FISHERIES, BY STATES. 



253 



Products, ly species. The fishery products of the 

 state for 1908 arc distributed, by species and by appa- 

 ratus of capture, in Table 1, on page 256. 



The value of the fishery products of Virginia formed 

 9 per cent of the total value of all fishery products of 

 the United States. Oysters were the most important 

 product, the value of the yield in 1908 forming only a 

 small fraction less than 50 per cent of the value of all 

 fishery products of the state. Aside from certain 

 species of fish, clams and crabs were the only other 

 important products. The quantity of crabs taken 

 was 25,083,000 pounds, valued at $326,000, and the 

 quantity of clams was 1,969,000 pounds, valued at 

 $380,000. 



The product of fish proper amounted in the aggre- 

 gate to 249,890,000 pounds, or 80 per cent of the total 

 weight of fishery products of the state, and was 

 valued at $1,658,000, or 35 per cent of the total value. 

 Including nine species tabulated under the head "All 

 other," 42 species of fish were taken in the waters of 

 the state. Of these the most important were shad, 

 menhaden, alewives, squeteague, or sea trout, and 

 croaker. The combined value reported for these 

 five species was $1,344,000, or 81 per cent of t*he value 

 - of all fish caught. 



Products, by fishing grounds. The products of the 

 Chesapeake "Bay district are given in detail, by species 

 and by apparatus of capture, in Table 2, on page 257; 

 and Table 3, on page 258, gives similar statistics for 

 the Atlantic Ocean district. In the following tabular 

 statement the total value of products is distributed 

 according to species arranged in order of value, for the 

 state as a whole and for each district and each class 

 of fisheries : 



The combined catch of the fisheries of Chesapeake 

 Bay and its tributary waters was 301,596,000 pounds, 

 valued at $4,046,000, or 97 per cent of the quantity 

 and 86 per cent of the value of the fishery products of 

 the state. The catch of fish proper reported for this 

 district furnished 36 per cent of the total value for 

 the district, and the yield of oysters, the most valuable 

 product, 50 per cent. Next to oysters the shad catch 

 had the largest value, while the menhaden, crab, clam, 

 and herring products also contributed largely to the 

 total value. 



The catch of the Atlantic Ocean district, which 

 weighed 10,918,000 pounds and was valued at 

 $670,000, represented only 3 per cent of the total 

 quantity and 14 per cent of the total value of all 

 fishery products of the state. Of the total value of 

 products reported for this district, oysters contributed 

 50 per cent and clams 24 per cent. Of fish proper, 

 which furnished 26 per cent of the value returned for 

 the district, the principal species taken were sque- 

 teague, croaker, and sturgeon. Spanish mackerel 

 ranked next, with a value of $16,000., which consti- 

 tuted 64 per cent of the value of all Spanish mackerel 

 taken in the waters of the state. 



Products, by class of fisheries. The products of the 

 vessel fisheries are given in detail, by species and by 

 apparatus of capture, in Table 4, on page 258, and the 

 products of the shore and boat fisheries are similarly 

 shown in Table 7, on page 260. As already indicated, 

 the table above shows the distribution, by species 

 arranged in order of value, of the total value of 

 products reported for the state and for each class of 

 fisheries. 



The catch of the vessel fisheries aggregated 

 207,070,000 pounds, valued at $1,009,000, or 66 per 

 cent of the total quantity of fishery products taken in 

 the state'and 21 per cent of then- total value. Oysters, 

 menhaden, and crabs furnished the largest values. 

 Of the different species of fish proper reported, men- 

 haden represented 90 per cent of the quantity caught 

 in the vessel fisheries. 



The combined catch of the shore and boat fisheries 

 of the state aggregated 105,444,000 pounds, having 

 a value of $3,707,000, or 34 per cent and 79 per cent, 

 respectively, of the total quantity and value of all the 

 fishery products of the state. Oysters, shad, and 

 clams were the three most important products of this 

 class of fisheries. 



The value of fish constituted 49 per cent of the total 

 value of the products taken in the vessel fisheries and 

 32 per cent of that of products taken in the shore and 

 boat fisheries. Oysters contributed 44 per cent of 

 the value of the products of the former class of fisheries 

 and 51 per cent of the value of the products of the 

 latter. 



Tables 5 and 8, on pages 259 and 261 show, by species 

 and by apparatus of capture, the products, respectively, 



