CAPITAL AND EQUIPMENT. 



21 



cent of the value of all boats and 65 per cent of the 

 value of all craft of the Mississippi River division, 

 which, exclusive of outfits, was $528,000. 



The amount invested in vessels in the United States 

 as a whole was divided between fishing vessels and 

 transporting vessels in the proportion of 82 per cent 

 and 18 per cent, respectively. In the Atlantic coast 

 division the proportion of the total vessel investment 

 represented by fishing vessels was 83 per cent; in the 

 Gulf of Mexico, 78 per cent; in the Pacific coast, 73 

 per cent; in the Great Lakes, 91 per cent; and in the 

 fisheries of the Mississippi River and its tributaries, 

 19 per cent. 



The average tonnage of vessels was slightly over 18 

 tons, the average for steam vessels being 16 tons, and 

 for sailing vessels 20 tons. The following tabular 

 statement gives the average tonnage of the several 

 classes of vessels for the United States and for the 

 five geographic divisions: 



Apparatus of capture. — The total investment in 

 apparatus of capture was $8,999,000. Detailed statis- 

 tics for each class of fisheries are given in Table 2 on 

 page 22. 



In point of value, pound nets, trap nets, and weirs 

 were the most important class of apparatus of capture, 

 having a total value of $3,000,000, which is 33 per 

 cent of the value of all apparatus of capture used. 

 The value of the pound net varied greatly according 

 to its size, ranging from less than $100 to over 

 $2,000 for some in use in the Pacific coast division. 

 They were most numerous in the Atlantic coast fish- 

 eries. Gill nets were in extensive and general use, rank- 

 ing second in value among all apparatus of capture. 



Next in importance to gill nets were seines, valued 

 at $937,000, of which $286,000 represents the value 

 of 466 purse seines and $652,000 that of 7,530 haul 

 and other seines. By far the greater number of the 

 seines used and all but 9 per cent of the purse seines 

 were reported by the fisheries of the Atlantic coast. 



Fyke and hoop nets ranked fourth in value. 

 Although used in large numbers in every division, 

 they were most prominent in the fisheries of the 

 Mississippi River and its tributaries, which con- 



tributed 66 per cent of the number and 56 per cent 

 of the value of all fyke and hoop nets used in this 

 country. 



The value of all classes of nets used in the fisheries 

 of the United States amounted to $7,315,000, or 81 

 per cent of the value of all apparatus of capture. 



Of apparatus other than nets, the most important 

 as measured by value were hand, trawl, and set lines. 

 The Atlantic coast division led in this kind of ap- 

 paratus, reporting $367,000, or 77 per cent of the 

 value of all lines used. 



Pots and traps of various kinds, which had a total 

 value of $457,000, were for the most part employed 

 in the lobster and eel fisheries of the Atlantic coast. 

 The few lobster pots and traps shown for the Pacific 

 coast fisheries were used in the spring lobster catch. 

 Practically all the eel pots and traps belonged to 

 the Atlantic coast fisheries. 



Dredges, tongs, rakes, etc., were used most exten- 

 sively in the Atlantic coast and Gulf of Mexico fisheries. 

 This class of apparatus was also used to a small extent 

 in the mussel-shell industry of the Mississippi River 

 division and in the molluscan fisheries of the Pacific 

 coast. 



Other apparatus of capture included the wheels and 

 slides of the Pacific coast fisheries, the fishing machines 

 of North Carolina, and the sponge apparatus of the 

 Gulf of Mexico sponge fisheries. 



The following tabular statement gives the amount 

 invested in apparatus of capture, by states, arranged 

 in the order of the value of apparatus reported: 



The table on page 22 gives statistics concerning the 

 different kinds of apparatus of capture as reported 

 for the vessel and for the shore and boat fisheries, 

 respectively. 



Shore and accessory property and cash. — The dis- 

 tribution of the capital invested in shore and accessory 

 property and cash is shown by geographic divisions in 

 the table following. 



