FISHERIES OF THE SOUTH ATLANTIC STATES. 
279 
COMPARISONS BETWEEN 1880 AND 1890. 
Data are available for an interesting and important comparison between the 
present extent of the fisheries of the South Atlantic States and their condition in 
1880. The exhibition of the changes which have occurred during this decade, as given 
in the following tables, constitutes one of the most valuable uses which the statistics 
subserve. 
From Table 7 it will be observed that there has been a marked increase in the 
number of persons engaged in the industry, the advance being participated in by every 
State. The number of fishermen increased 5,800, the number of shoresmen was aug- 
mented by 2,055, and the total increase in the fishing population was 8,455, or more 
than 100 per cent. The order of rank of the States as regards their numerical increase 
was North Carolina, South Carolina,. Florida, and Georgia. The ratio of increase was 
greatest in Florida, after which came South Carolina, North Carolina, and Georgia. 
A comparative statement of the vessels, boats, and apparatus used in 1880 and 
1890 is given in Table 8. An increase in tire invested capital, amounting to $993,126, 
is seen to have taken place in all the States. The increase is in the number and 
value of vessels, boats, and almost every form of apparatus, but is especially marked 
in the items of boats, pound nets, gill nets, and shore property and cash capital. The 
largest advance is in North Carolina, where the fishery investment was $737,427 more 
in 1890 than in 1880 ; the percentage of increase, however, was greatest in Florida. 
The value of the fisheries in 1890 exceeded by $317,126 that of 1880. The increase 
was largest in North Carolina, where it aggregated $181,974, and was smallest in 
Georgia, where it amounted to only $3,570; Avliile in South Carolina there was a 
decrease of $9,880. The advance was relatively greatest in Florida, being $141,462, 
or over 180 per cent. Among fish, every important species, except sturgeon, has an 
increased value, considering the entire region, although in North Carolina the shad 
shows a decrease, owing to a reduction in the average price, the quantity taken being 
much larger than in 1880. The increase in the value of the fish caught was $185,479, 
of which $102,325 represented shad. The sturgeon fishery declined $45,725. Next 
to fish, the largest advance has been in mollusks, especially oysters. The increase in 
oysters in the ten years intervening between the two investigations was $134,141, 
although the net increase in mollusks was only $126,826, owing to a decline in the 
clam fishery. The value of the reptiles taken in the fisheries of this region appears 
to have increased $14,413, although the result of the terrapin fishery in North Caro- 
lina in 1890 was $6,160 less than in 1880. A decrease in the catch of crustaceans 
aggregating $13,990 is to be observed, depending on a falling off in the shrimp fishery 
of South Carolina. The entire value of the porpoise fishery in 1890 is a gain over 
1880, in which year no porpoises were taken. The details of the changes in the fish- 
eries of the several States during the decade are brought out in Table 9. 
