124 



FISHERIES OF THE UNITED STATES, 1908. 



IOWA. 



In 1908 Iowa held a relatively unimportant place 

 among the states in which commercial fishing was car- 

 ried on. It was, however, fourth among the states 

 represented in the fisheries of the Mississippi River 

 and its tributaries. The Mississippi and Missouri 

 Rivers are the waters of chief importance in or border- 

 ing on this state, and the commercial fisheries of the 

 state were practically confined to them. Small quan- 

 tities of mussel shells were taken from the Iowa and 

 Wapsipinicon Rivers, but the state laws prohibit the 

 taking of fish in any of the interior rivers or lakes 

 except by means of hook and line. No vessels were 

 employed in the fisheries of the state. A summary of 

 the statistics for 1908 is given in the following state- 

 ment: 



Number of persons employed 786 



Capital: 



Boats $38,000 



Apparatus of capture 29,000 



Shore and accessory property 11, 000 



Value of products 215, 000 



Comparison with previous canvasses. The following 

 tabular statement gives a comparison of the leading 

 statistics for 1908 with those for 1894 and 1899, as 

 shown in the reports of the Bureau of Fisheries : 



i Includes 20,354,000 pounds of mussel shells. 



From 1894 to 1899 there were fairly large increases 

 in the number of persons employed, the total value of 

 equipment, and the value of boats and of apparatus 

 of capture. Fewer persons were employed in 1908 

 than in either of the other years for which a canvass 

 was made, a fact which was due to the discontinuance 

 of commercial fishing along the Skunk, Des Moines, 

 and Big Sioux Rivers and in the lakes reported as 

 fishing grounds in the former years. 



The value reported for apparatus of capture was 

 lower in 1908 than in 1899. The decrease did not, 

 however, bring the value for 1908 as low as that 

 reported in 1894; nor did it result in a reduction in 

 the total value of equipment between 1899 and 1908, 

 the tendency in that direction being more than offset 

 by an increase in the value of boats. 



The great changes in the quantity of products reflect 

 the rise and decline of the mussel-shell industry rather 

 than the development of the general fisheries of the 

 state. If mussel shells, pearls, and slugs are elimi- 

 nated from consideration, the weight of products as 



reported in 1894, 1899, and 1908 was, respectively, 

 3,932,000 pounds, 3,548,000 pounds, and 4,167,000 

 pounds, and the corresponding values were $123,000, 

 $110,000, and $170,000. There were, therefore, in the 

 case of products exclusive of mussel shells, decreases 

 in both quantity and value in 1899, as compared with 

 1894 ; but from 1899 to 1908 there were increases which 

 more than counterbalanced the preceding losses. 



Persons employed. The following tabular state- 

 ment shows, for the state as a whole and for the two 

 main fishing districts, the distribution of the persons 

 employed, according to their relation to the industry: 



1 Exclusive of six proprietors not fishing. 



1 Includes provisions furnished to the value of $400. 



In 1908, 95 per cent of the Iowa fishermen were 

 employed in the basin of the Mississippi River. Of 

 the total number, only 66, or less than 9 per cent, 

 were wage-earners. The amount paid in wages was 

 $16,000. There were no salaried employees reported. 



Equipment and other capital. The following tabular 

 statement gives the value of the fishing equipment and 

 other items of capital for the state in 1908, and its dis- 

 tribution between the Mississippi River and the Mis- 

 souri River districts: 



More than 97 per cent of the capital was invested in 

 the Mississippi River district. The investment in 

 boats formed 49 per cent of the total capital; the in- 

 vestment in apparatus of capture, 38 per cent; and 

 that in shore and accessory property, 14 per cent. 

 Power boats represented one-third of all the capital 

 employed. 



The number of the various kinds of apparatus used 

 are shown in the next tabular statement. 



