FISHERIES, BY STATES. 



87 



' The oyster catch of one vessel is included with that of the shore and boat 

 fisheries. 



The products of the shore and boat fisheries of the 

 state were valued at $1,627,000 hi 1908, compared 

 with $1,864,000 in 1904, a decrease of 13 per cent. 

 In 1908 these products formed 83 per cent of the total 

 product of the state, and in 1904, 74 percent. Table 

 2, on page 90, gives the products of the shore and 

 boat fisheries by species and by apparatus of capture. 

 All of the salmon catch of the state was made by the 

 shore and boat fisheries. It was necessary to credit 

 the entire oyster catch to this class of fisheries in order 

 to avoid disclosing the operations of one company 

 operating an oyster vessel. 



Products, by apparatus of capture. The following 

 tabular statement shows the catch by each kind of 

 apparatus for each class of fisheries : 



Judged by the value of products taken, gill nets led 

 among the various kinds of apparatus used in the fisher- 

 ies of the state. The largest catch made with these nets 

 was chinook salmon, which had a value of $409,000, 

 or 53 per cent of the total value of the product taken 

 by this apparatus. Barracuda, sea bass, smelt, and 

 striped bass were also largely caught in gill nets. 



Dredges, tongs, etc., which ranked second in the 

 value of the products taken, were used exclusively in 

 the oyster fisheries. 



Third in importance were hand, trawl, and set lines. 

 Some species are taken only by line fishing, cod being 

 among the most notable of these both in quantity and 

 value. Black cod, redfish, sea trout, and swordfish are 

 other species the entire product of which was caught 

 by lines. The quantity and value reported for each 

 of these species are much less than for cod. 



The seine catch of chinook salmon was he greatest 

 in value among the products taken by seines, although 

 the weight of the seine sardine catch was more than 

 five times as great, namely, 4,552,000 pounds, repre- 

 senting 66 per cent of the total weight of the seine 

 catch. Smelt to the value of $13,000 were caught with 

 seines. In the case of every other species the catch 

 by this apparatus was of minor importance. 



The paranzella net is peculiar to the fishing of Cali- 

 fornia, none having been reported in use in any other 

 state. Sole was the principal species caught with this 

 kind of apparatus, representing 69 per cent of the 

 quantity and 69 per cent of the value of the entire par- 

 anzella catch. Whitefish, flounders, kingfish, and 

 skates were also taken in considerable quantities. 



Catfish formed the principal catch with fyke nets, 

 while flounders were practically the only species 

 caught with trammel nets. 



Salmon. In 1908 salmon stood first both in quan- 

 tity and in value among the species taken in California 

 waters. The state ranked third in the country both 

 in the quantity and in the value of the catch of salmon. 

 Chinook was the principal kind taken, forming 96 per 

 cent of the total yield of salmon in 1908 and represent- 

 ing 23 per cent of the total value of fishery products 

 of the state. There was an increase in the quantity 

 and in the value of this product sold fresh, as compared 

 with the catch for 1904 reported by the Bureau of 

 Fisheries, but a decrease in the salted product resulted 

 in a decrease in the total quantity of chinook taken. 

 The total value, however, increased slightly. 



The next tabular statement shows the quantity 

 and value of the salmon taken from the different 

 waters of the state. 



The Sacramento River is the principal fishing 

 ground for salmon. Of the total quantity, 79 per 



