FISHERIES, BY STATES. 



265 



Products, by fishing grounds. Tables 2 and 3, on 

 page 268, give, respectively, for the Pacific Ocean dis- 

 trict and for the Columbia River, statistics similar to 

 those shown in Table 1. The relative importance of 

 the different species is indicated in the following tabu- 

 lar statement, which distributes the value of products 

 reported for the state and for each district according 

 to species, arranged in order of value: * 



Of the products of the Pacific Ocean district fish- 

 eries the salmon product was the most important, so 

 far as the amount of the catch is concerned, contribut- 

 ing 44,297,000 pounds, or not quite one-half of a total 

 catch of 89,305,000 pounds. The largest value, how- 

 ever, was reported for the halibut catch, which ranked 

 second in quantity, and represented somewhat more 

 than one-third of the total catch and the total value. 

 The lower average value of .the salmon product 

 resulted largely from the fact that the species of salmon 

 for which the largest catch was reported was the dog 

 or chum, which is of comparatively little value. 

 Catches but slightly smaller than that of the latter 

 species were reported for the blueback and for the 

 silver salmon, the value of the blueback catch repre- 

 senting 45 per cent of the total value of products of 

 the salmon fisheries. Oysters ranked next to salmon 

 in value of products, while salted cod also contributed 

 an important product from the standpoint both of 

 quantity and value. 



Practically the only important product of the 

 Columbia River fisheries was salmon, which repre- 

 sented 90 per cent of the total catch and contributed 

 96 per cent of the total value of products reported for 

 this river. Of the different species of salmon, the 

 chinook, which ranked fourth in quantity and second 

 in value in the Pacific Ocean district, led both in 

 quantity and value, constituting 53 per cent of the 

 total salmon catch reported for the Columbia River, 

 and contributing 66 per cent, or practically two- 

 thirds, of its value. The silver variety ranked next 



to the chinook in quantity, and the steelhead next in 

 value, while insignificant totals were reported for the 

 blueback, which, as has already been shown, was the 

 principal product of the salmon fisheries of the Pacific 

 Ocean and its adjoining waters. There was a fairly 

 large smelt product, but the catches of all other vari- 

 eties of fish reported for the Columbia River were 

 unimportant both in quantity and value. 



Of the total value of products, 87 per cent repre- 

 sented the value of fish proper. The value of the 

 salmon catch constituted 45 per cent, or more than 

 three-sevenths, of the total value of products for the 

 state; 36 per cent, or not quite three-eighths, of the 

 value of the catch reported for the Pacific Ocean dis- 

 trict; and 96 per cent, or considerably more than nine- 

 tenths, of the value of the Columbia River catch. 

 The halibut catch ranked second in importance, as 

 measured by value, and was confined entirely to the 

 ocean fisheries, its value representing 35 per cent of 

 the total value of products and 41 per cent of the 

 value of products reported for the Pacific Ocean dis- 

 trict. The value reported for oysters represented 

 10 per cent of the total in 1908. No other product 

 contributed as much as 5 per cent of the total value 

 of products. 



The fisheries of the Pacific Ocean district formed by 

 far the more important branch of the state's fisheries, 

 contributing 86 per cent, or more than five-sixths, of 

 the total value of products, as compared with 14 per 

 cent credited to the Columbia River. The latter dis- 

 trict, however, reported 30 per cent of the total value 

 of the salmon catch. 



The following tabular statement shows the distri- 

 bution of the total catch of the state according to the 

 different waters from which it was taken: 



The largest quantity of product was caught in 

 Puget Sound, although the value of the ocean catch 

 was greater by more than $60,000. This is due to the 

 increased activity in the cod and halibut fisheries, 

 which are ocean fisheries, and the decrease in the 

 Puget Sound catch of the more valuable varieties of 

 the salmon. 



Products, by class of fisheries. Statistics relating to 

 the products of the vessel fisheries of the state,, by 

 species and by apparatus of capture, are presented 

 in Table 4, on page 269; and similar statistics for 

 the shore and boat fisheries are given in Table 5, on 



