FISHERIES, BY STATES. 



179 



Wage-earners slightly outnumbered proprietors and 

 independent fishermen. Of the wage-earners, 89 per 

 cent were employed in the Gulf fisheries, and of the 

 wage-earners in this district, 91 per cent were em- 

 ployed in the vessel fisheries. The low ratio of wage- 

 earners to proprietors and independent fishermen in 

 the shore and boat fisheries, the absence of salaried 

 employees, and the small average sum paid to employees 

 make plain the small scale on which this class of fish- 

 eries is conducted in Mississippi. 



Equipment and other capital. The following table 

 shows the distribution of the investment in the fish- 

 eries of the state : 



i Includes the value of one vessel engaged in fishing. 



Over three-fifths of the total investment in the 

 fisheries of the state represented the value of the sail 

 fishing vessels and their outfits. All the shore and 

 accessory property and cash capital reported, with 

 trifling exceptions, pertained to the shore and boat 

 fisheries. The total investment was distributed in the 

 following manner: $353,000 in vessel fisheries; $45,000 

 in transporting vessels and $124,000 in shore and boat 

 fisheries. 



Detailed statistics of the number and tonnage of the 

 vessels and the number of the boats are given in the 

 next table. 



In the vessel fisheries all but two of the craft were 

 sailing vessels. Among transporting vessels steam 

 and motor craft equal sailing craft in number, but the 

 value of the former was more than double that of the 

 latter. The fisheries of the Gulf of Mexico were 

 credited with the entire investment in fishing vessels, 

 except the value of one vessel of 11 tons engaged in 

 fishing in the Missisippi River district. The trans- 

 porting vessels used in the Gulf district were valued at 

 $32,000, and the boats used in the shore and boat fish- 

 eries of the same district were valued at 27,000. 



The following tabular statement gives details of the 

 number of the principal kinds of apparatus of capture 

 used : 



Products, &y species. Table 1, on page 182, gives the 

 quantity and value of the fishery products of Missis- 

 sippi, by species and by apparatus of capture. 



The greater portion of the product in 1908 consisted 

 of mollusks and crustaceans. The oyster yield was 

 more valuable than all the rest of the catch, and the 

 shrimp product had a total value almost equal to half 

 the value of all fish proper. The total fish catch 

 amounted to 8,520,000 pounds, valued at $164,000. 

 Buffalo fish and sea trout were the leading species, 

 while mullet, catfish, and paddlefish followed. 



Products, by fishing grounds. Table 2, on page 183, 

 shows, by species and by apparatus of capture, the 

 weight and value of the product taken in the Gulf of 

 Mexico district by Mississippi fishermen, and Table 3 

 gives similar detailed statistics for the Mississippi River 

 district. The value reported for the principal species 

 taken in the two districts is shown in the next tabu- 

 lar statement. 



The fishery product from the Gulf of Mexico district 

 contributed 82 per cent of the value of the total prod- 

 uct of the state. Oysters ranked first, with a value 

 forming 64 per cent of the total value of products from 

 this district, and shrimp ranked second, with a value 

 equal to 15 per cent of the total. Of fish proper, the 



