74 



FISHERIES OF THE UNITED STATES, 1908. 



1 Includes North Carolina, Iowa, Wisconsin, Ohio, Texas, and Virginia. 



The product of otter skins, by states, was as follows: 



1 Includes North Carolina, Arkansas, Missouri, Virginia, and Maryland. 



2 Less than 100 skins. 



Snappers (Lutianidx). — The red snapper (Lutianus 

 aya), which is the most important of the snappers, 

 is a large fish, bright red in color, and is found from 

 Long Island southward, but in greatest abundance 

 along the coasts of the Gulf states. The gray snapper, 

 or mangrove snapper, also known in Florida as 

 "lawyer," is a common species. The mutton snapper, 

 dog snapper, or jocu, the schoolmaster, or caji, the 

 silk snapper, and the lane snapper are all fishes of food 

 value common in the West Indies and southern Florida. 



The name is locally applied to other kinds of fish. 

 The red grouper is called "brown snapper" and "red- 

 belhed snapper" in Florida. The rosefish is called 

 "snapper" on the North Atlantic coast; the bluefish 

 is called "snapper" and "blue snapper" on the New 

 England coast; and the cod that live near the shore 

 away from the ledges are called "black snappers." 



The statistics of the catch of snappers as reported 

 in 1908 are given in the following tabular statement: 



1 Less than 1 per cent. 



The red-snapper product of Florida, Alabama, and 

 Texas contributed over 98 per cent of the total value 

 of the snappers caught in these states. The catch in 

 the other states comprised 13,000 pounds, valued at 



$300, from North Carolina, and 1,000 pounds, valued 

 at $30, from South Carolina. 



Comparative statistics of the entire snapper product 

 for 1908 and former years, so far as data are available, 

 are given in the following tabular statement : 



The statistics for 1902 show 13,764,000 pounds of 

 red snappers, valued at $418,000, and 401,000 pounds 

 of all other snappers, valued at $11,000. In reports 

 prior to 1902 no division is shown, and all snappers 

 except the red were probably included under the head 

 of miscellaneous fish. 



The chief fishing ground is off the west coast of 

 Florida. As these fish habitually feed along the 

 ground in from 10 to 40 fathoms of water, lines are 

 the only form of apparatus used in their capture. 



Sponge. — The sponge which is of commercial value 

 is found off the west coast of Florida, and the sta- 

 tistics in regard thereto are' given in connection with 

 those for the Florida fisheries on pages 103 and 104 

 of this report. The value of the sponge catch in 1908 

 was $545,000. 



Squeteague. — The common weakfish, or squeteague 

 (Cynoscion regalis) , is found in abundance along the 

 Atlantic coast from Cape Cod to Florida. It is known 

 as "drummer" about Cape Cod; "yellowfin" about 

 Buzzards Bay; "weakfish" in New York and New 

 Jersey; "bluefish" in Delaware and Virginia; "gray 

 trout," "sun trout," "shad trout," "sea trout," and 

 "salt-water trout" in the Middle and South Atlantic 

 states; and "squeteague," "squit," "chickwit," etc., in 

 various places. It averages about 2£ pounds in weight, 

 but some individuals attain a weight of 30 pounds. 

 The spotted squeteague (C. nebulosus) is found from 

 New Jersey to Texas, and is somewhat larger than 

 the other species. The California "bluefish" (O. 

 parvipinnis) and the great "white sea bass" of Cali- 

 fornia (O. nobilis) are other species of weakfish. 



In 1908 squeteague were taken in all the Atlantic 

 coast states south of Massachusetts, in all the Gulf 

 states, and in Cahfornia on the Pacific coast; but 

 almost one-third of the catch was made off the New 

 Jersey shores and along Delaware Bay. The entire 

 product amounted to 49,869,000 pounds, and was 

 valued at $1,776,000. Squeteague ranked seventh in 

 value among all fishery products. Nearly the entire 

 amount was sold fresh, the small quantities salted in. 

 North Carolina and Florida amounting to less than 1 

 per cent of the total product. The following tabular 



