238 



FISHERIES OF THE UNITED STATES, 1908. 



the leading species of fish proper, and represented 

 one-third of the value of fish reported and 14 per cent 

 of the value of all products. 



Products, by class of fisheries. The following tabular 

 statement shows the distribution of the value of 

 products, according to species, for the state and for 

 each class of fisheries: 



Statistics of the products of the vessel fisheries of 

 the state, by species and by apparatus of capture, are 

 given in Table 2, on page 240. The value of the 

 products reported for these fisheries formed 24 per 

 cent of the value of all products. Oysters contributed 

 68 per cent of the value of the vessel fishery products, 

 and the bulk of the fish catch consisted of sea bass. 



Statistics of the products of the shore and boat 

 fisheries of the state, by species and apparatus of cap- 

 ture, are given in Table 3, on page 241. This class of 

 fisheries contributed 76 per cent of the value of all 

 fishery products, but not quite so large a percentage of 

 the total quantity. The value of oysters represented 

 41 per cent of the value of the shore and boat prod- 

 uct, and that of fish proper 46 per cent. All crusta- 

 ceans and mollusks, other than oysters, were taken in 

 the shore and boat fisheries. Shad was the leading 

 species of fish, and its value formed considerably over 

 one-third of the value of the catch of fish proper. 

 The mullet product and the whiting product were 

 practically equal in value. 



Products, by apparatus of capture. The following 

 tabular statement shows the distribution of the value 

 of products, according to apparatus of capture used, 

 for the state and for each class of fisheries : 



Dredges, tongs, etc., were used in securing the 

 oyster product and most of the unimportant clam 

 product. To this form of apparatus 78 per cent of the 

 total quantity and 50 per cent of the total value of 

 products are credited. 



The value of the products taken by lines formed 

 20 per cent of the total value of fishery products in 

 the state. Sea bass and whiting, the most important 

 species caught by lines, together contributed 65 per 

 cent of the total value of the Una catch. Over two- 

 thirds of the value of the line catch was reported from 

 the shore and boat fisheries. In this class of fisheries 

 lines took products valued at 19 per cent of the total 

 value ; and in vessel fisheries, where the line catch con- 

 sisted mostly of sea bass, they took products valued at 

 28 per cent of the total value. 



Gill nets ranked third in value of catch, contributing 

 15 per cent of the value of the total fishery product. 

 They were used only in the shore and boat fisheries; 

 the value of the products taken by these nets was 

 slightly greater than the value of the catch by lines in 

 this class of fisheries, the proportions which the values 

 of the two catches represented of the total value of the 

 shore and boat product being 20 per cent and 19 per 

 cent, respectively. Shad contributed 92 per cent of 

 the value of the gill-net catch. 



The catch by cast nets supplied 7 per cent of the 

 value of the state product. Their use was confined to 

 the shore and boat fisheries, the catch with this class 

 of apparatus, which consisted of shrimp, prawn, and 

 mullet, contributing 9 per cent of the total value of 

 products reported for these fisheries. 



The value of the product taken by means of seines 

 represented 6 per cent of the value of the state 

 product. Eighty-five per cent of the seine catch in 

 quantity consisted of mullet, and was taken chiefly in 

 the shore and boat fisheries. 



Oysters. All of the oysters reported were market 

 oysters, and the bulk of the product was from public 

 areas, the quantity taken from private areas forming 

 slightly less than 6 per cent of the total. The greater 

 part of the oyster product was used by the canneries. 

 Prices were low in 1908, the average being less than 9 

 cents per bushel, while some fishermen received as 

 little as 4 cents. 



The increase in the yield of oysters has been steady 

 and rapid since 1887, and is largely accountable for 

 the increase shown by the total fishery product of the 

 state since that year. 



Though ranking among the leading fishery products 

 of the state in 1880, oysters did not outrank all other 

 kinds of products until 1897, and the canvass of 1902 

 was the first in which the quantity of the yield of oys- 

 ters exceeded that of all other species combined. The 

 quantity of the product in 1908 was more than two and 

 one-fourth times that in 1902. 



