48 



FISHERIES OF THE UNITED STATES, 1908. 



Of the total alewife catch, 74 per cent, or nearly 

 three-fourths, representing 63 per cent, or a little less 

 than two-thirds of the total value, was taken by 

 pound nets, trap nets, and weirs, and 21 per cent, rep- 

 resenting 28 per cent of the total value, by seines. 

 Thus 95 per cent of the catch, representing 91 per 

 cent of the value, was taken by these two classes of 

 apparatus. 



Bluefish (Pomatomus saltatrix). This fish is found 

 on the Atlantic and the Gulf coasts. On the coast 

 of the New England and Middle states it is gen- 

 erally called "bluefish;" in Ehode Island, "horse 

 mackerel;" south of Cape Hatteras, "skip jack;" in 

 North Carolina, Virginia, and Maryland, ' ' tailor " and 

 "greenfish;" and on the Gulf of Mexico, "bluefish." 

 Young bluefish are called "snapping mackerel," 

 "snappers," and "salt-water tailors" in Virginia and 

 Maryland; "blue snappers" about New Bedford; and 

 "skip mackerel" about New York. The bluefish 

 varies in weight from 1 to 20 pounds, according to the 

 season and locality, and large numbers are caught 

 during the summer months with nets, traps, seines, 

 and hand lines. 



The name "bluefish" is also improperly applied to 

 the squeteague from southern New Jersey to Virginia, 

 to the black sea bass at Newport and New Bedford, 

 to the "greenfish" on the California coast south of 

 Monterey, and to the "bonito" in the markets. 



The value of the bluefish catch in 1908 was $506,000, 

 or slightly less than 1 per cent of the value of all 

 fishery products. This fish was taken in every coast 

 state from Ehode Island to Texas, but only a small 

 quantity was taken in the Gulf of Mexico. Of the 

 total value of the catch, over one-half was reported by 

 the fisheries of New York. Except for insignificant 

 amounts salted in Florida and North Carolina, the 

 catch was sold fresh. The following tabular state- 

 ment gives the statistics of the bluefish catch for the 

 leading states reporting this species: 



Statistics of the product of the bluefish fisheries for 

 previous years for which data are available are given 

 in the following statement. The figures for the 

 periods 1890-1892, 1897-98, and 1902-1904 were 

 obtained in the manner explained on page 47. 



The quantity and value of the catch of 1908 were 

 the smallest on record. The distribution of the blue- 

 fish catch by apparatus of capture was as follows: 



Buffalo fish. Under this general name are included 

 three species, red or big-mouthed buffalo (Ictiobus 

 cyprinella) , black or mongrel buffalo (/. urus), and 

 small-mouthed or white buffalo (/. bubalus). These 

 fresh-water suckers, to which the name "buffalo carp" 

 is sometimes erroneously applied, are found in the 

 waters of the Mississippi Valley. They frequently 

 weigh from 30 to 40 pounds and are caught with nets 

 and hand lines. The value of the catch in 1908 was 

 $498,000, or less than 1 per cent of the total value of 

 fishery products for the United States. In the fisher- 



