FISHERIES OF THE NEW ENGLAND STATES. 343 



FISHERIES OF MASSACHUSETTS. 



Massachusetts has over two-thirds of the investment, more than half 

 of the quantity, and nearly half of the value of the products of the 

 coast fisheries of New England. It is the leading fishing State of 

 New England, and in the items of investment and value of products it 

 surpasses any other State. It had until recent years more persons 

 I'uiploj^ed in the fishing industry than any other New England State, 

 but is now exceeded by Maine in this respect. The most important 

 branches of fishing prosecuted by vessels are the offshore bank fisheries 

 for cod, haddock, hake, halibut, and other ground species; the mackerel 

 fishery, and the whale fishery. The shore, or boat, fisheries embrace a 

 large number of species, but yield only about 20 per cent of the total 

 value of the fishery products of the State, a smaller percentage than 

 any other New England State except Connecticut. 



The principal fishing ports, where the largest fleets of vessels are 

 owned and operated, are Gloucester, Boston, Provincetown, and New 

 Bedford. A considerable number of vessels, mostly of small size, are 

 owned in various other localities, while the shore or boat fisheries 

 are prosecuted to a greater or less extent along the entire coast. The 

 whale fishery was engaged in by vessels from Boston and Provincetown, 

 but is centered principally at New Bedford. Some of the whaling 

 vessels owned at New Bedford have headquarters at San Francisco, 

 Cal. , but are included in the statistics for Massachusetts. 



The products of the fisheries of this State are derived chiefly from 

 the numerous offshore fishing banks extending along the North Ameri- 

 can coast from Nantucket Shoals, Massachusetts, to the Grand Banks 

 of Newfoundland. The products taken by boats in the shore fisheries 

 and by the smallest class of vessels represent practically all that are 

 obtained from jurisdictional waters. A very large percentage of the 

 principal species taken b}^ vessels in the cod fisheries is from offshore 

 grounds. The mackerel fishery is also prosecuted along the coast, to a 

 greater or less extent, from Florida to the Gulf of St. Lawrence. 



The halibut supply has for many years been obtained mainly from 

 the banks off' the New England coast, and from La Have, Banquereau, 

 Western, Grand, and other eastern banks. Since about 1895 large 

 quantities of halibut have been secured on grounds located to the north- 

 east of Newfoundland, in latitude 48° to 50"^ N. and longitude 50° to 

 51° W. The great demand for halibut in 1898 induced a Boston firm 

 to send a steam vessel on a voyage to the halibut grounds in the North 

 Pacific Ocean. These grounds are principally in latitude 50° to 55° N. 

 and longitude 135° to 140° W. This vessel had a crew of 28 men, and 

 during October, November, and December secured 411,011 pounds of 

 fresh halibut which, after being landed, was packed in refrigerator cars 

 and shipped to Boston by railroad, where it arrived in good condition. 

 It is interesting to note that the lishing-grounds in the North Atlantic 



