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REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONER OF FISHERIES. 
utfit, $3,075; 115 boats, valued at $7,270; fishing apparatus on ves- 
sels al boats, valued at $11,157; shore property, $10,370, and cash 
capital, $8,000. The products of the vessel and shore fabeuiee ¢ acoTe- 
gated 1,593,013 pounds, for which the fishermen received $50,003. 
The spabutee for 1902 compared with those for 1898 show a large 
decrease in the quantity, but a slight increase in the value of the fish- 
ery products. The decrease is almost wholly in the line fisheries, both 
vessel and shore. The total catch with this form of apparatus in 1902 
was 757,450 pounds, against 2,454,950 pounds in 1898. The great 
decline in the line fisheries was due in a large measure to the ravages 
of the dog-fish, which appeared in increasing numbers on the coast, 
deyouring many of the food fish and driving others away, thus practi- 
cally putting an end to the line fishing. In some localities trawl-line 
fishing has been abandoned entirely, and but little hand-line fishing is 
undert taken. 
The products of the vessel fisheries in 1902 aggregated 386,350 
pounds, with a value of $12,500. Of the various species taken, cod 
represented nearly half of the entire catch, amounting to 150,000 
pounds, with a value of $4,500. The catch of mackerel has more than 
doubled since the last canvass, and in value leads that of any other 
species taken in the vessel fisheries. 
The yield of the shore fisheries was 1,206,663 pounds, with a value of 
$37,503. Asin the vessel fishery, cod is the leading species in the num- 
ber of pounds taken, and is next to lobsters in the value of the catch. 
The lobster fishery has increased considerably in importance since 
1898 and is now the most valuable fishery in the state, the catch in 
1902 amounting to 128,463 pounds, with a value of $14,863. The 
fishermen employed numbered 56, using 46 boats valued at $1,510 and 
7 launches valued at $2,800. 
The season for catching lobsters lasts about five or six months, 
depending somewhat on the weather. Usually the season begins 
between April 15 and May 1 and continues until September 30 or the 
middle of October. 
The various localities where the fishery is prosecuted are Rye Beach, 
Great Boars Head, Little Boars Head, North Beach, Hampton Beach 
and Hampton River, Rye Harbor, Isle of Shoals, Newcastle, and 
Portsmouth. 
At Hampton Beach 12 men were engaged in the fishery, setting 480 
pots, and the catch amounted to 12,857 pounds, valued at $1,800. 
The depth of water fished in varies on 6 to 7 fathoms So and 
from 10 to 14 fathoms outside. The pots are set from 2 to 5 miles 
offshore. 
3etween Hampton and North Beach, including Little Boars Head 
and Great Boars Head, 275 pots were fished by 7 men, the catch 
amounting to 9,649 “prise ralued at $965. 
