118 



GEOGRAPHICAL REVIEW OF THE FISHERIES. 



tons buulcn Laving cnstom-liouse papers are classed as vessels; all oilier craft arc classed as boats. 

 Tbc total number of vessels actively employed is 1,007, aggregating 81,080.49 tons. Forty-seven 

 additional fishing vessels, aggregating 2,151.08 tons, were idle throughout the year 1879, but actively 

 employed in 18SO. Several vessels not included in these statistics started ou fishing trips in 1879, 

 but never returned. The general distribution of the fleet in the different fisheries was as follows: 

 79G vessels, of -42,090.81 tons, in the food-fish fishery; 3 vessels, of 27.19 tons, in the lobster fishery; 

 G vessels, of 557.54 tons, in the oyster fishery; 35 vessels, of 1,269.70 tons, in the menhaden fishery ; 

 1G1 vessels, of 36,786.51 tons, in the whale fishery; 1 vessel, of 84.65 tons, in the Antarctic fur-seal 

 fishery; and 5 vessels, of 2G4.09 tons, in the squid fishery. Some of those in the food fish fishery 

 were engaged for a part of the year in the oyster or the lobster fishery. 



The amount of capital dependent upon the industry is also shown, including the value of 

 vessels, boats, gear and outfit, netting, traps, wharves, shorehouses and fixtures, factories and their 

 apparatus, and the amount of cash capital required to conduct the business. The value of vessels 

 includes the value of hull, spars, rigging, anchors, and cables; the gear is the fishing apparatus, 

 exclusive of boats, nets, aud seines; and the outfit is the furniture of the vessel, the private equip- 

 ment of the fishermen, and the provisions, salt, ice, bait, aud barrels used in the vessels during the 

 fishing season. The total capital in the business is $14,334,450, distributed as follows: Vessels, 

 $3,171,189; boats, $351,736; gear and outfit, $3,159,055; netting, $264,468; traps, $105,402; 

 sliorehouses, and fixtures, $2,875,600; factories and their apparatus, $677,000; cash capital, 

 $3,730,000. 



The total yield of fish by the fisheries of Massachusetts, reduced to the original weight as 

 taken from the water, is 341 935,982 pounds, aud the quantity of various species is estimated as 

 follows: 



Mixed species, including those ilot elsewhere enumerated, or those used for bait and fertilizers 

 that could not be classified, aggregate 9,791,600 pounds. It is estimated that in 1879 39,855,000 

 pounds of mackerel and other fish were caught but thrown away as useless, being generally too 

 small for sale in the fresh or pickled sta'e, but in 1880 several million pounds of such fish were 

 canned and found a ready sale. 



The quantity and the value offish consumed fresh is 124,101,621 pounds, valued at $ 1 ,608,523. 

 The leading kinds thus used for food are cod, haddock, mackerel, and halibut. About 8,385,000 

 pounds of different species are used for bait, 25,811,573 pounds of menhaden for the manufacture 

 of oil and guano, a few million pounds for fish manure, and the balance eaten fresh for food. 



