128 



FISHERIES OF THE UNITED STATES, 1908. 



which statistics collected by the Bureau of Fisheries 

 are available, is given hi the following tabular state- 

 ment: 



The large increase shown for 1908 in quantity of 

 product was due almost entirely to the mussel fish- 

 eries, which were not reported in the preceding can- 

 vasses. 



Persons employed. The following tabular state- 

 ment gives the statistics of the persons employed in 

 the Kentucky fisheries in 1908: 



The fishing was done on a small scale, and the pre- 

 vailing type of person engaged in this pursuit was 

 the independent fisherman. All the shoresmen and 

 a large proportion of the other wage-earners were 

 employed in the mussel industry. The small amount 

 paid in wages indicates that the wage-earners were 

 engaged in the fisheries only a part of the time. 



Equipment and other capital. The value of the 

 equipment and the amount of other capital employed 

 are shown below: 



more than one-half. For the entire state 479 row- 

 boats and 32 motor boats were reported, 399 of the 

 former and 26 of the latter being used in the Ohio 

 River district. Fyke and hoop nets largely pre- 

 dominated among the apparatus of capture, 2,513 

 being used in the Ohio River district and 767 in the 

 Mississippi River district. Thirty-six seines and one 

 trammel net were reported for the Ohio River dis- 

 trict and four seines and one trammel net for the 

 Mississippi River district. 



Products, by species. The products for 1908 were 

 distributed by species and apparatus of capture as 

 shown in Table 1, on page 129. Thirteen species of 

 fish were reported, besides turtles and mussels. 

 Five of the products together represented more than 

 nine-tenths of the total, both in weight and value. 

 In order of value they were catfish, buffalo fish, 

 mussel products (including shells and pearls), German 

 carp, and fresh- water drum. In 1899 mussels were 

 not reported and the German carp was of minor im- 

 portance, but catfish, buffalo fish, and drum led in the 

 order named, and together contributed nearly 73 per 

 cent of the total product, both in weight and in value. 



Products, by fishing grounds. Table 2, on page 129, 

 gives in detail the fishery products of the state from 

 the Ohio River and its tributaries, and Table 3, on 

 page 130, those from the Mississippi River and its 

 tributaries other than the Ohio River. 



In the Ohio River district the leading species were, 

 in the order of their value, the mussel, catfish, buffalo 

 fish, fresh-water drum, and carp, which together 

 formed 91 per cent of the total value of products. 

 The most important fishing grounds in this district 

 are those of the Ohio River. The products of the 

 Mississippi River district constituted about one-third 

 in quantity of the total product of the state, exclusive 

 of mussel shells. Catfish, buffalo fish, carp, and drum 

 formed the bulk of the catch and contributed over 93 

 per cent of the total for the district, both in weight 

 and in value. 



Products, by apparatus of capture. Crowfoot dredges, 

 used exclusively for mussels, took more than 63 per 

 cent of the product. In value, however, the catch by 

 crowfoot dredges was exceeded by the catch by fyke 

 and hoop nets and that by lines. The product taken 

 by fyke and hoop nets contributed 43 per cent of the 

 total value, and that taken by lines over 27 per cent. 

 In the Mississippi River district 96 per cent of the 

 total quantity was taken by these two forms of 

 apparatus, and in the Ohio River district 23 per cent 

 of the total. Nearly all the seine catch was from the 

 Ohio River fisheries. More than one-half of the catch 

 by lines consisted of catfish, and more than half of 

 the catfish catch was taken by lines. 



Catfish. The catch of catfish represented in 1908 

 nearly 24 per cent of the total value of the fishery 

 products of the state. The yield was slightly larger, 



