104 



FISHERIES OF THE UNITED STATES, 1908. 



rowboats, and 34 diving boats. In the sponge fisheries 

 as a whole, 122 diving boats, having a value of $40,000, 

 were used. 



Persons employed in the sponge fisheries in 1908, 

 exclusive of 172 proprietors not fishing, formed a 

 total of 2,097, distributed as follows: 125 proprietors 

 and independent fishermen; 1 salaried employee; and 

 1,971 wage-earners, who received $437,000 in wages 

 (including provisions furnished to the value of $132,- 

 000). The persons reported for the vessel fisheries, 

 exclusive of 90 proprietors not fishing, numbered 1,466, 

 and comprised 32 proprietors and independent fisher- 

 men, 1 salaried employee, and 1,433 wage-earners, re- 

 ceiving wages to the amount of $343,000 (including 

 provisions furnished to the value of $95,000) . In the 

 shore and boat fisheries 631 persons were employed, of 

 whom 93 were proprietors (exclusive of 82 not fish- 

 ing) , and 538 wage-earners, who received wages to the 

 amount of $93,000 (inclusive of provisions to the value 

 of $37,000). 



The total investment in apparatus of capture was 

 $78,000, which comprised hooks and diving apparatus 

 to the value of $76,000, and nets and other fishing ap- 

 paratus to the value of $1,300, reported by certain of the 

 vessel sponge fishers who had a fish catch. Of the total 

 investment in the sponge industry in apparatus of 

 capture, $55,000 was credited to the vessel fisheries and 

 $22,000 to the shore and boat fisheries. The invest- 

 ment in shore and accessory property for the sponge 



fisheries was $4,900, practically all of which was re- 

 ported by the shore and boat fisheries. 



In the following tabular statement- the sponge catch 

 for 1908 is shown in detail, classified according to kind 

 or grade of product, and according to apparatus of 

 capture, whether taken by hooks or with diving 

 apparatus : 



i Less than $100. 



The catch with diving apparatus represented ap- 

 proximately two-thirds of the total value, and the 

 catch with hooks one-third. 



In the following tabular statement the quantity and 

 value of the sponge product for 1908 are compared 

 with the figures for a series of years as reported by the 

 Bureau of Fisheries: 



1908 

 1902 

 1901 

 1900 

 1899 

 1897 



1896 

 1895 

 1890 

 1889 

 1880 



SPONGE PRODUCT. 



Total. 



Quantity 

 (pounds). 



622, 000 

 347,000 

 396,000 

 418,000 

 304,000 

 332,000 



236,000 

 306,000 

 367,000 

 317,000 

 207,000 



$545, 000 

 364, 000 

 493, 000 

 568, 000 

 368,000 

 286,000 



273,000 

 387,000 

 439,000 

 381, 000 

 201,000 



Sheepswool. 



Quantity 

 (pounds). 



310, 000 

 134, 000 

 203,000 

 181,000 

 164,000 

 157,000 



150,000 

 231,000 

 (') 



(') 

 <>) 



Value. 



$481,000 

 298, 000 

 423, 000 

 483,000 

 332,000 

 241,000 



248,000 

 363,000 

 (') 



0) 

 0) 



Yellow. 



Quantity 

 (pounds). 



191,000 

 57,000 

 63,000 

 74,000 

 66,000 

 32,000 



24,000 

 30,000 



$43, 000 

 31, 000 

 39, 000 

 44,000 

 16,000 

 13,000 



9,300 

 12, 000 



« 



Grass. 



Quantity 

 (pounds). 



110, COO 

 141, 000 

 109,000 

 143,000 

 77,000 

 129,000 



45,000 

 21,000 



0) 



O 

 1 



Value. 



$17, 000 

 30, 000 

 24,000 

 33,000 

 14,000 

 29,000 



12,000 

 5,500 



?} 



(') 

 



All other. 



Quantity 

 (pounds). 



12,000 

 16, 000 

 22, 000 

 19, 000 

 18,000 

 13, 000 



18,000 

 24,000 



$4,000 

 5,800 

 6,700 

 7,100 

 5,000 

 3,200 



4,000 

 6,500 



8 



1 Not reported separately. 



Red snapper. — The red-snapper fishery has increased 

 steadily in importance, as shown by the following 

 tabular statement of the product for a number of 

 years : 



The increase in both quantity and value of product 

 since 1880 is remarkable, while the average value per 

 pound for 1908 represents a great advance over that 

 for the earlier years shown. This fishery was confined 

 almost entirely to the Gulf waters, and the catch was 

 made exclusively with lines. 



Shad. — The shad fishery was by far the most impor- 

 tant of the Atlantic coast district, contributing 25 per 

 cent of the value of all products of these waters in 1908. 

 Shad ranked third in value among the fish of the state, 

 representing 9 per cent of the value of all products. 

 Compared with the catch for 1902, which was 1,819,- 

 000 pounds, valued at $125,000, the product of 1908 

 shows an increase of 56 per cent in quantity and of 



