The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1880-11-25
NATIONAL FISHERY INTER
ESTS.

Valuable Information Being Prepared in
Connection With the Census-The Fish
cry Industry to be Fully Described.
WASHINGTON, Nov. M.-One of the most i'm
portant results of the census of 1880 will be the
Statistical and other information gathered and
published regarding the fish and fisheries of
the United States. The incomplete returns
made to the Bureau of Statistics showed that
in the year ending June 80, 1879, the value of
the products taken by American vessels and
fishermen and brought into the United States
was about $6,500,000. Incidentally considera-
bic statistical work was done by the Fish Com
mission during the first SIX or seven years of it's
operation, but no systematic investigation was
attempted until three years ago. In 1877 Prof.
Baird and his assistants were summoned as ex-
perts before the Halifax Fishery Commission,
which was to decide how much the United
States ought to pay Canada for the privilege of
fishing twelve years in Canadian waters. On
that occasion statistics showing the value of
the American fisheries for the current year
were found necessary to offset the Canadian
reports which had been regularly published
from year to year for decade. No complete
American statistics were in existence, aud the
Commission was obliged to accept estimates
Prof Baird in 1877 established statistical di-
vision of the Fish Commission and began to
collect accurate and complete reports. The
limited amount of money available, however,
greatly restricted this work during the first
four years. In 1870 complete plan of statis-
tlCal lnVeSCSdClOn IL Al D0ou aQOpC6Q ana steps
taken toward beginning the work.
At this time General Walker was beginning
the census work. and he proposed to share
with Professor Baird the expense of conduct
ing the investigations and also to share the re-
suits by publishing the matter relating to fish
and the fisheries in a separate volume of the
census reports. The plan was at once put in
operation under the joint auspices of General
Walker and Professor Baird. The work is I'M
der the immediate direction of Professor G..
Brown Goode, of the Smithsonian Institution,
as a special agent of the Census Bureau Pro-
lessor Goode is aided by competent and suf-
fcient corps of trained experts and canvassers
The field of statistical inquiry embraces the
entire United States, including the flakes and
river products as we'll as the coast fisheries and
the whale fishery. More than 100000 returns
relating to the fisheries of different localities
have already been received at the office in
Washington, and the information which they
contain is being rapidly placed in form for pub
LEGATION. The scheme OF investigation is very
comprehensive, and the results of the inqui-
ries will be presented in detailed and elab-
crate manner.
The first part will be devoted to the natural
history of all marine products, including seals,
whales, oysters, CLAIMS, sponges etc., as well as
fishes. The second part will embrace des-
cription of all places where each kind of fish
or other n arine product is found. In the
third part will be comprised all information
regarding the history and development of
fishing towns. The fourth part will be de-
voted to the subject of fishing vessels, and the
use of fishing apparatus. Sixty different
branches of fisheries are enumerated, each of
which must be specially investigated. The
fifth part which will be mainly statistical, will
show as far as practicable the quantity and
value of each kind of fish taken in 1880.
Statistics will also be given for each of the
last fifty years. The sixth part relates to the
care and preparation for market of all prod
ucts of the fisheries. The seventh part will
Of the fisheries, showing the amount of capital
invested and the labor employed, with details
of profits, insurance, prices, tariffs, exports
and imports of fishery products, and the dis
tribution of fish proaucts throughout the
United States In the eighth part are to be
considered the protection of the fisheries, fish
culture, fishery laws, bounties, fishery treaties
and their results, and the statistics of public
and private fish culture. 1t is expected that
The report will be published as early as next
June.