FISHERIES, BY STATES. 



83 



It will be noticed that the rate of increase in the 

 quantity of products between 1899 and 1908 is mucli 

 higher than the rate for the value of products. This 

 disproportion is in large part due to the development 

 of the mussel fisheries, the products of which amounted 

 to 8,060,000 pounds in 1908, whereas none at all were 

 reported in 1899. While mussel shells add greatly to 

 the total weight of the state's fishery products, they 

 are of relatively small value. Exclusive of the mussel 

 fishery, the quantity of products declined from 

 4,897,000 pounds to 4,507,000 pounds, and their value 

 from $168,000 to $137,000. 



Persons employed. The data as to the persons em- 

 ployed in the fisheries of the state during 1908 are as 

 follows : 



> Exclusive of three proprietors not fishing. 



The industry is carried on largely by independent 

 fishermen, only a few of the fishermen employing help- 

 ers. A large proportion of the 137 wage-earners were 

 employed by a few proprietors on Big Lake, and the 

 small total of wages paid suggests the intermittent 

 character of much of the employment. 



Equipment and other capital. Statistics as to the num- 

 ber and value of the different kinds of equipment em- 

 ployed, and the amount of other capital invested, are 

 presented in the following tabular statement: 



The value of vessels and boats together made up 

 one-half of the investment. As would be expected 

 in river fisheries, no sailing craft were reported. Of 

 the apparatus of capture, fyke and hoop nets were 

 most numerous, with a value greater than that of all 

 other kinds of apparatus combined. 



Products, by species. The table on page 84 gives the 

 quantity and value of the products of the Arkansas 

 fisheries, distributed by species and by apparatus of 

 capture. 



Fifteen species of fish were reported, besides frogs, 

 turtles, mussel shells, and pearls and slugs. Mussel 

 shells and pearls and slugs made up one-third of the 

 total value of products. The catch of buffalo fish was 

 the most important among the fish, and catfish and 

 black bass were next in order. These four species con- 

 tributed 80 per cent of the total value of products. 

 In 1899 also buffalo fish and catfish were the leading 

 species. Black bass, however, was one of the minor 

 species in 1899. Crappie, fifth in importance in 1908, 

 stood third in 1899, while paddlefish and caviar, 

 although of little importance in 1908, stood fourth in 

 1899. 



Products, by fishing grounds. The distribution of the 

 products by fishing grounds is given below : 



The fisheries of the White River were the most 

 important in the state, measured by value of products, 

 and the mussel fisheries contributed the larger part of 

 the product. Only two other rivers, the St. Francis 

 and the Black, reported mussel fisheries. 



Products, by apparatus of capture. In 1908 crowfoot 

 dredges, fyke nets, lines, and semes together were 

 credited with 93 per cent of the total value of products, 

 ranking in importance in the order named. In 1899 

 crowfoot dredges were not reported, and the leading 

 kinds of apparatus used were, in the order of impor- 

 tance, seines, fyke nets, and set lines. In 1899 seines 

 took 37 per cent in value of the total product, while in 

 1908 they took only 15 per cent of the fish proper. 

 This decrease is counterbalanced by the increases in the 

 catch of fyke nets and lines, as shown by the tabular 

 statement following. 



