FISHERIES, BY STATES. 



145 



1 Includes apparatus, with catch, as follows: Lobster and eel pots, 1,115,000 pounds 

 tongs, etc., 563,000 pounds, valued at $42,000; bag nets, 11,000 pounds, valued at $600; 

 at $400. 



s Less than $100. 3 10,000 gallons. 



MARYLAND. 



In respect to fisheries Maryland stands high among 

 the states, ranking fifth in 1908, with a product valued 

 at $3,306,000. Likewise the fisheries of Maryland 

 rank high among the industries of the state. Chesa- 

 peake Bay and its tributary streams, the Potomac, 

 Susquehanna, Patuxent, Choptank, Nanticoke, and 

 lesser rivers, form the greatest oyster area in the world. 

 In 1908 the value of the oyster product constituted 

 two-thirds of the total value of the fishery product of 

 the state. 



The fishing grounds of Maryland are naturally 

 divided into two districts comprising those of the 

 Atlantic Ocean and those of Chesapeake Bay and its 

 tributary waters. As the water front of the state on 

 Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries is much more 

 extensive than the Atlantic water front, the Chesa- 

 peake Bay fisheries are much more important than 

 those of the Atlantic Ocean, which in 1908 contributed 

 only 4 per cent of the total value of fishery products 

 for the state. 



The following statement gives a general summary 

 of the statistics of the state's fisheries for 1908: 



Number of persons employed 1 8 > 39 2 



Capital: 



Vessels and boats, including outfit $1, 644, 000 



Apparatus of capture 369 > °°0 



Shore and accessory property and cash 86, 000 



Value of products 3, 306, 000 



, valued at $137,000; harpoons, spears, etc. ,505,000 pounds, valued at $43,000; dredges, 

 dip nets, 88,000 pounds, valued at $300; and minor apparatus, 13,000 pounds, valued 



1 59,000 gallons. & 11,000 gallons. 



Comparison with previous canvasses. — A comparison 

 of the general statistics for different years shows con- 

 siderable fluctuations. The following tabular state- 

 ment gives the number of persons employed, exclusive 

 of shoresmen, the capital invested, and the products, 

 as shown by the census returns for 1880 and 1908 and 

 the reports of the Bureau of Fisheries for 1891, 1897, 

 and 1904: 



Persons employed. — The statistics of the persons 

 employed in the fisheries of the state in 1908 are shown 

 in the next tabular statement. 



All the shoresmen were connected with shore and 

 boat fisheries. In this class of fisheries 13,326 persons 

 were employed, as compared with only 4,046 persons 

 in vessel fisheries and 1,020 on transporting vessels. 

 Wage-earners outnumbered proprietors and independ- 

 ent fishermen by only a small percentage. The 9,948 

 salaried employees and wage-earners were paid in cash 

 and provisions $1,036,000, an amount equal to 31 per 

 cent of the value of the fishery products. 



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