PRODUCTS OF THE PRINCIPAL FISHERIES IN DETAIL. 



75 



statement shows the statistics of the catch, by states 

 ranked according to the value of their product: 



1 Less than 1 per cent. 



Comparative figures for those years for which sta- 

 tistics are available are given in the following tabular 

 statement : 



Both the quantity and the value have increased since 

 1888-89, but except during the period from 1888-89 to 

 1895-1898 the rate of increase has been greater for the 

 value than for the quantity. 



Squeteague fishing begins in the latter part of April 

 and lasts from six to eight weeks, until the schools 

 begin to move off into deeper and cooler waters. 

 Nearly one-half of the entire catch in 1908 was made 

 in pound nets, trap nets, and weirs, and one-third in 

 seines. The following tabular statement gives the sta- 

 tistics of the catch, by apparatus of capture, for 1908: 



Sturgeons (Acipenseridse) . Sturgeons are found on 

 the Atlantic and Pacific coasts and in many inland 

 waters. The various species are known as "lake stur- 

 geon," "white sturgeon," "shovelnose," etc. The 

 Atlantic sturgeon attains a length of from 5 to 12 

 feet and a weight of from 400 to 500 pounds. They 

 are sold fresh, pickled, and smoked, for food; caviar 

 is manufactured from their eggs; the skin is made 

 into leather; and the sounds are used in the manu- 

 facture of glue and isinglass. A valuable oil is some- 

 times obtained from the parts not used for food, and 

 the refuse is used for fertilizing purposes. 



These fishes were taken in 31 states and with the pos- 

 sible exception of catfish and carp were the most widely 

 distributed fishes reported. The aggregate catch was 

 2,072,000 pounds, valued at $157,000. To these fig- 

 ures should be added those for the sturgeon caviar 

 product which was reported separately and has been 

 included in the statistics of caviar. The sturgeon 

 caviar product was, in many cases, reported in con- 

 junction with paddlefish eggs or caviar. For this 

 reason the sturgeon caviar can not, in all cases, be seg- 

 regated from that of the paddlefish. The paddlefish 

 (Polyodon spathula), locally known as "spoonbill," 

 "duckbill cat," and "shovelfish," is found in all the 

 larger streams of the Mississippi Valley. It is a poor 

 food fish, although the roe is used extensively for 

 caviar. The production of sturgeon and paddlefish 

 caviar was 79,000 pounds, valued at $79,000, of which 

 69,000 pounds, valued at $70,000, was from states re- 

 porting a catch of sturgeon and comprised, in the 

 main, sturgeon caviar. The following tabular state- 

 ment gives the statistics of the sturgeon catch by states 

 and of the caviar product for the same states, which 

 are ranked according to the combined value of these 

 products : 



1 A small quantity of caviar from species other than sturgeon may be included. 

 * Includes California, Nebraska, Ohio, Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Kansas, 

 Massachusetts, South Dakota, Tennessee, and West Virginia. 



