FISHERIES, BY STATES. 



TABLE 3. CALIFORNIA PRODUCTS OF VESSEL FISHERIES: 1908. 



91 



1 Exclusive of the oyster catch ot one establishment, which is included under the shore and boat fisheries In order to avoid disclosing individual operations. 

 ' Includes apparatus, with catch, as follows: Whaling apparatus, 214,000 pounds, valued at $132,000; pots, 15,000 pounds, valued at $1,900; and trammel nets, 15,000 

 pounds, valued at $400. 



Less than $100. 1,700 gallons. 23,000 gallons. 



CONNECTICUT. 



In 1908 Connecticut ranked ninth among the states 

 in the total value of fishery products, while it held 

 first place in respect to the value of the oyster product 

 and third place in respect to the menhaden product. 

 The oyster industry formed by "far the most important 

 part of the fisheries of the state, and it was to this 

 industry that the Connecticut fisheries owed their 

 high rank. The principal fishing grounds are Long 

 Island Sound and the Connecticut River, but com- 

 mercial fishing is also conducted to some extent on 

 the Saugatuck, Housatonic, West, East, Indian, 

 Four Mile, Mystic, and Pawcatuck Rivers, as well as 

 on some minor streams and inlets. A general sum- 

 mary of the fisheries of the state for 1908 is given in 

 the following statement : 



Number of persons employed 2, 147 



Capital: 



Vessels and boats, including outfit 11,112,000 



Apparatus of capture 84, 000 



Shore and accessory property and cash 1, 086, 000 



Value of products 2, 982, 000 



Comparison with previous canvasses. In comparing 

 the number of persons employed in 1908 and the num- 

 bers employed in previous years, shoresmen are ex- 

 cluded, since the figures reported for shoresmen by the 

 Bureau of Fisheries include those employed in packing 

 and canning establishments and other shore industries 

 connected with the fisheries. 



The following tabular statement presents a com- 

 parative summary of the principal items of the Con- 

 necticut fisheries for a series of years : 



The number of persons, exclusive of shoresmen, 

 employed in the fisheries decreased considerably from 

 1889 to 1898. In 1905 a relatively large number was 

 returned, but the number reported in 1908 did not 

 differ greatly from those for 1902 and 1898. In the 

 report of the Bureau of Fisheries for the year 1898 the 

 decrease from 1889 to 1898 is ascribed principally to 

 the use of better equipment both in vessels and in 

 apparatus of capture. 



While there has been considerable fluctuation in the 

 quantity of the product, the value increased steadily 

 from 1889 to 1905, after which year a slight decrease 

 occurred. The total value of equipment, which has 

 been advancing since 1898, was greater in 1908 than 

 in any previous year for which statistics are available. 



Persons employed. The vessel fisheries gave em- 

 ployment directly to one-half of the persons employed 

 in the fisheries of the state, and the majority of these 

 employees were wage-earners. In the shore and boat 

 fisheries, on the other hand, the wage-earners formed 

 less than one-tenth of the persons engaged in fisheries 

 of this class. All but two of the shoresmen were 

 reported as connected with the vessel fisheries. 



