138 



FISHERIES OF THE UNITED STATES, 1908. 



MAINE. 



The fishing industry of Maine is confined to sea and 

 shore fisheries along the Atlantic coast; but because 

 of the peculiarly ragged and uneven coast line and the 

 many outlying islands, the state possesses special ad- 

 vantages among the states in which commercial fishing 

 is carried on. In the total value of fishery products 

 Maine ranked second among the New England states 

 in 1908 and seventh among all the states; in the value 

 of lobsters, soft clams, and herring caught it ranked 

 first, and in the value of cod, haddock, and hake 

 second. 



The following statement presents a summary of the 

 most important statistics for the fisheries of Maine in 

 1908: 



Number of persons employed 6, 861 



Capital: 



Vessels and boats, including outfit $1, 669, 000 



Apparatus of capture 576, 000 



Shore and accessory property and cash 166, 000 



Value of products 3, 257, 000 



Comparison with previous canvasses. The principal 

 statistics of the Maine fisheries for 1908, in comparison 

 with the returns for certain earlier years for which can- 

 vasses were made, are given in the following tabular 

 statement: 



The total investment in equipment vessels and 

 their outfits, boats, and apparatus of capture in- 

 creased by more than 50 per cent from 1889 to 1908, 

 being $1,475,000 at the earlier date and $2,245,000 at 

 the latter. An increase in each of the items helped to 

 make up the increase in the total, the value of the 

 apparatus of capture increasing from $424,000 to 

 $576,000 and the value of vessels and boats from 

 $1,051,000 to $1,669,000. The increase in these 

 items, however, was not uninterrupted, for the value 

 of apparatus of capture fell in 1905 below the values 

 reported for 1898 and 1902, and the value of vessels 

 and boats in 1898 was less than in 1889, and in 1905 

 less than in 1902. It may be noted that the invest- 

 ment in 1880 was $1,814,000, which is larger than that 

 reported at any subsequent canvass prior to 1908. 



In the report for 1880 the values of the separate 

 products as sold by the fishermen are not given. The 

 following tabular statement, however, presents sta- 

 tistics showing the value of the leading products for 



the years 1908, 1902, 1898, and 1889, arranged in the 

 order of their value in 1908: 



In each of the years for which statistics are shown, 

 lobsters, cod, 'herring, clams, haddock, and hake con- 

 stituted the six principal fishery products of the state, 

 except that in 1898 smelt ranked fifth and haddock 

 seventh. These six species contributed 78 per cent 

 of the aggregate value of the fishery product of the 

 state in 1889, 81 per cent in 1898, 83 per cent in 1902, 

 and 86 per cent in 1908. 



The value of the lobster product increased about 

 73 per cent from 1889 to 1898 and 28 per cent from 

 1898 to 1908. The cod product decreased in value 

 about 28 per cent from 1889 to 1898, but during the 

 following ten years recovered this loss, so that in 

 1908 the value was about the same as in 1889. The 

 value of the herring catch in 1908 showed a decrease 

 of about 18 per cent, as compared with 1902, but an 

 increase of about 60 per cent, as compared with 1898 

 or 1889. The value of the clam product in 1908 was 

 29 per cent greater than in 1902 and 25 per cent 

 greater than in 1889, but was less than in 1898. The 

 haddock catch fluctuated in value throughout the 

 period covered by the statistics, although in 1908 the 

 value was more than twice as great as in 1889 and 

 nearly twice as great as in 1902. The value of hake 

 showed an increase at each canvass. 



Of the less important varieties, shad alone showa 

 an increase in value at each successive canvass. Ale- 

 wives declined steadily in value, while scallops and 

 halibut decreased in value until 1902, and then gained. 

 Pollack and eels show increases from 1902 to 1908; 

 smelt, swordfish, cusk, and mackerel show declines. 

 The most marked decline is in the value of the mack- 

 erel catch, which decreased 69 per cent between 1902 

 and 1908. 



Persons employed. The total number of persons 

 employed in the fisheries of the state in 1908 was 

 6,861, distributed as follows: 



