FISHERIES, BY STATES. 



175 



Products, by species. — The fishery products of the 

 state in 1908 are distributed by species and by appa- 

 ratus of capture in Table 1, on page 177. The total 

 of 7,475,000 pounds, valued at $192,000, represents a 

 large increase over the products in 1899, the latest year 

 prior to 1908 for which complete data for the state as a 

 whole are available. In 1899 the total yield, as re- 

 ported by the Bureau of Fisheries, was only 1,931,000 

 pounds, with a value of $55,000. The year 1899, how- 

 ever, is an unfavorable year for comparison because 

 of the fact that restrictive legislation recently passed 

 had caused a temporary decline in the fishery activi- 

 ties of the state. A more correct conception of the 

 rate of decrease may be obtained from a comparison 

 of the figures for 1908 with those given in the report 

 of the Bureau of Fisheries for 1894, which showed the 

 fishery products of the Mississippi River district of the 

 state alone in that year to be 6,401,000 pounds. 



The catch of fish proper in 1908 amounted in the 

 aggregate to 6,616,000 pounds, or 89 per cent of the 

 total weight of all fishery products, and was valued at 

 $173,000, or 90 per cent of the total value of such 

 products. 



Products, by JlsTiing grounds. — The products of the 

 Mississippi River and its tributaries and those of the 

 Lake Superior district for 1908 are given in detail, by 

 species and by apparatus of capture, in Tables 2 and 3, 

 on pages 177 and 178, respectively. 



The catch of the Mississippi River district amounted 

 to 3,674,000 pounds and had a value of $109,000, 

 while the catch of the fisheries of Lake Superior 

 amounted to 3,802,000 pounds, valued at $83,000. In 

 the fisheries of the Mississippi River and its tributa- 

 ries the value of fish proper constituted 82 per cent of 

 the value of the total product, while in the Lake Supe- 

 rior district the entire product was fish proper. Of the 

 value of fish, 48 per cent was reported for the Lake 

 Superior fisheries and 52 per cent for the Mississippi 

 River fisheries. The most important product of the 

 Mississippi River district was German carp, for which 

 a value of $26,000, or 24 per cent of the total for 

 the district, was reported, although the value of the 

 -buffalo-fish product was nearly as great. 



In the Lake Superior district herring was the prin- 

 cipal product, with a value of $38,000, or 46 per cent 

 of the total value of the products of this district. 



The next tabular statement gives the distribution 

 of the value of fishery products, according to species 

 and districts. 



The quantity and value of the products taken by the 

 fisheries of the Lake Superior waters show a gradual 

 increase, according to the reports of the Bureau of 

 Fisheries. The Lake Superior products amounted to 

 183,000 pounds, valued at $6,200, in 1890; 609,000 

 pounds, valued at $14,000, in 1899; and 2,176,000 

 pounds, valued at $45,000, in 1903.' 



Total 



Fish 



Lake herring 



Carp, German 



Buffalo fish 



Catfish and bullheads 



Pike perch 



Lake trout 



Sturgeon and caviar 



Pike and pickerel 



Whiteflsh 



All other 



Mussel shells, pearls, and slugs 



Frogs 



All other 



value of products: 1908. 



Total. 



8192,000 



173,000 

 38,000 

 26,000 

 22,000 

 14,000 

 12,000 

 12, 000 

 11,000 

 11,000 

 10,000 

 15,000 

 8,400 

 7,900 

 2,900 



Mississippi 



River 



district. 



$109,000 



90,000 



26,000 



22,000 



14,000 



1,100 



6,800 

 5,900 



14,000 

 8,400 

 7,900 

 2,900 



Lake 

 Superior 

 district. 



$83,000 



83,000 

 38,000 



11,000 

 12,000 

 5,400 

 5,100 

 10,000 

 1,000 



In the following tabular statement the distribution 

 of the value of products of the Lake Superior district 

 in 1908 is shown, by species and by waters: 



It appears that lake herring and lake trout were 

 the only fish caught in any considerable quantity in 

 Lake Superior itself. All of the pike perch, sturgeon, 

 pike, and pickerel, and nearly all of the whiteflsh re- 

 ported for the Lake Superior district were obtained 

 from the Lake of the Woods and Rainy Lake. 



Products, by apparatus of capture. — The distribution 

 of products, by kind of apparatus used and by fishery 

 districts, is given in the following tabular statement: 



KIND OF APPARATUS. 



Total 



Seines 



Gill nets 



Pound nets 



Lines 



Crowfoot dredges, etc 



Frog, mink, and muskrat traps 



Fyke and hoop nets 



All other 



value of products: 1908. 



$192,000 



W, 01 HI 

 50. OOll 

 44,000 

 22.000 

 8,300 

 2.SO0 

 2.MI0 



Mississippi 



River 



district. 



53. Ollll 

 1,500 

 10.000 

 21,000 

 8,300 

 2,800 

 2.800 

 9,800 



Lake 

 Superior 

 district. 



$83,000 



48,000 



33,000 



1,500 



On the basis of the value of products taken, seines, 

 gill nets, and pound nets were the most important 

 forms of apparatus of capture, the value of their catch 

 together constituting three-fourths of the total value 

 of all products. For the Lake Superior waters the 



