188 



FISHERIES OF THE UNITED STATES, 1908. 



NEBRASKA. 



In 1908 commercial fishing in this state was confined 

 to shore and boat fishing in the Missouri River. The 

 products comprised seven species, of which the chief 

 was German carp. The other kinds of fish taken, 

 named in the order of the value of the catch, were cat- 

 fish, buffalo fish, paddlefish, sturgeon, fresh-water 

 drum, and pike perch, or wall-eyed pike. The follow- 

 ing statement gives a summary of the principal statis- 

 tics of the industry for 1908: 



Number of persona employed 129 



Capital: 



Boats $1, 300 



Apparatus of capture 2, 500 



Shore and accessory property 600 



Value of products 22, 000 



Comparison with previous canvasses. — While, in the 

 number of persons employed, value of boats, and quan- 

 tity of product, the figures for 1908 show decreases, as 

 compared with previous canvasses, there has been a 

 decided increase in the value of the apparatus of cap- 

 ture and in the value of the product. The following 

 tabular statement gives the principal statistics for 

 1894, 1899, and 1908: 



Persons employed. — The Nebraska fisheries furnished 

 employment for 129 persons in 1908. Of these, 115 

 were proprietors and independent fishermen and 14 



were wage-earners. The wage-earners received $900 

 in wages during the year. 



Equipment and other capital. — The capital invested 

 in the industry was distributed as follows : Rowboats, 

 $1,300; apparatus of capture, $2,500; and shore and 

 accessory property, $600. 



There were 96 boats reported, and their value was 

 slightly less than the value of boats reported in 1899, 

 but over twice that reported in 1894. The total invest- 

 ment in apparatus of capture in 1908 shows a consider- 

 able increase over the amount reported for this item in 

 1899. 



In 1908, 38 seines, 217 fyke and hoop nets, 60 pots 

 and traps, and 32 trammel nets were reported. 



Products. — The fishery products of the state, distrib- 

 uted by species and apparatus of capture, are given in 

 the following table. 



The leading species was German carp, which repre- 

 sented 64 per cent of the weight of all the fishery prod- 

 ucts of Nebraska and 53 per cent of the total value. 

 The catch of this fish has increased greatly within the 

 past few years, as a quantity valued at only $100 was 

 caught in 1894, and none was reported in 1899. The 

 catfish product, 66,000 pounds, valued at $6,600, was 

 considerably smaller in quantity but somewhat larger 

 in value than that reported in 1899, which was 85,000 

 pounds, valued at $6,100. The catch of buffalo fish, 

 43,000 pounds, was less than a third of that reported in 

 1899, 138,000 pounds; but a comparison of the respec- 

 tive values of the two catches, $2,200 for that of 1908 

 and $4,900 for that of 1899, shows an increase in the 

 average price per pound. The quantity of this fish 

 reported in 1894 was 169,000 pounds, valued at $7,000. 



The catch of sturgeon in 1908 was somewhat less in 

 quantity and in value than in 1899, while that of pad- 

 dlefish was greater both in quantity and in value. 



NEBRASKA— FISHERY PRODUCTS: 1908. 



i Less than $100. 



2 Less than 100 pounds. 



