The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1902-01-30

of the industry. In the Honolulu market
25 cents per pound is not an uncommon
price for some, while on certain Of the
other islands even higher prices are real
lied. Judging solely by this feature.
meny persons jump to the conclusion
that fish are becoming scarce, but this
apparently Is not borne out by a close
investigation of the industry as a whole
1t is but rarely that there is a scarcity
of fish in the markets, the principal COM
plant in this regard coming from those
places which are rather Inaccessible and
where the fishermen are few in number
such as on Kauai. The most plausible
reason for the high prices is that fishery
products have gone up in correspondence
with the other necessaries of life which
are unusually high as compared with the
rest of the country. The great develop
ment of the sugar industry in the last
hfteen years, and the profitable prices
realized for the product, have caused a
great boom in everything, particularly In
the wages paid to labor, and the cost
of the necessaries of life has been raised
| TO correspond. 1t is very probable that
as things settle down to a more normal
condition the cost of fishery products will
De lowered to more nearly their proper
level The Chinese and Japanese have
organized companies at several places TO
monopolize the business. and these have
also been important factors in causing
the high prices.
N.
The methods of transportation between
points on the same island are rather.
crude in many instances, while in others Z
the cost of transportation is practically
prohibitive so far as fishery products are
concerned as result of which the sup :
ply OF each place must be drawn largely
from its own immediate neighborhood
especially as ice Is so expensive that ~
cannot be used to preserve shipments for
any length OF time. The building of rail-
,.aa Il 0..I-
very materially in the matter of the
transportation of fishery products al rea-
sonable rates. The steamer rates be-
tween the various islands of the group
are prohibitive at present, and as the
distances are too far for small boats
there is no opportunity for the fishermen
on one island who Have an excess to ship
to another island where there Is a tenn
porary scarcity. These problems will all
work themselves out as the means of
transportation increase.
Immense quantities Of canned sailed,
smoked, and dried fishery products such
as salmon, cod. skipjack mackereI, her
ring, sardines shrimps Holsters, oysters,
clans, mullet, ETC.. are imported and
by the people particularly on
the sugar plantations. AS these are I'm
many instances located in rather mac
cessible regions where fresh fishery prod
ucts cannot be obtained at any price,
they are perforce compelled to depend on
the prepared goods for their supply.
The bubonic plague broke out In Homo
lulu in December 1899, and lasted several
months This proved serious detri-
ment to the sale of fresh fishery prod
ucts. as 1t thought by many persons
that the disease might be transmitted In
this way.
The three tables below show in con-
iensed form, by islands. the persons
oloyed the boats, apparatus, fish ponds,
shore and accessory property, and cash
capital used in the business, and the
latch by species, together with the value
IF the same.
The island of Oahu leads all the others
n almost every phase of the industry
'ollowed by Hawaii, Maui, Kauai, MoIo-
fal, Lanai. and Niihau in the order
The Hawaiians predominant In the fish.
,ries, followed in the order named by
he japanese, Chinese, South Sea ISL 4
Lnders (people from the Gilbert and Mar J
Iuesas Islands), Americans, Portuguese A
nd Germans. The shoresmen shown IL
we're employed principally in the fish n
markets. The total number Of persons
mployed was 2492. This does not in
lude those engaged in carrying on the 1
wholesale fish trade of Honolulu and \
lilo.
The total investment in the Industry.
1cludfng the wholesale trade was s739-
h. The shore and accessory property
nd cash capital employed in the whole
are trade of Honolulu and Hilo are in
luded in this table
So far as quantity is concerned the
atch of akule was the most important.
W malolo leads In the value of catch l
ther leading species are amaama ulua.
ku, oio, moano, kawakawa oneIu, opihf I
no uIa. The total catch amounted to
1000 pounds, valued at s1.oS4,434.