88 
BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 
Table 12 gives by States tlie relative value of fifteen important edible fishery 
products. Maine surpasses the other States in the value of hake, herring, smelt, 
swordfish, clams, and lobsters, and Massachusetts leads in the value of alewives, blue- 
fish, cod, haddock, halibut, mackerel, and pollock. Ehode Island ranks first in the 
item of menhaden and Connecticut in oysters. 
12. — Table showing for each of fifteen important species the percentage of value in each New England 
State to the total value of the catch in New England. 
The relative extent of the fisheries of New England in 1880 and 1889 is brought 
out in Tables 13, 14, and 15. The figures given for 1880 are those obtained for the 
census and represent, for the most part, the statistical condition of the fisheries in 1879. 
These tables, therefore, indicate the changes during the past decade. 
It is seen that there has been a net decrease in the number of fishermen amounting 
to 2,421, and a net increase in the number of shoresmen aggregating 1,914, leaving a 
total net decrease in persons employed of 507. Maine is the only State in which there 
has been a general increase in the persons engaged in the fisheries, although Con- 
necticut shows a substantial gain in the number of shoresmen. In the former State 
the percentage of increase was 27.62, while in New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Ehode 
Island, and Connecticut the percentage of decrease was 11.83, 14.31, 23.94, and 2.68, 
respectively, the net decrease being 1.37 per cent. 
In the items constituting investment there have been numerous changes during the 
decade. The vessels employed in the fisheries have been reduced in number by 445, 
with a tonnage of 30,609.43, and a value of $75,471, exclusive of outfit and apparatus; 
this decrease is observed in every State, although Maine, Ehode Island, and Con- 
necticut exhibit an increased investment in vessels, indicating the employment of 
more fishing craft of superior types, notably steamers, in the two latter States. The 
decrease in Massachusetts is chiefly in whalers. In the number of boats there has 
been a net decline of 3,226, valued at $82,960, although both Maine and Connecticut 
show a small increase in number. The amount of investment in apparatus and outfit 
has naturally decreased with the decline in the number of fishermen, vessels, and 
boats. The year 1880 presents an excess over 1889 amounting to $1,426,600; Ehode 
Island alone has advanced in this respect. Shore property and cash capital show a 
net increase of $1,776,868, participated in by Massachusetts, Ehode Island, and Con- 
necticut, the last State showing the greatest advance. In the total investment in 
fishing property and appliances, there has been a net increase of $191,837, or 0.96 per 
cent, Ehode Island and Connecticut alone sharing in this advance. 
