80 



FISHERIES OF THE UNITED STATES, 1908. 



In the following tabular statement the number and 

 tonnage of the vessels and the number of the boats 

 used in the fisheries of Alabama in 1908 are shown: 



The number of the various kinds of apparatus used, 

 was as follows: 



All of the sail craft and motor boats were employed 

 hi the fisheries of the Gulf coast, rowboats alone being 

 reported for the Tennessee Eiver. The apparatus 

 used in the Tennessee River fisheries was confined to 

 fyke and hoop nets, wooden traps, and lines. 



The total investment in fishing and transporting 

 vessels and their outfit was $130,000, while the invest- 

 ment in boats aggregated $34,000, of which all but 

 $1,400 pertained to the shore and boat fisheries of the 

 Gulf of Mexico district. The number of vessels reported 

 as engaged in fishing and transporting had decreased 



by 16 since 1902, but their value, including the value 

 of the outfit, increased by $14,000. The number of 

 boats used in the fisheries of the Gulf coast and the 

 rivers immediately tributary to the Gulf increased by 

 264, and their value increased by $21,000. 



The investment in apparatus of capture for the 

 shore and boat fisheries of the Gulf district largely ex- 

 ceeded that for the vessel fisheries, but the combined 

 investment in floating craft and apparatus of capture 

 by the vessel fisheries was $134,000, while for the shore 

 and boat fisheries of the Gulf district it was only 

 $47,000. Wooden traps were reported as in use only 

 in the fisheries of the Tennessee River, which also show 

 the majority of fyke and hoop nets. The shore and 

 boat fisheries of the Gulf district employed the largest 

 number of trammel nets. The value of fishing appa- 

 ratus on vessels and boats fishing in the Gulf and its 

 immediate tributaries was reported as $8,200 in 1902. 



In the fisheries of the Gulf district 62 per cent of the 

 capital was invested in floating craft and 7 per cent in 

 apparatus of capture, while in the fisheries of the Ten- 

 nessee River only 20 per cent was invested in floating 

 craft and 55 per cent in apparatus of capture. 



Products, by species. The fishery products of the 

 state were distributed by species and apparatus of 

 capture as shown in the table on page 82. Oysters 

 easily ranked first, with nearly 45 per cent of the total 

 value. Red snapper, mullet, catfish, and buffalo fish 

 followed in the order named. 



Products, by fishing grounds. The following tabular 

 statement shows the distribution of the chief species by 

 fishing grounds: 



The fisheries of the Gulf district are credited with 93 

 per cent of the total catch. In that district the value 

 of the products was nearly evenly divided between fish 

 and oysters, while in the Tennessee River district fish 

 constituted the entire product. The principal species 

 taken in the Gulf district were, in the order of value, 

 oysters, red snapper, mullet, and squeteague. The 

 first two named formed 74 per cent of the total catch 

 of the Gulf district. The chief species caught in the 

 Tennessee River, in the order of value, were fresh- 

 water drum, catfish, suckers, and buffalo fish. 



