316 REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONER OF FISHERIES. 



Table showing the extent of the wholesale fish trade of Rhode Island in 1902. 



Items. 



No. 



Value. 



Establishments . . 



Cash capital 



Wages paid 



Persons engaged . 



$33, 160 

 19, 750 

 20, 100 



FISHERIES OF CONNECTICUT. 



The returns for the fisheries of Connecticut in 1902 show a slight 

 increase over those for 1898, The number of men increased from 

 2,473 to 2,840, due almost entirely to the additional employees in the 

 oyster-shucking houses. The persons actually employed in fishing 

 increased only from 1,809 to 1,812. The value of vessels, boats, 

 apparatus of capture, shore property, etc., decreased from $1,241,291 

 to $1,201,055. 



The most noticeable change is in the value of the catch, which 

 increased from $1,559,599 in 1898 to $1,799,381 in 1902, which is more 

 than in any previous year for which statistics are available. In 1889 

 the value of the catch was $1,557,506, and in 1880 it was $1,456,866. 

 There was an increase from 1898 to 1902 in the quantity of the prod- 

 ucts taken from 31,920,417 to 37,832,149 pounds, due principally 

 to the greater catch of menhaden, the yield of which in 1898 was 

 11,182,910 pounds, against 16,876,690 pounds in 1902. Considering 

 only the products used for food, the quantity in 1902 was only 1 per 

 cent greater than in 1898. The average value of the food species in 

 1898 was 7.39 cents and in 1902 8.36 cents per pound. 



The principal items in the fishery products of Connecticut are seed 

 and market oysters; in 1902 1,233,469 bushels of the former, worth 

 $598,948, were taken, and 848,065 bushels of the latter, worth 

 $872,634. The seed oysters were sold for planting in New York, 

 Rhode Island, Massachusetts, California, and other states; 182,913 

 bushels of market oysters, worth $174,158, were sold in the shell, 

 principally for export to Europe, and the remainder were opened 

 before shipment. Of the above quantities, the public or free grounds 

 yielded 35,676 bushels of seed, worth $11,875, and 9,880 bushels of 

 market oysters, worth $5,877, the remainder coming from the culti- 

 vated grounds. Owing to a lack of set during the last four years the 

 present outlook for the oyster industry in Connecticut is not especially 

 gratifying. 



The yield of quahogs or hard clams has decreased from 29,250 

 bushels, w^orth $1.02 per bushel in 1898, to 18,927 bushels, worth 

 $1.31 per bushel in 1902. In the last year or two several oyster 

 planters have given some attention to planting quahogs, and it seems 

 probable that this may result in a largely increased output in a few 



