306 



FISHERIES OF THE UNITED STATES, 1908. 



Vessel crew. — The regular crew, including the fishermen on the 

 vessel, should be reported as "vessel crew." If the captain or any- 

 Other member of the crew has been reported as a proprietor, he 

 should not be reported here. Where fishermen are working on 

 shares, it will be necessary to estimate the annual wages. Where 

 board is provided for fishermen as part compensation, the value of 

 provisions thus used should not be included in wages, but should 

 be reported separately as provided for in the schedule. 



Quantity and value of catch. — The total catch should be reported. 

 The number of pounds should be obtained if possible, but in cases 

 where it is impossible to estimate the weight the quantity should 

 be reported by some other unit of measurement, the unit used being 

 specified. If the quantity is reported in barrels, casks, boxes, bas- 

 kets, or similar measure, the size of the unit should be stated. It 

 will probably be necessary in most cases to report the quantity of 

 oysters, clams, etc., in bushels. When oysters are reported, a state- 

 ment should be made showing whether they were taken from public 

 or from private beds. The quantities and values of market and seed 

 oysters must be reported separately. 



The prices of fish and fish products vary greatly, according to the 

 season or the state of the market. Agents must familiarize them- 

 selves with the prices prevailing in the section of the country in 

 which they are employed, and in every instance check the quanti- 

 ties and values reported so as to verify the average price and see 

 that it is in harmony with actual conditions. In cases where fishing 

 operations are conducted in connection with a packing house or 

 cannery, the two operations being carried on by two different sets 

 of employees, the entire catch of fresh fish should be reported on 

 the schedule for "Vessel fisheries" or "Shore and boat fisheries," 

 as the case may be, and the products of the packing house or 

 cannery should be reported on the schedule provided for the pur- 

 pose. The two schedules should be attached to each other when 

 sent to the office. 



In cases where fishermen salt or smoke a part of their catch, the 

 same employees being engaged in both the fishing and the salting 

 or smoking, the entire report should be made on a schedule for 

 "Shore and boat fisheries " or for "Vessel fisheries," as the case may 

 be . In such cases each kind of fish caught by each kind of apparatus 

 should be reported in the condition it was when it left the fisher- 

 men's hands — for example, "fresh cod," "salted cod," or "smoked 

 herring." If the fishermen are employed in connection with a 

 cannery, the fish will leave their hands fresh, and should be reported 

 in this way. If they salt or smoke a part or all of their catch, the fish 

 so treated should be reported as they leave their hands; that is to 

 say, as salted or smoked. In reporting fresh fish the weight before 

 being cleaned, commonly known as "round weight," should be 

 given. 



When it is necessary for the fisherman to estimate the quantity 

 and value of the catch, the total quantity and the total value should 

 be entered and the attention of the informant called to such entries 

 before the schedule is signed. 



In reporting a transporting vessel, it is of course unnecessary to 

 answer the question relating to the catch . 



It is the intention of the office to publish separately the quanti- 

 ties and values of each specjes of fish caught during 1908. It is 

 possible that some difficulty will be encountered in obtaining com- 

 plete returns in this detail, and for this reason the attention of the 

 agents is particularly called to this phase of the inquiry. It will be 

 the natural inclination of the fishermen, in giving an estimated 

 report, to mention only the principal kinds of fish caught, but the 

 agents must use every effort to obtain a complete list of the species 

 taken during the year, together with their quantities and values. 



It is frequenter found that, while fishing operations may be car- 

 ried on particularly for the capture of a certain species of fish, still 

 other varieties will almost invariably be taken. These other varie- 

 ties may not appear to the fishermen to be of much importance, but 

 it is believed that the quantities thus caught will in the aggregate 

 be considerable. 



The last report of the Bureau of Fisheries for the state in which 

 the agent is working will show, by counties, the quantities and 

 values of each Bpecies of fish caught during the year covered by the 



report, and it will therefore be well for the agent to familiarize him- 

 self with this list. 



Schedule for Shore and Boat Fisheries EE1-247. 



If several fishermen work together in a sort of partnership arrange- 

 ment, one report should be made for them. When a fisherman 

 works on shares — that is, keeps a part of his catch and delivers the 

 other part to his employer — he should not be considered as an inde- 

 pendent fisherman. 



The instructions for filling the schedule for "Vessel fisheries " will 

 cover most of the inquiries on the schedule for "Shore and boat fish- 

 eries." Special attention is, however, called to the following 

 points: 



Locations. — The location reported should be the point on shore 

 from which the fishing operations are conducted. In many cases a 

 fishing camp is established as a base of operations. 



Waters where fishing is conducted. — The answer to this question 

 should give the name of the body of water where the fishing is con- 

 ducted, as, for example, the name of the river, inlet, bay, or sound. 



Wage-earners. — Only employees actually connected with the 

 fishing should be reported as wage-earners. Shoresmen should 

 include all shore employees directly connected with the catching 

 of fish; for example, it would include persons engaged in mending 

 nets. 



Schedule for Packing Houses and Canneries EE3-249. 



This schedule is intended to cover all packing, preserving, and 

 curing of fish. The operations are not necessarily conducted in 

 buildings, but fish may be salted or otherwise preserved on the 

 beach or even on the deck of the fishing vessel. If the packing or 

 curing is done by the fishermen, the report should be made as indi- 

 cated under " Quantity and value of catch," above. 



If an individual or company operates plants in different states, a 

 separate report should be made for the plants in each state, as it is 

 desired to present statistics separately for the several states. 



Wage-earners. — To obtain the average number of wage-earners 

 employed during the year, the average number employed during 

 the various months should be added and the total divided by 12. 

 The word "none " should not be used in answer to the inquiry aB to 

 the least number employed at any one time in the case of an estab- 

 lishment that had no employees for a part of the year, but the small- 

 est number employed at any one time should be given. 



Fresh fish received at plant. — This should include all fish received 

 at the plant. Spoiled fish received by a fertilizer plant should be 

 reported. If imported fish were received at a plant, that fact should 

 be stated. If partially treated fish are received at the plant and the 

 process completed, the quantity of partially treated fish received 

 at the plant should be reported separately from the quantity of 

 fresh fish received. 



Products. — Under this head should be reported the kind, quantity, 

 and value of fish or sea products, and the nature of the process of 

 treatment (canned, packed, smoked, salted, made into fertilizer, 

 etc.). If the quantity can not be reported in pounds, it should be 

 reported in other terms, and the unit of measurement should be 

 stated. If barrels or casks are reported, their size should be stated. 

 If canned goods are reported in number of cans, the number of cans 

 of each size should be stated; if number of cases are reported, the 

 size of the cans and the number of cans to each case should be given. 

 If canned oysters are reported in pounds, the agent must be careful 

 that the weight given represents the actual contents of the cans. 

 The contents of a 1-pound can of oysters may weigh 10 ounces. 

 Therefore in this case sixteen 1-pound cans of oysters should be 

 reported as 10 pounds. If by-products are reported, the various 

 kinds should be named or described, and the quantities and values 

 of the principal by-products should be reported separately. 



The difference between the weight of the green fish and the 

 finished product of the cannery depends largely upon the process 

 employed and the character of the finished product. This variation, 

 however, must be carefully noted at the time of preparing the 

 reports, and when it is excessive or apparently insufficient, a proper 

 memorandum of explanation should be given under "Remarks" on 

 the last page of the schedule. 



