FISHERIES, BY STATES. 



141 



were used principally in the shore and boat fisheries, 

 only about 3 per cent of the value of the product 

 taken by them in 1908 coming from vessel fisheries. 

 Herring contributed more than four-fifths of the value 

 of the catch by these forms of apparatus. 



Dredges, tongs, rakes, hoes, and similar apparatus 

 ranked fourth in importance as measured by the value 

 of the product taken; although used to some extent in 

 vessel fisheries, they were employed chiefly in shore 

 and boat fisheries for taking clams. All of the scallops 

 taken in the state, valued at $95,000, and a few 

 oysters were also secured by apparatus of this kind. 



Seines were used extensively in the vessel fisheries, 

 which reported nearly two-thirds of the total value 

 of the catch made by this apparatus. The principal 

 species caught by seines were herring, pollack, smelt, 

 mackerel, and shad. 



Gill nets and drift nets were used to nearly the 

 same extent in vessel fisheries and shore and boat 

 fisheries. The total catch taken by these nets weighed 

 1,404,000 pounds and was valued at $56,000. It 

 included mackerel, herring, shad, cod, and smelt, with 

 a combined value of $52,000, and six other species 

 aggregating in value $3,600. 



The principal species taken with harpoons and spears 

 was the swordfish. By these implements were also 

 captured seals, from which came skins and oil; por- 

 poises, taken for their oil; and eels. 



Lobster. Measured by value of products lobster 

 were the most important fishery product of the state in 

 1908, and, although the weight of the total catch was 

 less than in 1902, by 2,234,000 pounds, or 18 per cent, 

 its value was greater by $203,000, or 16 per cent. It is 

 interesting to note that the total catch in 1880 was 

 14,234,000 pounds a much larger quantity than hi 

 1908 but its value to the fishermen was only $269,000. 

 Lobsters are taken principally in the shore and boat 

 fisheries. In 1908 this class of fisheries reported 

 8,898,000 pounds, valued at $1,136,000, whereas only 

 1,031,000 pounds, with a value of $134,000, were taken 

 in the vessel fisheries. 



Cod. The catch of cod ranked next to the lobster 

 product in value and was the largest in quantity 

 reported for any of the so-called "ground fish" (cod, 

 haddock, hake, halibut, pollack, and cusk). In all, 

 20,013,000 pounds of cod were caught, with a value of 

 $439,000, or 13 per cent of the value of all fishery 

 products of the state. The catch in 1908 represents 

 an increase of about 15 per cent in weight and nearly 

 17 per cent in value over the catch in 1902, which 

 amounted to 17,390,000 pounds, valued at $377,000. 

 The product of 1908 was almost equally divided be- 

 tween the vessel and the shore and boat fisheries, the 

 quantity taken in the former being 9,951,000 pounds 

 and that taken hi the latter 10,063,000 pounds, or 

 only 1 per cent more. Yet the value of the lesser 

 catch of the vessel fisheries, $238,000, was 15 per cent 

 greater than the value of the catch from the shore 



and boat fisheries, which was $201,000. It is of 

 interest to note in this connection that in 1902 the 

 Bureau of Fisheries reported a large difference in the 

 amount of cod taken in shore and boat fisheries as 

 compared with vessel fisheries, the product of the 

 latter being 12,621,000 pounds, valued at $286,000, 

 and that of the former only 4,769,000 pounds, valued 

 at $91,000. Nearly 87 per cent of the catch was sold 

 fresh and the remainder was salted. Practically 

 the entire product was taken by hand and trawl 

 lines. 



Herring. Herring fishing is important in the state 

 of Maine, and this fish in 1908 ranked first among the 

 fishery products of the state in quantity and third in 

 value. The value of the product represented 13 per 

 cent of the value of the aggregate product for the 

 state. Since 1902 there has been a decrease of 

 69,419,000 pounds, or nearly 43 per cent, in the total 

 catch, and of $90,000, or nearly 18 per cent, in its 

 value. The herring fishery is principally a shore 

 fishery; in 1908, 75,638,000 pounds of herring were 

 taken in the shore and boat fisheries, with a value of 

 $325,000, or over 77 per cent of the total value of the 

 herring taken in Maine. Ninety-six per cent of the 

 catch was sold fresh and the remainder salted or 

 smoked. The greater part of the total quantity 

 66,826,000 pounds, valued at $287,000, or over 68 per 

 cent of the total value of herring was taken in pound 

 nets, trap nets, and weirs. About 27 per cent of the 

 value represents the value of the catch made with 

 seines. Herring, as already stated, are utilized 

 mainly in sardine canneries and smokehouses, but they 

 are also to some extent sold salted and are used for 

 bait in trawl and hand-line fishing. 



Clams. For the clam product a considerable in- 

 crease in value is shown in the last few years, and in 

 1908 it stood in this respect next to herring. In this 

 report both the fresh clams sold for food and for 

 canning and the salted clams sold for bait are included 

 under the term "soft clams." The total yield of 

 clams in 1908 was 5,061,000 pounds, valued at 

 $251,000; in 1905, 3,729,000 pounds, valued at 

 $135,000; and in 1902, 5,547,000 pounds, valued at 

 $194,000. There was a decline in the product from 

 1902 to 1905, amounting to 33 per cent in quantity and 

 nearly 31 per cent in value, but an increase from 1905 

 to 1908 made the total quantity in 1908 less than 9 

 per cent smaller than in 1902 and the total value 29 

 per cent more. Clams ranked third in value among 

 the products of the shore and boat fisheries, less than 

 2 per cent of the clam product being taken in the vessel 

 fisheries. 



Haddock. In value of the catch the haddock ranked 

 next to the cod among the "ground fish," and fifth 

 among all species of the state. The catch was slightly 

 larger hi the vessel fisheries than in the shore and boat 

 fisheries and proportionately more valuable. It was 

 practically all sold fresh. Since 1902 there has been 



