376 



REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 



Table showing the catch by minor apparatus in the fisheries of Rhode Island in 1898. 



Species. 



Providence. 



Kent. 



Washington. 



Total. 



Lbs. 



Value. 



Lbs. 



Value. 



Lbs. 



Value. 



Lbs. 



Value. 



Shore fisheries: 

 Alewives 



15,000 



600 



48 



225 



$225 



80 



6 



75 











15,000 



600 



48 



465 



7,875 



5,020 



128 



$225 



Minnows 











80 



Shad 











6 



Shrimp 



240 



$80 







155 



Crabs, hard 



7,875 

 5,020 



$575 

 1,675 



575 



Crabs, soft 











1,675 



Crabs, tiddler 



53 



40 



75 



38 



78 











Total 



15, 926 



426 



315 



118 



12, 895 



2,250 



29, 136 



2,794 







THE OYSTER INDUSTRY. 



The private cultivation of oysters is carried on under the general 

 supervision of the State, represented by a shellfish commission, from 

 which leases of oyster-grounds are secured. The rental depends upon 

 the depth of water. For a depth pf 12 feet and over at mean low tide 

 it is $5 an acre; under 12 feet, $10 an acre. In determining the depth 

 of water a Government chart is used and the acreage is measured by 

 the State surveyor. The revenue accruing to the State from this source 

 during the year 1898 amounted to $7,690.07, and it was estimated that 

 the receipts for the following year would be $20,000 or more. Leases 

 are not granted to persons outside of the State, but a large percentage 

 of the total acreage is planted and controlled by oyster planters living 

 in other States, who obtain leases through the medium of their foremen 

 or other residents. In 1898 the total area held by lessees was 1,922.3 

 acres, most of which rented for $10 an acre. 



The total yield of the private beds was 439,148 bushels of market- 

 able oysters, valued at $497,360, and of the public oyster-grounds 

 2,580 bushels, valued at $2,788, while 15,650 bushels of native seed 

 were obtained and planted, the value of which was $5,230. In 1892 the 

 total area under cultivation was 700 acres. The yield of marketable 

 oysters from the cultivated areas was about 157,581 bushels, valued 

 at $251,384, and from the public grounds it was approximately 2,000 

 bushels, valued at $2,075. There were also 14,865 bushels of native 

 seed oysters used for planting purposes, having a value of $5,783. 



In the upper waters of Narragansett Bay considerable diflficulty is 

 sometimes experienced by the planters in connection with the green- 

 ing of the oysters. A good deal of the ground formerly occupied in 

 this section has therefore been abandoned, the disposition being to 

 take up land farther down the bay. A considerable area has recently 

 been leased in Mount Hope Bay, most of which rents for $5 an acre, 

 and large plants were made there in 1899. 



In addition to the stock already on the beds, there were planted by 

 the cultivators in 1898 420,200 bushels of seed oysters, valued at 

 $268,730 when delivered. The bulk of this supply was from Connect- 

 icut waters, sailing vessels being chiefl}^ used as transporters. At one 



