I -REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONER. 



PEELIMINAEIES OF THE INQUIRY. 



The importance to the United States of the fisheries on its coasts can 

 scarcely be exaggerated, whether we consider the amount of wholesome 

 food which they yield, the pecuniary value of their products, the num- 

 ber of men and boys for whom they furnish profitable occupation, the 

 stimulus to ship and boat building which they suppl}', and, not the 

 least of all, their service as a school for seamen, from which the mer- 

 chant-marine, as well as the Navy of the country, derive their most 

 important recruits. 



A few years ago, in view of the enormous abundance of fish originally 

 existing in the sea, the suggestion of a possible failure would have been 

 considered idle; and the fisheries themselves have been managed with- 

 out reference to the possibility of .a future exhaustion. The country 

 has, however, been growing very rapidly ; the construction of railroads 

 and the use of ice for packing have furnished facilities for sending fish 

 in good condition all over the countrj^, and the demand for them has 

 increased in proportion. The object of those engaged in the fisheries 

 has been to obtain the largest supply in the shortest possible time, and 

 this has involved more or less of waste, and, in some cases, reckless 

 destruction of the fish. 



The discovery, too, that fish can be made to supply a valuable oil by 

 boiling and pressing, and that the residue, as well as the uncooked fish, 

 furnish a valuable manure, to be applied either directly or after special 

 preparation, has constituted an additional source of consumption on a 

 very large scale. 



As might have reasonably been inferred, the supply, which formerly 

 greatly exceeded the demand, now, to a certain extent at least and in 

 certain localities, has failed ; and the impression has become prevalent 

 that the fish themselves are diminishing, and that in time some kinds, 

 at least, will be almost or quite exterminated. This assertion is made 

 with reference to several species that formerly constituted an important 

 part of the food supply ; and the blame has been alternately laid upon 

 one or another of the causes to which this result is ascribed, the fact of 

 the decrease being generally considered as established. 



The first official notice taken of this state of affairs, with the view of 

 adopting measures for relief, was on the part of the States of Massachu- 

 setts and Rhode Island, both being especially interested in the ques 

 tiou, as the greatest depreciation was alleged to have occurred on their 

 southern border. The cause assigned by those who complained most 



