CXLVin REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OP FISH AND FISHERIES. 



Mr. W. A. Eoberts, field agent, was employed at Nashville during 

 the Tennessee Centennial Exposition, in connection with the Fish Com- 

 mission exhibit. In November the writer was detailed there by the 

 Commissioner for a short time to take charge of the exhibit, and in 

 January was detailed as a delegate to the Tampa Fishery Congress. 



During the spring of 1898 a canvass was made of all the fisheries of » 

 the South Atlantic and Gulf States, Messrs. Stevenson, Wilcox, Hall, 

 Cobb, and Cogswell engaging in the field inquiries. Upon the com- 

 pletion of this work the canvass was extended into the Middle Atlantic 

 States, and continued during the summer, with the assistance of Messrs. 

 W. A. Eoberts and E. S. King. 



During the year an office was established at San Fraucisco as head- 

 quarters for the Commission on the Pacific coast and especially to make 

 available for general shore work the civilian force connected with the 

 steamer Albatross. It has proved very useful during the recent trans- 

 fer of the vessel to the Navy Department, Mr. A. B. Alexander, F. M. 

 Chamberlain, and C. Butter having been ordered there to conduct 

 inquiries respecting the important fisheries of that locality. As the 

 vessel is periodically laid up for repairs or during seasons unfavorable 

 for sea work, the local office at once becomes a point from which men 

 may be distributed for statistical, fish-cultural, or scientific work. 



The statistical work at San Francisco will, when finished, show the 

 condition of the commercial fisheries from month to month during the 

 year, both as to the quantity and value of the different food species on 

 which the market depends. The seasonal supply of shad and striped 

 bass, which have been introduced on the Pacific coast by the Fish 

 Commission and are now abundant, is especially interesting in this 

 connection. 



FISHERIES OF GLOUCESTER AND BOSTON. 



The reports of the agents of the Commission, located at Gloucester 

 and Boston, Mass., show that there has been a slight decrease in the 

 fisheries of those places since 189G. The fish landed by American ves- 

 sels amounted to 126,865,598 pounds, having a first value of $2,878,635. 

 The total number of fares was 6,476. Compared with 1896 the figures 

 for 1897 show a decrease of 3,808,168 pounds, and a decrease in value 

 of $408,263. The fish landed at Gloucester amounted to 63,962,040 

 pounds, of which 32,960,261 pounds were fresh, and 31,001,779 pounds 

 were salted. The total value was $1,648,591. The increase in the fresh 

 fish landed at Gloucester since 1896 amounted to 11,035,560 pounds. A 

 decrease is shown in the total catch for Gloucester of 3,635,374 pounds. 

 There were 2,391 fares landed at Gloucester, of which 1,688 were from 

 grounds off the New England coast, and 703 from the eastern banks 

 and the Gulf of St. Lawrence. There is an increase in the number of 

 fares since 1896 of 171. 



In December, 1897, the facilities for handling and shipping fresh fish 

 at Gloucester were largely increased, with the result that many vessels 

 now land their entire catch of fresh fish at that port. This result was 



