The silver messenger. (Challis, Idaho) 1890-1912, 1907-04-16
REVENUE FROM SEA.
Business Of Salt Water Fisheries of
Middle Atlantic States.
WHIST rhe Returns Of SIX Praxex sal
States SHOW Rewsrafww ske
Catch-so1sse Interesting
Particulars

At time of year when more fish is
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 report on the value Of the
catch for a year along the coast Of SAX
statex-New York, New Jersey, Penn
sylvania. Delaware. Maryland and Yir-
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 So. 12e, 1872 went
for these bivalvex, to say nothing of
s1,156,5e4 for seed oysters. The
amount first mentioned is only little
over half of the total valuation tat
wholesale rates) of the salt water fish
cries for year. CLAIMS yielded 1914
s34. 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 s1,253.1s7 Men
haden. which are converted into oil
and fertilizers, and do not find a place
! on the table. took the fourth place in
| the procession. being credited with
/ $685.. 22s, while bluefsh brought $780,
152, weakfish s55s, 2O9. crabs (hard and
soft S495.3s abewives ff-esh and salt
ed 1892, 1852, white perch S154.239, cells.
/ SI52.6s6 butterfsb S149.9s4. sea bass
s126, sos. cod s119.590. founders SILL
rs. and scallops sl1o.537. OF course,
the amounts of certain fish (cod. for
instanee) caught along the Mi65le
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 Commits sioner Bowers tables
at all
Inasmuch as the weights. rs we'll as
the value. of each kind of fish caught
are mentioned. il is an easy matter to
figure out the average price in every
instance. Thus menhaden sold a;
one-ffth of a cent pound. alewives al
four-ffths sea bass at ? cents. weak
fish at 2E, cod. at ,. common mackere
and shad at 4. bluefis hat "a. white
bait at :, sheepshead al S. Spanish
rnrcLaral .D1 -roIIore - q efr;-as
bass at nearly 10. HOLSTERS, at -. terra
pin at 40 and shrimps at so cents I
pound.
Locality has som ething to DO will
prices. however. either because of diff
ferenees in quality or differences IN de
mand. Thus. New York and New Jer
sey shad brought only a fraction owe
cents, nd the Virginia product onI,
?, while that of Delaware and Penn
sylvaEia comma nded Al and A. cents
respectively. Again. striped bass from
Maryland, sold for cents, and tina
from New York for 13 Even NOR
striking inequalities are afforded b
the returns for ferrapin. Those pro
duced in Virginia averaged less than ,
cents. Maryland as, New Jerseys
trihe over 40 cents. and New York
(only 34o pounds). 81. What IS praC
ticaily a pareallel case is found in tn
figures for oysters. Virginia produce,
| 42.4T5.6 ss pounds and Marylan nd s9.T9s
I 927. but as the former sold for onlv
\ cents a pound and the latter for ~:
Maryland received the more money.
the meantime New York sold her 70
| 3so,s21 pounds for nearly IA cents
l pound.