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FISHERIES OF THE UNITED STATES, 1908. 



The following tabular statement, giving the distri- 

 bution of the sturgeon catch by geographic divisions, 

 shows that in quantity the product of the fisheries of 

 the Mississippi River and its tributaries ranked first in 

 1908, while the catch of the Atlantic coast fisheries, 

 more particularly that of the Middle Atlantic states, 

 was of the greatest value. 



Eeturns are not available for the country as a whole 

 for a series of years, but figures for the various geo- 

 graphic divisions and groups of states are as follows : 



The following tabular statement, which shows the 

 distribution of the catch by apparatus of capture, 

 indicates that various appliances were used in taking 

 the product: 



Whale products. The value of the whale products 

 reported amounted to $497,000. These products 

 consisted of 63,000 pounds of whalebone, valued at 

 $215,000, and 529,000 gallons of oil, valued at $282,000. 

 Of the latter, 452,000 gallons, valued at $252,000, was 

 sperm oil, and 76,000 gallons, valued at $30,000, whale 

 oil. In 1908 the entire amount from the Pacific coast 

 was reported from the whaling fleet sailing from San 

 Francisco, although in years past a small amount of 

 whale products has been reported from Washington. 

 The home port of the Atlantic whaling fleet, with the 

 exception of a few vessels from Provincetown, is New 

 Bedford, Mass. In 1908 nine whales were stranded on 

 Ponce Park Beach, Fla., from which the oil was ex- 

 tracted; one was caught off Cape Lookout, N. C. ; and 

 a number were taken by two vessels sailing from 

 Connecticut ports. 



In the following tabular statement, which shows 

 the quantity and value of whale products in 1908, the 

 figures for Florida, North Carolina, and Connecticut 

 are combined under the head "All other states:" 



No statistics are available for the country as a whole 

 between 1888 and 1908, but by combining the Pacific 

 coast statistics for 1899 with those of the New England 

 states for 1898, and making a similar combination for 

 1904 and 1905, comparative data are secured sufficient 

 to indicate the general trend of the whaling industry. 



