FISHERIES OF THE GULF STATES, 145 



FISHERIES OF LOUISIANA. 



The extent of the fisheries of Louisiaua in 1897, as shown by the 

 statistics collected, does not properly represent the present condition 

 of the fisheries of that State, owing to quarantine regulations restrict- 

 ing the prosecution of the fisheries during two months iu the fall when 

 shipments of all products are generally quite heavy. Notwithstanding 

 this fact the yield in 1897 surpasses any previous year for which we 

 have any record, the value being $713,587, against $681,281 in 1890 and 

 $392,610 in 1880. Had the trade not been restricted by quarantine the 

 value of the product in 1897 would doubtless have approached $900,000. 



There are three principal fisheries of Louisiana, viz, the oyster fish- 

 ery, valued in 1897 at $432,668, which is centered about New Orleans, 

 Houma, and Morgan City; the seine fishery for shrimp and for trout, 

 red-fish or channel bass, sheepshead, etc., the yield of which in 1897 

 was sold by fishermen for $173,454; and the trot-line fishery for cat-fish, 

 yielding a product valued at $46,682. The remaining $60,783 worth of 

 products consisted of alligator hides, $22,090; crabs, $12,891; terrapin, 

 $4,032; craw-fish, $3,113, and a miscellaneous lot of fish caught by a 

 variety of minor apparatus, such as fyke nets, lines, dip nets, etc. 



The oyster industry of Louisiana is the most valuable on the United 

 States coast south of Virginia, the yield in 1897 amounting to 959,190 

 bushels, worth $432,668 at first hands. Were it not for the quarantine 

 in the fall of 1897 the Louisiana oyster i)roduct during that year would 

 doubtless have been 15 to 20 per cent greater. 



The oyster reefs extend almost continuously along the southern 

 coast, from the border of the State of Mississippi to the mouth of the 

 Atchafalaya Kiver, and are most abundant in Plaquemines, Terre- 

 bonne, Lafourche, St. Bernard, and Jefferson parishes. West of the 

 Atchafalaya Kiver there are a few oyster reefs in Cote Blanche Bay, 

 Marsh Island Pass, and Cameron Pass, bat they are only slightly 

 developed and may be entirely omitted in a consideration of the pres- 

 ent oyster industry of the State. In general the Louisiaua oysters 

 compare favorably with any on the Gulf coast. 



There are three centers in the oyster trade of Louisiana, viz. New 

 Orleans, Houma, and Morgan City. The New Orleans trade amounts 

 to about 200,000 barrels annually, of which about 75,000 barrels are 

 received at the Old Basin from Mississippi Sound and the Louisiana 

 marshes east of the Mississippi Eiver, 100,000 barrels at the French 

 Market lugger landing from Bayou Cook, Barataria Bay, Jacks Camp, 

 etc., and the remainder by steamer and rail from the waters of Plaque- 

 mines and Jefferson parishes. Nearly all are consumed locally, very 

 few oysters being shipped to outside points. 



The oyster reefs on the east side of the Mississippi River, known as 

 the Louisiana Marsh reefs, are utilized by fishermen from Mississippi 

 as well as Louisiana. These reefs are frequently injured by fresh water 



