298 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 



in 1897; squeteague, from 1,759,464 to 5,184,428 pounds; croakers, 

 from 247,980 pounds in 1891 to 2,742,049 pounds in 1897. Blue-fish 

 fell off from 1,292,398 pounds to 662,993 pounds; Spanish mackerel, 

 from 725,910 to 503,106 pounds, and sturgeon, from 575,320 to 335,590 

 pounds, including caviar. The value per pound of nearly all of these 

 species shows a decrease from 1891 to 1897. Had the pound-net catch 

 sold in the latter year for as much per pound as in the former the 

 aggregate value would have been about $738,098, instead of $513,589. 



The gill-net fisheries of Virginia are principally for the capture of 

 shad, but many other species are also secured. There were 9,307 nets 

 used in 1897, worth |46,235, and the product amounted to 4,053,779 

 pounds, for which the fishermen received $110,206. Of this product 

 2,972,548 pounds represented shad, the value being $81,171. Ranking 

 next in value were sturgeon, including caviar, with a yield of 356,829 

 pounds, worth $19,269; alewives, or river herring, 575,800 pounds, 

 worth $3,542, and striped bass, 43,567 pounds, worth $2,862. In 1891 

 the value of the gill nets was approximately the same, but the yield 

 was somewhat greater, amounting to 4,857,214 pounds, worth $124,617. 



The haul-seine fisher}^ of Virginia, which is quite different from the 

 menhaden purse-seine fishery, is of little value compared with former^ 

 times. In the early part of the present century this was practically 

 the only form of apparatus used for taking fish. Forty years ago 

 nearly every large plantation bordering the rivers had a seine shore, 

 and some of them were quite valuable. But the greater cheapness 

 and efficiency of gill nets, pound nets, etc. , has resulted in a great 

 decrease in the number of seines employed. In 1891 there were 178 

 haul seines used, worth $32,470, and yielding 4,176,362 pounds of 

 fish, valued at $98,074. In 1897 the number of seines was 107, valued 

 at $28,462, and the catch of fish aggregated 5,282,251 pounds, worth 

 $68,260. Among the principal species were spots, 482,965 pounds, 

 worth $13,279; shad, 459,057 pounds, worth $10,258; squeteague, 

 439,218 pounds, worth $9,964; alewives, or river herring, 1,937,855 

 pounds, worth $13,357, and striped bass, 136,087 pounds, worth $7,483. 



The crab fisheries yielded a product in 1897 valued at $68,245, of 

 which $28,331 represented hard crabs and $39,914 soft crabs, the total 

 weight of the former being 5,331,398 pounds and of the latter 1,068,116 

 pounds. The soft-crab fishery is prosecuted in Accomac, Lancaster, 

 Northumberland, and Northampton counties, but principally in the 

 first-named. The hard crabs are obtained in the waters of a dozen or 

 more counties, but principally in Northampton, York, and Princess 

 Anne. The soft crabs are caught by scrapes and dip nets, while the 

 hard crabs are obtained by means of lines almost exclusively. 



The following series of tables show in detail the extent of the- fish- 

 eries by each form of apparatus in 1897. 



