FISHERIES, BY STATES. 



237 



SOUTH CAROLINA. 



The value of the fishery products of South Carolina 

 in 1908 was less than the value reported for any other 

 South Atlantic state. Oysters contributed nearly half 

 of the total value, while shad was the most valu- 

 able species of fish proper. A canning industry of 

 considerable extent located at Charleston disposed of 

 a large part of the oyster product, and of small quan- 

 tities of mullet, shrimp, and clams. 



The following statement presents a summary of the 

 statistics of the fishing industry for 1908: 



Number of persons employed 2 559 



Capital: 



Vessels and boats, including outfit $92, 000 



Apparatus of capture 16 000 



Shore and accessory property and cash 5 400 



Value of products 288 000 



Comparison with previous canvasses. — From the 

 tabular statement given below, which presents com- 

 parative statistics for the years for which canvasses 

 of the South Carolina fisheries have been made, it will 

 be seen that the canvass of 1887 showed a decrease in 

 both quantity and value of products, as compared 

 with the preceding canvass, but that each subsequent 

 canvass has shown an increase in these items. In- 

 creases in the number of persons employed and in the 

 capital invested in equipment, which took place 

 between 1880 and 1890, were followed by decreases in 

 1897, but increases were reported in 1902 and 1908, 

 although the number of persons employed in 1908 was 

 less than the number employed in 1890. 



i Does uot include fisheries above tidewater. 2 Not reported separately. 



Persons employed. — The following tabular statement 

 gives statistics as to the persons employed in 1908: 



i Exclusive of 47 proprietors not fishing. 



2 Includes provisions furnished to the value of $25. 



All of the shoresmen were employed in shore and 

 boat fisheries. The independent fishermen in the 

 shore and boat fisheries largely outnumbered those 

 employing wage-earners. The low average amount 

 of wages paid indicates that a large number of the 

 wage-earners were employed for only a part of the 

 time. 



Equipment and other capital. — The following tabular 

 statement gives the value of the equipment and the 

 amount of other capital employed, the number and 

 tonnage of vessels, and the number of boats employed 

 in the fisheries of the state : 



All the cash capital and shore and accessory prop- 

 erty pertained to shore and boat fisheries. The total 

 investment was therefore distributed as follows: In 

 shore and boat fisheries, $63,000; in vessel fisheries, 

 $44,000; and in transporting vessels, $7,700. 



The investment in fishing vessels and their outfits 

 and that in boats were substantially the same. To- 

 gether they represented nearly three-fourths of the 

 total capital. Of the investment in apparatus of 

 capture, only a small portion pertained to the vessel 

 fisheries. The numbers of the more important kinds of 

 apparatus reported, all of which with the exception of 

 one seine were employed in the shore and boat fisher- 

 ies, were as follows: 



Bow nets 12 



Cast nets. 281 



Dip nets 20 



Gill nets 269 



Harpoons, spears, etc 26 



Seines 27 



Shrimp nets 92 



Products, by species.— Table 1, on page 240, gives 

 the fishery products of the state, by species and by 

 apparatus of capture. Though a large number of 

 species are represented, oysters contributed 78 per 

 cent of the total weight and 48 per cent of the total 

 value. The value of the catch of fish proper constituted 

 43 per cent of the total value of products. Shad was 



