The Portland daily press., 1892-07-21
NEW ENGLAND FISHERIES,
An Industry in Which Twenty Millions
are Invested.

by agents of the United States fish COM
mission of the 1850 miles of coast line
covered by the statistics.
The report relates to the year 1889 and
includes the entire commercial fisheries
of the New England coast. The opening
portion is devoted to tables on the gen.
eral conditions of the industry in the five
coast states.
The first table shows 36,536 persons
were employed in the industry, of whom
Is, 1872 were engaged in the vessel fish
cries, 1895 in the shore or boat fisheries,
and 9,119 in various capacities on shore.
In the number of vessel fishermen
Massachusetts, is much in the lead of all
the other states, having 1851 persons
in the class. Maine takes first rank in
the shore fisheries and shore industries,
giving employment to 6205 and 5244 per-
sons, respectively.
The vessels, boats, apparatus, shore
property and cash capital employed IN
the New England fisheries are next given
and the table shows 1912 vessels, with
tonnage of 79,73S.49, valued, with the
outfit, at SC, 1892, O06.
| Massachusetts is credited with more
then half of all the fishing vessels of
| New England, viz: S36, followed by
Maine with 408, Connecticut with 214,
Rhode Island with SO, and New Hamp-
| shire with Is.
Of the .561 boats valued at 1857, 010,
used in the shore fisheries, Maine has
5000, worth 1921, 400, and Massachusetts,
has 3494, valued at 1854, 033. The appar-
atus employed in the actual taking OF
| fish and other products was valued at
| 81, 6s3, 525, of which 1902, 1888 represented
trawl and hand-lines, $442, $3.50 weirs,
pound nets, and trap nets, $190,276 pots,
$1S3, 220 seines, $104,3 gill nets, and
| $6S, 122 minor forms, including bag nets,
| fyke nets, harpoons, spears, dredges,
tongs, rakes. etc.
| Of the total investment in apparatus
| of capture, Massachusetts, has 81 200, 621,
Maine 1925, 5S2, and New Hampshire $22,
| POI.
The capital invested in shore property
| of various kinds, as wharves, buildings,
| flake yards, etc., amounted to S5,S50,979,
| of which more than half is to be credited
| to Massachusetts,.
The amount of ready money required
to properly conduct the fisheries,
and known as cash capital or working
capital, was $5,523,224, Massachusetts
| employing $4,2S4, 200. The total invest
| ment in vessels, boats, apparatus, shore
| property, and cash capital amounted to
| $2O,O94, 1914, of which Massachusetts, had
cut S., S26, 1884, Rhode Island $1,000, 17S,
and New Hampshire $212,660.
The third table in the report shows the
| quantity and value of each SPECIES of
| Other Marine Products
| taken in each state. It is seen that, con-
! sidering the New England states together
| the cod is by far the most important spe-
cies, being valued at 1850, 1871 after
which come oysters at 81, 800, 7S4, Holsters
at 1888, 1856, whale products at 1928, 463,
haddock at $73s, 1872 mackerel at, 1871,
| 424, halibut at $725, 1855, and menhaden at
$42s, 22s.
Regarding the quantities of products,
menhaden rank first, with 173, 632, 210
pounds, followed by seaweed, with 49,
| pounds; paddock, with Al, 473, 627 pounds
| herring, with SO, 319, 256 pounds, and lob
sters, with 80, 449, 1903 pounds.
The largest catch was made by the
Massachusetts, fishermen, who took 299-
217, 1863 pounds valued at S., 65S, 274.
Maine ranks second, with 129,559, 1854
pounds, $2,111,206, followed by Rhode
Island, with 127, 1865, 475 pounds, $685., IA ;
Connecticut, with 92,672, 464 pounds,
| $1,577 sos and New Hampshire with
1854 1858 pounds, $SS.511.
The combined catch of all the New
England states was 653, ITO, 040 pounds,
worth 10, 500, GAL.
The question of the nationality of
persons constituting the crews of fishing
vessels is one of marked consequence. in
view of the dependence placed on the
fishery marine in the event of the war.
| A 4oI oh I,ot A eric
constituted 7s. 80 per. cent, of the fisher
men, while British p1ovincials composed
8. 81 per. cent and all other nationalities
12. IS per cent.
The relative value of Is important ed
ible fishery products is also given. Maine
surpasses the other states in the value of
hake, herring, smelt, swordfish, CLAIMS,
and Holsters, and Massachusetts, leads in
the value of alewives, bluefish, cod had
dock, halibut, mackerel, and pollock.
Rhode Island ranks first in the item of
menhaden, and Connecticut in oysters.
The relative extent Of the fisheries of
New England in 1880 and 1889 is also
brought out. The figures given for 1880
are those obtained for the census, and
represent, for the most part, the statist-
These tables, therefore, indicate the
changes during the past decade.
1t is seen that there has been net de-
crease in the number of fisherman
amounting to 2421, and net increase in
the number of shoresmen aggregating
1912, leaving total net decrease in per
sons employed 507.
Maine is the only state in which there
has been general increase in the persons
engaged in the fisheries, although Con
neciicut shows substantial gain in the
number of shoresmen.
In the former state the percentage OF
increase was So. 81 while in New Hamp-
shire, Massachusetts,, Rhode Island, and
Connections the percentage of decrease
was II. SO, IA. 81, %. "a and 2. 6s, re
spectively, the net decrease being 1.37
pei, cent.
In the items constituting investment
there have been numerous changes during
the decade. The vessels employed in
the fisheries have been reduced in num-
Der by AS, with a tonnage of 30,609.43,
and value of $75, All, exclusive of
Outfit and Apparatus;
this decrease is observed in every state,
| o1+bourb> NTaina Rhode Island and Con.