FISHERIES, BY STATES. 



147 



The heavy catch of menhaden stood relatively low in 

 value, and was exceeded in this respect by striped 

 bass, squeteague, and muskrat skins. 



Products, by fishing grounds. — Table 2, on page 150, 

 gives the products of the Maryland fisheries in the 

 Chesapeake Bay district by species and by apparatus 

 of capture, and Table 3, on page 151, gives similar 

 statistics for the Maryland fisheries of the Atlantic 

 Ocean, all of which were of the shore and boat class. 

 For the Chesapeake Bay district the leading products, 

 in the order of value, were the same as those already 

 noted for the state, namely, oysters, crabs, shad, and 

 alewives; while for the Atlantic Ocean fisheries the 

 leading products with respect to value were squeteague, 

 oysters, sturgeon (including caviar), and yellow perch, 

 in the order named. 



Total. 



$3,306,000 



Fish 



Shad 



Alewives, or river her- 

 ring 



Striped bass 



Squeteague, or sea trout. 



Perch, white 



Menhaden 



Perch, yellow 



Catfish 



Sturgeon, caviar, and 

 sturgeon eggs 



Eels 



All other 



Oysters 



Market 



Seed 



Crabs 



Clams 



Skins, muskrat and otter . . 

 All other* 



VALUE OF PRODUCTS: 



684,000 

 247,000 



157,000 

 65,000 

 47,000 

 30,000 

 30,000 

 22, 000 

 18,000 



16,000 



13,000 



40,000 



2,228,000 



2,127,000 



101,000 



319,000 



16,000 



50,000 



7,800 



$3,187,000 



Distributed by 

 districts. 



Chesa- 

 peake Bay 

 district. 



592,000 

 247,000 



155,000 

 62,000 

 6,200 

 28,000 

 30,000 

 15,000 

 18,000 



1,600 



12,000 



17,000 



2, 205, 000 



2,113,000 



92,000 



319,000 



15,000 



50,000 



6,400 



Atlantic 

 Ocean 

 district. 



$119,000 



92,000 

 0) 



1,100 

 3,500 

 40,000 

 2,400 

 400 

 7,200 



14,000 



500 



22,000 



24,000 



14,000 



9,600 



100 



1,400 



1,400 



Distributed by class 

 of fisheries. 



Vessel 

 fisheries. 



$767,000 



$2,539,000 



67,000 

 20,000 



4,600 

 3,700 



100 



1,500 



30,000 



400 



4,900 

 1,300 

 686, 000 

 676,000 

 9,600 

 15,000 



Shore 

 and boat 

 fisheries. 



618,000 

 227,000 



152, 000 

 61,000 

 46,000 

 29,000 

 400 

 22,000 

 18,000 



16,000 



7,800 



38,000 



,543,000 



,451,000 



92,000 



305,000 



16,000 



50,000 



2 7,800 



i Less than $100. 



2 Includes products valued as follows: Terrapin, $4,900; frogs, $500; turtles, $400; 

 squid, $200; and sea grass, $1,700. 



Products, by class of fisheries.— Table 4, on page 151, 

 gives the products for 1908, by species and by appa- 

 ratus of capture, for the vessel fisheries of the state, 

 all of which are confined to the Chesapeake Bay dis- 

 trict, and Table 5, on page 152, gives similar data for 

 the shore and boat fisheries. In the latter the four 

 leading species — oysters, crabs, shad, and alewives — 

 aggregated 81,019,000 pounds, or 94 per cent of the 

 total product, and their combined value was $2, 226, 000, 

 or 88 per cent of the total. Oysters alone contributed 

 89 per cent to the total value of products of the vessel 

 fisheries and 61 per cent to the total value of products 

 of the shore and boat fisheries. Of the value of the 

 Maryland oyster product, 31 per cent was reported by 

 the vessel fisheries and 69 per cent by the shore and 

 boat fisheries. Practically the entire catch of men- 

 haden was made by vessels. With the exception of 

 oysters and menhaden, the catch by vessels was small, 



compared with that of the shore and boat fisheries. 

 The products of the shore and boat fisheries of the 

 Chesapeake Bay district, which in the aggregate 

 amounted to 83,247,000 pounds, having a value of 

 $2,420,000, can readily be ascertained by subtracting 

 the items of Table 4 from the corresponding items of 

 Table 2 giving the total products of the Chesapeake 

 Bay district. 



The tabular statement immediately preceding shows 

 the distribution of the value of products reported for 

 the leading species between the vessel fisheries and the 

 shore and boat fisheries. 



Products, by apparatus of capture. — All but 5 per 

 cent of the total products, increased by value, was 

 taken with the five classes of apparatus specified in 

 the following tabular statement: 



On account of the large oyster catch, dredges, tongs, 

 etc., are by far the most important apparatus of cap- 

 ture in both the vessel and the shore and boat fisheries 

 of Chesapeake Bay; but in the Atlantic Ocean fish- 

 eries the largest catch was credited to pound and trap 

 nets. For the fisheries of the state pound and trap 

 nets are second in importance as apparatus of capture, 

 and are used for taking a large number of species. 

 Alewives made up the bulk of/ the catch, contributing 

 82 per cent of the total weight and 32 per cent of 

 the total value; shad stood second, following closely 

 in value, although the weight of this product was only 

 one-fifteenth as great as that of the alewife catch; and 

 squeteague was third. 



Oysters. — The oyster product of Maryland for 1908 

 was substantially greater than that for 1904 but less 

 than that for 1897. The yield for 1904 was abnor- 

 mally small, a fact attributed by some authorities to 

 the two exceptionally cold winters just preceding, 

 which killed many of the oysters. The value of the 

 product, however, steadily decreased from $2,885,000 

 in 1897 to $2,418,000 in 1904 and to $2,228,000 in 1908. 

 This decrease of $657,000, or 23 per cent, in the value 

 of the oyster product during the 11 years from 1897 

 to 1908 contrasts sharply with an increase of $345,000, 

 or 47 per cent, in the aggregate value of all other 

 fishery products during the same period. From 1904 

 to 1908, however, the decrease in the value of the 

 oyster yield, which amounted to $189,000, or 8 per 



