REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONER OF FISHERIES. 
21 
The most important of the food fishes taken in the offshore vessel 
fisheries is the cod, of which 63,447,000 pounds were taken on the 
Atlantic coast and 14,594,000 pounds on the Pacific coast in 1908, the 
value of the combined catch being over $2,240,000. In 1904, 1905, 
and 1906 some large fares of cod were taken with purse seines in the 
vicinity of Sable Island, but in 1907 this method of capture was not 
successful, and in 1908 the purse seines gave way to hand lines and 
trawls. 
The haddock fishery continues to have the most improved type of 
vessels. While the fleet has not increased in number, the tonnage 
is considerably greater than formerly; and vessels of the newer pat- 
tern cruise over more ground than the others and operate double 
the quantity of fishing gear. Practically the entire haddock catch is 
landed fresh and is intended for immediate consumption. More than 
48,000,000 pounds, with a value of $1,127,000, were taken in 1908, an 
increase of nearly 7,000,000 pounds and a decrease of $40,000 in value 
as compared with the previous year. 
The catch of pollock for the Boston and Gloucester markets in 
1908 fell below that of 1907 by nearly 8,000,000 pounds. The product 
of fresh and salted fish was 13,500,000 pounds, selling for $152,000. 
A marked change has occurred in this fishery within a few years. 
Formerly the fish were taken only with lines, but now a large 
part of the catch is made with purse seines that are thrown about 
the schools in shallow water off the New England coast. 
The yield of halibut in 1908 was 4,125,000 pounds, valued at 
$298,000, a very slight decrease as compared with the previous year. 
Georges Bank has been more actively resorted to for halibut than 
any other ground off the United States coast, and it continues to be 
a productive ground. In 1908, however, Bacalieu Bank, lying off the 
eastern coast of Newfoundland, was a more prolific ground. It 
covers a large area, and in recent years has been extensively resorted 
to by our vessels. The catch of halibut on the Pacific coast exceeds 
that on the Atlantic by several million pounds. In addition to 
the large quantity taken by American vessels on various grounds in 
southeastern Alaska, there is a considerable amount caught by Cana- 
dian vessels and shipped into the United States. 
The available supply of mackerel continues to be small, and the 
annual catch now is insignificant compared with that twenty-five or 
thirty years ago. The quantity of salt fish landed in 1908, namely, 
21,267 barrels, was about 10,000 barrels less than in 1907, but over 
11,000 barrels more than in 1906. The receipts of fresh mackerel 
were 57,566 barrels, an increase of 1,397 barrels over 1907. 
The relative productivity of the fishing grounds lying off the 
United States coast and off the coasts of Newfoundland and the 
Canadian provinces is shown in the following table, which gives, by 
