266 



FISHERIES OF THE UNITED STATES, 1908. 



page 269. Statistics as to the products of the shore 

 and boat fisheries of the Pacific Ocean district are 

 given in Table 6, on page 270. 



The total catch of the vessel fisheries was 40,171,000 

 pounds, valued at $1,569,000, representing 40 per 

 cent and 45 per cent, respectively, of the correspond- 

 ing totals for the state. Halibut was the principal 

 product, forming 75 per cent of the total catch of the 

 vessel fisheries, and contributing 79 per cent of the 

 total value of their products. Cod, salmon, oysters, 

 and shrimp were other products of importance. The 

 bulk of the catch of the vessel fisheries was made 

 by lines, seines, and dredges and tongs, 87 per cent 

 of the quantity being taken by lines. Less than 1 per 

 cent of the total product was caught by gill nets and 

 trawls. The total catch of the vessel fisheries was 

 credited to the Pacific Ocean district, no fishing ves- 

 sels being employed in the Columbia River fisheries. 



The shore and boat fisheries produced 60 per cent 

 of the total quantity and 55 per cent of the total value 

 of fishery products of Washington in 1908. Salmon 

 formed the chief product, and of the total salmon catch 

 in the state 92 per cent, representing 95 par cent 

 of the value, was reported by the shore and boat 

 fisheries. Pound nets, gill nets, and seines were the 

 apparatus most extensively used in this class of 

 fisheries. • 



Of the total quantity reported for the fisheries of 

 the Pacific Ocean district, 55 per cent, with a value 

 equal to 48 per cent of the total value, represented the 

 products of the shore and boat fisheries of these 

 waters, comprising mainly salmon, together with 

 oysters and other shellfish. 



Products, oy apparatus of capture. — The following 

 tabular statement shows the value of the products 

 taken, by the principal kinds of apparatus of capture 

 used, in 1908: 



The line catch was larger in respect both to quan- 

 tity and value than the catch credited to any other 

 kind of apparatus used in 1908. Halibut represented 

 86 per cent of the quantity and 90 per cent of the 



value of products taken by lines, cod and rockfish 

 being the only other kinds of fish included in this 

 catch. 



The greater part of the catch reported as taken by 

 pound nets, gill nets, and seines consisted of salmon, 

 although large quantities of herring, smelt, flounders, 

 and shrimp are caught by seines. 



Salmon. — Salmon is the principal product of the 

 Washington fisheries both in quantity and value, the 

 catch of 1908 amounting to 54,312,000 pounds, valued 

 at $1,571,000, although this represents a decrease of 

 20 per cent in quantity and of 19 per cent in value 

 since 1904, when a catch of 68,252,000 pounds, valued 

 at $1,943,000, was reported. The several species all 

 shared in these decreases, with the exception of the 

 blueback, or sockeye, and the steelhead. For the 

 former an increase of 9 per cent in quantity was re- 

 ported, which was accompanied, however, by a de- 

 crease of 3 per cent in value, and for the steelhead an 

 increase of 26 per cent in quantity and a gain of 56 per 

 cent in value were reported. 



• Both in 1908 and 1904 the largest catch reported 

 for any single species was for the silver salmon, 

 although the later canvass shows marked decreases 

 in both the quantity and the value of this species, 

 amounting to 46 per cent and 49 per cent, respectively. 

 Dog salmon was next in importance, so far as the 

 amount of the catch was concerned, followed closely 

 by the blueback and the chinook. Owing to the supe- 

 rior quality of the last-named species, however, the 

 value of the catch was greater than that reported for 

 any other species of salmon, the blueback being a close 

 second in this respect, while for dog salmon, on ac- 

 count of its inferiority as a food fish, the smallest value 

 was reported, in spite of the large catch of this species. 

 The marked falling off, as compared with 1904, both 

 in the quantity and value of the chinook catch, ac- 

 companied by the increase in the catch of the blue- 

 back salmon, makes it probable that the latter may 

 in time become the most important product of the 

 salmon fisheries of the state. Both species are largely 

 sold fresh, being frozen and shipped in refrigerator cars 

 to eastern markets. 



The following tabular statement distributes the 

 salmon catch of the state according to the different 

 waters from which it was taken: 



FISHING GROUND. 



Total 



Puget Sound 



Columbia River. 

 G rays Harbor ... 



Willapa Bay 



Quiniault River. 

 Bellingham Bay 



salmon product: 1908. 



Quantity 

 (pounds). 



54,312,000 



37,571,000 



10,015,000 



3,203,000 



1,781,000 



780,000 



961,000 



Value. 



$1,571,000 



995,000 

 475,000 

 45,000 

 24,000 

 22,000 

 11,000 



