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REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 



In the wholesale fish and oyster trade and oyster-canning business of 

 Savannah during the year 1897, the capital invested was $109,526; per- 

 sons employed, 296; fresh fish handled, 2,895,875 pounds; gallons of 

 oysters, 71,500; oysters canned, 1,261,884 cans; the value of products 

 was $281,052. 



Oyster-canning industry. 



Note. — One cannery located in Brunswick, 1 at Thunderbolt, and 1 at Wilmington Island, 

 latter canneries are oi>erated by firms at Savannah. 



The two 



Of the products from the waters of the State, shad are most impor- 

 tant, and, with oysters and terrapin, constitute the principal part of 

 the wholesale business. They are well distributed through the inland 

 waters and furnish a fine food supply for local consumption. When 

 there are transportation facilities the surplus is shipped to distant 

 markets. 



Of the numerous rivers that receive large runs of shad, the following 

 are the most important: Savannah, Ogeechee, Altamaha, Ocmulgee, 

 Oconee, Satilla, and St. Marys. The first arrivals from the ocean are 

 looked for soon after the 1st of January, and by the middle of the 

 month a good run may be exi)ected, the season lasting about three 

 months. The bulk of the catch is taken by gill nets used within a few 

 miles of the mouths of the rivers. The quantity taken through the 

 interior is not large at any one place, but is quite important in the 

 aggregate. 



More attention is being given to the sturgeon fishery than formerly. 

 There is an increasing demand, and high prices are received for sturgeon 

 and its roe. The catch is made mostly between March and June. 



The oyster industry shows a large gain in the amount gathered, 

 the greater part of which is steamed and canned. This branch of the 

 fishing industry gives employment to several hundred employees at 

 the factories. Oysters are gathered principally from mxtural beds, 

 and are known as raccoon oysters. The beds are located at numerous 

 places in the estuaries, lagoons, and bays bordering on or near the 

 ocean, and are entirely exposed at low tide. The exact location being- 

 known, at high tide the small sailing vessels employed as transporters 

 sail near the beds and anchor. Large skiffs, or rough boats, are then 

 taken from the vessel and anchored over the oyster- grounds. At low 

 tide the men from the vessel have only to land on the oyster beds and 

 with naked hands or " hand-grabs'' gather the oysters, throwing them 

 into the boats, which, on the return tide, are unloaded on the vessel. 



