320 
BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 
Comparing the extent of the fisheries of Georgia in 1890 with that in 1880, it is to 
be observed that an advance has occurred in the number of persons employed, the 
amount of capital invested, and the value of the products of the salt-water fisheries, 
while in the river fisheries there has been such a serious decline in the value of the 
sturgeon and alewives that the aggregate output for the State is eleven thousand 
dollars less than in 1880. The increase in the yield of oysters, shad, terrapin, and 
squeteague is a noticeable feature of the fisheries in recent years. 
Tire oyster, the most valuable product of the fisheries of Georgia, is the one to 
which the greatest attention has of late years been directed and on which the State 
will probably most rely for the improvement of the fisheries in the coastal waters. 
Up to within a few years, the depletion of the best oyster- grounds in the State had 
been going on unchecked, and it seemed only a question of time when the beds in the 
most accessible situations would be almost exhausted. In 1889, however, the legisla- 
ture enacted an enlightened law, taking effect January 1, 1890, for the regulation and 
protection of oyster- culture, which placed the industry on a firm footing and is no 
doubt destined to greatly promote the oyster interests. Under the provisions of the 
act authorizing the leasing of grounds t.o private persons for long periods of time and 
requiring the cultivation of same, the following transactions took place in Chatham, 
Glynn, and Camden counties in 1890 : 
Counties. 
Area taken 
for plant- 
ing pur- 
poses. 
Oysters 
planted. 
Value. 
Shells 
planted. 
Value. 
Acres. 
450 
5, 418 
1, 378 
Bushels. 
30, 000 
60, 000 
27, 000 
$3, 000 
4,500 
2, 700 
Bushels. 
28, 000 
10, 000 
$1, 400 
300 
7,246 
117, 000 
10, 200 
38, 000 
1,700 
The legislature also authorized the appointment by the governor of an oyster 
commission, and secured, through the governor, the assistance of the U. S. Coast and 
Geodetic Survey in making an examination of the waters of the State with reference 
to their adaptation to oyster-culture. The hydrographic surveys of the littoral waters 
were conducted by Mr. James C. Drake, ensign U. S. Navy, in the fall and winter of 
1889-90, whose investigations had a scope similar to those carried on by the U. S. 
Fish Commission in South Carolina, of which mention has already been made. The 
valuable report* of Mr. Drake notes the general depletion of the beds by excessive 
fishing, the area of the depleted grounds being 1,700 acres. 30,000 acres of bottom, 
now destitute of oysters, are considered suitable and available for oyster-culture. 
The report makes the following important reference to oyster-canning and its effects: 
As a means of rapidly depleting the natural beds no more effective method could be instituted 
than the establishment of factories for the canuing of oysters. These in the end will be of great 
benefit to the State, because the sooner the. natural beds are depleted the sooner will the citizens 
engage in private cultivation, and enact laws that will give inducement to capital. 
* On the sounds and estuaries of Georgia, with reference to oyster-culture. Bulletin No. 19, U. S. 
Coast and Geodetic Survey, Washington, 1891. 
