CHAPTER Y. 

 PRODUCTS. 



The value of the fishery products in 1908 is the 

 largest yet recorded, and is in harmony with the slow 

 but steady growth revealed byprevious canvasses made 

 under the direction of the Bureau of Fisheries or by the 

 Bureau of the Census. Comparative figures as to the 

 total value of products for 1908 and prior years have 

 been given in Chapter I of this report. Table 1, on 

 page 26, is a comparative summary of the quantity and 

 value of the products at the present census and as 

 reported by the Bureau of Fisheries for the period 

 1900-1904, grouped according to general classes. 



The increase has been more or less general for those 

 items which are shown separately for both periods. 

 There were decreases both in quantity and value for 

 menhaden and whale products and a decrease in value 

 for oysters, although the quantity of this product 

 shows an increase. Under the head "All other products " 

 for the period 1900-1904 are included products which 

 were reported separately in 1908. The total products 

 show an increase in value over those for the earlier years 

 of 9 per cent, the value of the fish products reported 

 increasing 17 per cent and that of crustaceans 25 

 per cent. Mollusks show a slight decrease in value, 

 amounting to 3 per cent, and the whale products a 

 large decrease, amounting to 39 per cent. 



The following statement shows the distribution of 

 the chief products of the fisheries as reported in 1908: 



1 Less than 1 per cent. 



Fish proper formed more than three-fourths of the 

 quantity (76 per cent) and more than half the value 

 (56 per cent) of the entire product. Menhaden alone 

 contributed more than one-fourth of the total quantity 

 but less than one-thirtieth of the total value of fish. On 

 account of the great importance of the oyster fisheries 

 mollusks were the most important product outside of 

 fish proper, both in quantity and in value, forming 18 

 per cent of the total quantity and 35 per cent of 

 the total value of the fishery products. 

 (24) 



Table 2, on page 26, gives statistics showing the 

 products by species for the United States and for the 

 several geographic divisions. The value of the product 

 taken by the fisheries of the Atlantic coast division is 

 nearly double that of all the rest of the country com- 

 bined, being 66 per cent of the total for the United 

 States. The Pacific coast division ranked next in the 

 value of its catch, with 13 per cent of the total. The 

 Gulf of Mexico, the Great Lakes, and the Mississippi 

 River divisions contributed, respectively, 9 per cent, 

 7 per cent, and 6 per cent of the total value. The 

 oyster product leads all other species in value, 

 contributing 29 per cent of the total value of products. 

 Salmon ranked next to oysters in the value of the 

 catch, being the leading species of fish in this respect. 

 A catch valued at $2,000,000 or over is also reported 

 for cod and shad, while lobsters, clams, squeteague, 

 halibut, haddock, and carp each show a product 

 in excess of $1,000,000 in value. In the first of the 

 following tables the 30 leading species, including all for 

 which the reported product had a value in excess of 

 $400,000, are ranked according to the value of the 

 catch, and in the second the quantity and value of 

 products are shown by states ranked according to 

 value of product: 



1 Not including surf clams. 



2 Not including kins, spider, and stone crabs. 

 * Less than 1 per cent. 



