinuation of the general plan for the biological and physical study of 
the principal fresh waters of New England, a party carried on inves- 
tigations in Sebago Lake. Many artificially hatched salmon and 
trout have been planted in this lake and contiguous waters, and 
the locality affords a good field for the investigation of the effects of 
fish culture in modifying the fauna. The habits of the local Sal- 
monide, their food, breeding, and environment, were the subject of 
particular study. 
Lake Maxinkuckee, Indiana—The investigations which have been 
conducted at Lake Maxinkuckee at intervals for a number of years 
past were continued from July to November of the present fiscal year. 
The food, parasites, and diseases of fishes and the habits of the fresh- 
water mussels received special attention. The mussel investigations 
are of particular importance in view of the depletion of the natural 
beds of the Mississippi Valley under the demands of the pearl-button 
industry. This industry is now yielding an annual product worth 
about $5,000,000. 
COMMERCIAL AND STATISTICAL INQUIRIES. 
The commercial fisheries of the United States, exclusive of its 
insular possessions, at the present time represent an investment of 
nearly $90,000,000, which yields an annual income of nearly 
$60,000,000. The general condition of the industry is good and the 
trend is upward, although a few important branches are in a state 
of established or impending decline. The mackerel fishery was ex- 
48889—09——2 
