Tazewell Republican. [volume] (Tazewell, Va.) 1892-1919, 1903-06-04
REVENUE FROM SEA.
Business of Salt Water Fisheries Of
Middle Atlantic States.
What the Returns OF Six Principal
States show Regarding the
Catch--sOme Interesting
Particulars.

At time of year when more fish Is
consumed than at any other season
a few facts concerning the industry of
supplying the market with that arti-
Gle of diet are not without interest.
The United States commissioner Of
fisheries, George NJ. Bowers, recently
Issued a report on the value of the
catch for a year along the coast of six
states-New York, New Jersey, Penn
sylvania, Delaware, Maryland and Vir-
ginia. Though the scope of this sur
vey is comparatively limited, it never
theless embraces details which will
probably be new to many readers. The
figures are those of 1901, but to great
extent they are probably representa-
tive of other years, reports the New
York Tribune.
The largest amount of money paid
by the dealers to the fishermen is for
oysters. No less than $9,129,992 went
for these bivalyes. to say nothing OF
Sf.156.564 for seed oysters The
amount first mentioned is only little
over half Of the total valuation Cat
wholesale rates. Of the salt water fish
cries for year. CLANS yielded $1,074,-
S3f that sum being divided in the pro-
portion Of about nine to one between
hard and soft shell CLANS. Shad. how
ever, ranked next after oysters. hav-
ing cost the markets S1.253.197 Men
haGen. which are converted into oil
and fertilizers. and do not find place
on the table. took the fourth place in
the procession. being credited with
$9SL22S. while bluefsh brought $780,
1j2. weakfsh SjjS,2C9. crabs (hard and
soft $595.3Sj, alewiyeS (fresh and salt
ed S262,352, white perch $154,239, eels,
$lj2,GSG. butterfish S149.9S4. sea bass
S126, Cos, cod S119,59o. founders SILL
rs, and scallops S11O.537. Of course,
the amounts Of certain fish (cod, for
instance caught along the Middle
Atlantic coast do not correspond with
the consumption in the same region,
because large quantities are brought
from New England. Halibut, one Of
the staples Of the fish trade, does not
appear in Commissioner Bowers tables
at all.
Inasmuch as the weights. as well as
the value, Of each kind Of fish caught
are mentioned, it is an easy matter to
figure out the average price in every
instance Thus menhaden sold az
one-ffth Of a cent pound, alewives at
four-ffths, sea bass at 2 cents, weak
fish at 21b. cod at 3, common mackerel
and shad at 4, blueish at Az, white
bait at 7, sheepshead at S, Spanish
mackerel and scallops at 9, striped
bass at nearly 10, Holsters at 10, terra
pin at 40 and shrimps at so cents a
pound.
Locality has something to do with +
prices, however, either because of diff
ferences in quality or differences in de- .
mand. Thus, New York and New Jer- .
sey shad brought only a fraction over .
B cents. and the Virginia product only .
2, while that of Delaware and Penn .
sylvania commanded Al and 4.2 cents,
respectively. Again, striped bass from
sold for cents, and that
from New York for 10. Even more
striking inequalities are afforded by
the returns for terrapin. Those pro-
duced in Virginia averaged less than 30 .
cents, Maryland IS, New Jerseys
trife over 40 cents, and New York's
(ouly $40 pounds, 81. What is prac-
tically a parallel case is found in the
figures for oysters. Virginia produced
AZ, 473, 6s3 pounds and Maryland $685.
927, but as the former sold for only
cents a pound and the latter for ~,
received the more money. In
the meantime New York sold her 49,
3SO,921 pounds for nearly "A cents a
pound.