AMERICA'S SURPASSING FISHERIES 



547 



acquiring wealth by fishing and trading. 

 The first articles exported from New 

 England were fish, and the commerce 

 and navigation of that section were 

 founded on fish. Most of the conflicts 

 between the English and French colonies, 

 which continued for 150 years and termi- 

 nated on the Plains of Abraham, grew 

 out of or involved disputes over the fish- 

 eries. 



With the extension of our country, 

 new aquatic wealth was found and util- 

 ized, contributing materially to early de- 

 velopment and subsequent prosperity ; 

 particularly noteworthy were the oyster 



and actual importance of the different 

 groups is shown in the accompanying 

 diagram. 



TH^ vanishing whales 



Most prominent among the aquatic 

 mammals are various kinds of whales 

 and the Alaskan fur seal. At the out- 

 break of the American Revolution and for 

 a period of 75 years following the con- 

 clusion of that struggle, whaling was the 

 most important branch of the American 

 fisheries. From 500 to 700 vessels sought 

 whales in all the oceans and seas of the 

 world, and in one year New Bedford 



Classes 



Mammals 



Fishes 



Mollusks 



Crustaceans 



Miscellaneous 



Millions ofDollars 



IS 20 25 30 35 40 



50 



$1,100,000 



$48,700,00 

 $21,000,000 



$4/*oo,ooo 



$ 1,250,000 



ILLUSTRATION OF THE) ANNUAL VALUE) OL AMERICA' S FISHERIES 



The oyster industry accounts for the principal value of the mollusk fisheries, while the 

 lobsters and crabs constitute the principal part of the crustacean catch. Seals and whales 

 contribute the bulk of the returns of the mammal fisheries. 



beds and river fishes of the Middle and 

 South Atlantic States, the whitefish and 

 other food fishes of the Great Lakes, and 

 the salmons of the Pacific States. 



With the acquisition of Alaska there 

 came to us marine resources of such 

 transcendent value as to overshadow all 

 other natural products and to give the 

 United States fisheries the leading place 

 among the nations. 



The creatures which support our fish- 

 eries are not all fish, but belong in various 

 classes, some of those contributing most 

 notably to the importance of the industry 

 being crustaceans and mollusks. In a 

 total annual value at the present time of 

 approximately $76,000,000, the relative 



alone sent out 300 vessels, whose cargoes 

 of bone and oil were the basis of the 

 industrial life of the city. 



The pursuit of sperm whales reached 

 its climax in 1837, when oil valued at 

 nearly four and a half million dollars 

 was brought in, mostly from the South 

 Pacific. The height of the industry was 

 in 1846, when 70,000 persons derived 

 their support from whales, and 720 ves- 

 sels, valued at $21,000,000, were engaged. 



For more than fifty years the fishery 

 has been declining, and in numerous ports 

 that once derived most of their wealth 

 from the industry there have for a long" 

 time existed only memories of former 

 greatness. For a number of vears the 



