108 
BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 
More than a third of the aggregate increase in the value of products during the 
decade specified accrued from oysters. In all the States the augmentation of the out- 
put of this product since 1880 has been phenomenally large. The following table gives 
by States the quantity and value of oysters taken in this region in 1880 and 1890: 
9. — Comparative table showing by States the oyster yield of the Gulf States in 18S0 and 1890. 
1880. 
1890. 
Bushels. 
Value. 
Bushels. 
V alue. 
Florida 
58, 600 
$10, 950 
371, 081 
$93, 692 
Alabama 
104, 500 
44, 950 
481, 070 
107, 812 
Mississippi 
25, 000 
10, 000 
806, 478 
160, 672 
Louisiana 
295, 000 
*118, 000 
841, 585 
299, 896 
Texas 
95, 625 
47, 300 
440, 800 
127, 990 
Total 
578, 725 
231, 200 
2, 941, 014 
796, 062 
* The value assigned in “ The Fisheries and Fishery Industries of the United States,” Section II, is $200,000, or nearly 
70 cents a bushel. This is a manifest error, and conflicts with other statements in the same report. The price given in 
this table is thought to he approximately correct. 
11.— FISHERIES OF FLORIDA. 
Note on the geography of the coast . — The west side of Florida has a larger coast 
line than any other Gulf State, the approximate length being 2,810 miles. The shores 
are very low and are indented with numerous bays, sounds, and lagoons. These are 
generally shut in from the open waters of the Gulf by keys and low sand-spits, which 
are important factors to the fishing interests, as nearly all the shore fishing is carried 
on in the shallow water between them and the mainland. The water in most of the 
bays and sounds is very clear. Many of the indentations are remarkable for exten- 
sive mud and grassy flats and “ coon-oyster” bars, which restrict navigation or render 
it difficult. The principal indentations are Charlotte Harbor, Tampa Bay, Wiccas- 
sassee Bay, Apalachee Bay, St. George Sound, Apalachicola Bay, St. Andrew Bay, 
Choctawhatchee Bay, Santa Rosa Sound, and Pensacola Bay, the second and last 
affording excellent anchorage and harbor facilities to large vessels. The rivers and 
small streams entering the Gulf are numerous, and some are navigable for considerable 
distances. The most important are the Caloosahatchee, Manatee, Withlacoochee, 
Suwannee, Apalachicola, Choctawhatchee, and Escambia. 
There are numerous cities, towns, villages, and “camps” located at frequent inter- 
vals along the coast that are more or less interested in or dependent upon the fisher- 
ies, among which may be mentioned Key West, Punta Gorda, St. Petersburg, Tampa, 
Cedar Keys, Apalachicola, St. Andrew Bay, and Pensacola. 
Importance of the fisheries . — In most respects, the fisheries of ivestern Florida are 
more important and extensive than those of any other State of this region. The num- 
ber of persons engaged in the industry is the same as in Louisiana, but in the value 
of the fishing property and in the quantity and, value of the catch Florida is far in 
advance of other States. Since 1880 there has been a noteworthy advance in the fish- 
eries, as shown in the previous section of this report. Florida is now the only State 
