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FISHERIES OF THE UNITED STATES, 1908. 



Salt-water drum. — Salt-water drum, channel bass, 

 or redfish, represented 12 per cent of the value of the 

 total product, 4 per cent of the value of the vessel 

 product, and 16 per cent of the value of the shore and 

 boat product. Of the total quantity, 92 per cent was 

 from shore and boat fisheries. Seines took 93 per cent 

 of the product, and over one-half of the remainder was 

 taken with lines. Although the catch of this product 

 in 1908 was the largest ever reported, the value 

 was the same as in 1897, as the following tabular 

 statement shows: 



Squeteague. — The value of squeteague, or sea trout, 

 formed 10 per cent of the value of all fishery products. 

 Though ranking fourth in value among the products 

 in the vessel fisheries, the species represented only 3 

 per cent of the total value of products of this class of 

 fisheries. In the shore and boat fisheries the value of 

 this fish formed 14 per cent of the value of all. products 

 and ranked first among fish proper. Of the total 

 squeteague catch, 90 per cent was reported for the 

 shore and boat fisheries. Seines are credited with 92 

 per cent of the total quantity and lines with three- 



fifths of the remainder. The catch of this fish has 

 been fairly constant for the several years for which 

 statistics are available, as will appear from the fol- 

 lowing tabular statement : 



Catfish. — The value of catfish constituted 6 per cent 

 of the total value of the products of the Texas fisheries. 

 This species was caught almost entirely in the shore 

 and boat fisheries, and the value of the catch com- 

 prised 9 per cent of the value of products for this class 

 of fisheries. Something less than one-half of the 

 product was taken with seines, while the remainder 

 was taken chiefly with lines. The catch of catfish 

 shows a large increase since 1902, as will be seen from 

 the following tabular statement: 



