Maine History: Fisheries

• Search in Digital Maine, HathiTrust, Compass, and/or MaineCat for reports of these Maine agencies and commissions. The reports may include statistics or description of then-recent events and trends.
  • Commissioner of Fisheries
  • Commissioners of Fisheries and Game
  • Commissioners of Inland Fisheries and Game
  • Department of Inland Fisheries and Game
  • Commissioner of Sea and Shore Fisheries
  • Department of Sea and Shore Fisheries
  • Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife
  • Commissioners of Marine Resources
  • Department of Marine Resources

Historical Maine Fisheries Landings Data, Maine, Department of Marine Resources

Goode, George Brown. The Fisheries and Fishery Industries of the United States. U.S. Commission of Fish and Fisheries. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1884-1887. See "Goode" box below. Best Bet

Dept. of Commerce, Bureau of the Fisheries. Fishing grounds of the Gulf of Maine. Walter H. Rich, Appendix III to the Report of the U.S. Commissioner of Fisheries for 1929. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1929.
Available: print (with a link to online maps); via HathiTrust. Republished in 1983 as a Maine state document under the same title: print. Maine state document version online via Project Gutenberg. Best Bet

Data files (in process) from the Oceans Past Initiative (OPI): 1: Gulf of Maine Cod Catches, 1861-1864; 2: Gulf of Maine, Statistical Bulletins, 1898-1935

Maine sea fisheries: the rise and fall of a native industry, 1830-1890, Wayne M. O'Leary, 1996. Science SH222.M2 O44 1996 (print).

Statistical

• Fishery statistics, Fishery Leaflet 197, 1946
• Fishery statistics, Fishery Leaflet 197 revised, 1952
• Fishery statistical publications of the Fish and Wildlife Service, Fishery Leaflet 432, 1956
• Fishery statistical publications of the Bureau of Commercial Fisheries, Fishery Leaflet 432 revised, 1960

General

• An analytical subject bibliography of the publications of the Bureau of Fisheries, 1871-1920, Rose M.E. MacDonald, Bureau of Fisheries, 1921
• Publications of the United States Bureau of Fisheries, 1871-1940, Barbara Aller, Fish and Wildlife Service
• Guide to publications and indexes of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 1871-1966, Pat Tupper, Bureau of Sport Fisheries and Wildlife
• Fishery Publication Index, 1920-54, Fish and Wildlife Service
• Fishery Publication Index, 1955-64, Fish and Wildlife Service
• Fishery Publication Index, 1965-74, National Marine Fisheries Service
• Fishery Publication Index, 1975-79, National Marine Fisheries Service
• Fishes of the Gulf of Maine, Bulletin of the United States Bureau of Fisheries, vol. XL, 1924, Part I. Includes a lengthy bibliography, pp. 533-550.

Most of these documents include statistics as well as other information such as trends, developments, etc. For Maine fisheries, also check the materials in the "Maine documents" box.

Documents in the Serial Set may be available online via U.S. Congressional Serial Set, HeinOnline, HathiTrust, and Internet Archive. When suggested, use the link under "Retrieve the Serial Set volume number"; knowing that volume number may make finding the document of interest easier.

 

Report on the principal fisheries of the American seas. prepared for the Treasury Department of the United States by Lorenzo Sabine. 1853.

Raymond McFarland. A history of the New England fisheries, with maps. 1911.

U.S. Commission on Fish and U.S. Commission on Fish and Fisheries, 1871-1903

Report of the Commissioner for [YEAR].  Published Parts 1-29, 1871-1903. U.S. Commission of Fish, U.S. Commission of Fish and Fisheries. Retrieve the Serial Set volume number for the year of interest. Includes:

• "Statistical review of the coast fisheries of the United States: Maine", Report of the Commissioner for 1888, Serial Set vol. 2806, pp. 288-297. Available at HeinOnline.
• "Report on the inquiry regarding the methods and statistics of the fisheries", Report of the Commissioner for 1889-1891, Serial Set vol. 3130, pp. 173-204. Available at HeinOnline.
• "Report of the Division of Statistics and Methods of the Fisheries", Report of the Commissioner for 1892, Serial Set vol. 3264, pp. CXXXIII-CXCI. Available at HeinOnline.
• "Report of the Division of Statistics and Methods of the Fisheries", Report of the Commissioner for 1893, Serial Set vol. 3340, pp. 52-77. Available at HeinOnline.
• "Report of the Division of Statistics and Methods of the Fisheries" [with a focus on New England], Report of the Commissioner for 1894, Serial Set vol. 3447, pp. 115-175. Available at HeinOnline.
• "Report of the Division of Statistics and Methods of the Fisheries", Report of the Commissioner for 1895, Serial Set vol. 3518, pp. 93-123. Available at HeinOnline.
• "Report of the Division of Statistics and Methods of the Fisheries", Report of the Commissioner for 1896, Serial Set vol. 3572, pp. 119-145. Available at HeinOnline.
• "The herring industry of the Passamaquoddy Region, Maine", Report of the Commissioner for 1896, Serial Set vol. 3572, pp. 443-487. Available at HeinOnline.
• "Report of the Division of Statistics and Methods of the Fisheries", Report of the Commissioner for 1897, Serial Set vol. 3687, pp. CXXV-CXLVI. Available at HeinOnline.
• "Report of the Division of Statistics and Methods of the Fisheries", Report of the Commissioner for 1898, Serial Set vol. 3816, pp. CXLVII-CLXXV. Available at HeinOnline.
• "Report of the Division of Statistics and Methods of the Fisheries", Report of the Commissioner for 1899, Serial Set vol. 4001, pp. CXLVII-CLXII. Available at HeinOnline.
• "Statistics of the fisheries of the New England States: Fisheries of Maine", Report of the Commissioner for 1900, Serial Set vol. 4196, pp. 322-340. Available at HeinOnline.
• "Report of the Division of Statistics and Methods of the Fisheries", Report of the Commissioner for 1901, Serial Set vol. 4391, pp. 141-166. Available at HeinOnline.
• "Report of the Division of Statistics and Methods of the Fisheries", Report of the Commissioner for 1902, Serial Set vol. 4550, pp. 143-160. Available at HeinOnline.
• "Report of the Division of Statistics and Methods of the Fisheries", Report of the Commissioner for 1903, Serial Set vol. 4743, pp. 101-122. Available at HeinOnline.
• "Report of the Special Commission for investigation of the lobster and soft-shell clam", Report of the Commissioner for 1903, Serial Set vol. 4743, pp. 139-224. Available at HeinOnline.

Report on the condition of the sea fisheries of the south coast of New England in 1871 and 1872, United States Commission of Fish and Fisheries, 1872. Serial Set vol. 1481. Available via HeinOnline.

Bulletin of the United States Fish Commission. Published vols. 1-23, 1881-1903. U.S. Fish Commission, U.S. Commission on Fish and Fisheries. Retrieve the Serial Set volume number for the year of interest. Includes:

• Report on the fisheries of the New England states, 1892. "Extracted from the Bulletin of the U.S. Fish Commission for 1890", pp. 73-176. Serial Set vol. 3038. Available via HeinOnline; Govt Doc FC 1.3/a:N 42 (print).
• Francis Hobart Herrick, "The American lobster: a study of its habits and development", Bulletin of the United States Fish Commission, 1895, pp. 1-252 and plates. Serial Set vol. 3416. Available via HeinOnline.
• John N. Cobb, "The lobster fishery of Maine", Bulletin of the United States Fish Commission, 1899, pp. 241-265. Serial Set vol. 4013. Available via HeinOnline.

Goode, George Brown. The fisheries and fishery industries of the United States. U.S. Commission of Fish and Fisheries. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1884-1887. See "Goode" box below. Best Bet

Bureau of Fisheries, 1903-1940

Report of the Commissioner of Fisheries; Report of the United States Commissioner of Fisheries.  Available from HathiTrust, 1904-1930 and up through 1940. Includes:

• "Statistics of the fisheries of the New England States, 1902", Report of the Commissioner for 1904, Serial Set vol. 4897, pp. 245-325. Available at HeinOnline.

Bulletin of the Bureau of the Fisheries, also Bulletin of the United States Bureau of Fisheries. Published vols. 24-44, 1904-1928, Department of Commerce and Labor; Department of Commerce. Retrieve the Serial Set volume number for the year of interest. Articles also available from National Marine Fisheries Service under the title Fishery Bulletin. Volumes 45-49 of Bulletin of the United States Bureau of Fisheries are available from HathiTrust.

Statistics of the fisheries of the New England states for 1905, Bureau of Fisheries, 1907.

The United States Bureau of Fisheries: Its establishment, functions, organization, resources, operations, and achievements, Bureau of Fisheries, 1908. Govt Doc C 6.2: F 53/2.

Work of the Bureau of Fisheries and its fish-cultural station at Boothbay Harbor, Me., United States, Bureau of Fisheries, 1917. Govt Doc C 6.2: F 53/5.

Fishery industries of the United States, Bureau of Fisheries. Published 1918-1939. Available from National Marine Fisheries Service, 1918-1939 (under the heading "Fishery Statistics") and from HathiTrust.
(Note: later title is Fishery Statistics of the United States, also available from the NMFS. Confusingly, Fishery industries of the United States, 1939, provides statistics for 1938, while Fishery statistics of the United States, 1939, provides statistics for 1939.)

Fishes of the Gulf of Maine, Bulletin of the United States Bureau of Fisheries, vol. XL, 1924, Part I. Includes a lengthy bibliography, pp. 533-550.

Dept. of Commerce, Bureau of the Fisheries. Fishing grounds of the Gulf of Maine. Walter H. Rich, Appendix III to the Report of the U.S. Commissioner of Fisheries for 1929. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1929.
Available: print (with a link to online maps); via HathiTrust. Republished in 1983 as a Maine state document under the same title: print. Maine state document version online via Project Gutenberg. Best Bet

Supplemental notes on fishes of the Gulf of Maine, Henry B. Bigelow and William C. Schroeder, Bulletin of the Bureau of Fisheries, 1936, pp. 319-343. (online) Science QL621.5 .B54 1925 Suppl (print)

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 1940-

Fishery statistics of the United States. Published 1939-?. Available via National Marine Fisheries Service under the heading "Fishery Statistics", 1940-1977. Also available from HathiTrust under one of these titles: Fishery statistics of the United States or Statistical Digest.
Beginning in 1951, "a section entitled 'Historical Fishery Statistics' which includes complete historical information on selected species has been carried. [...] Every five years there is carried historical data of the various regions of the United States for the years from 1880 to the present time. The catch covering the United States by counties is another special feature that is also published every five years." (Source: Fishery statistical publications of the Bureau of Commercial Fisheries, Fishery Leaflet 432 revised, 1960, p. 18.) Examples: "Historical Fishery Statistics: Lobster Fishery, 1879-1965", 1965, pp. 643-673; "Atlantic and Gulf coasts menhaden fishery", 1965, 678-680.
(Note: earlier title is Fishery industries of the United States, also available from the NMFS. Confusingly, Fishery industries of the United States, 1939, provides statistics for 1938, while Fishery statistics of the United States, 1939, provides statistics for 1939.)

Fisheries of the United States. Published 1950s-present. Includes preliminary data; final data released in Fishery Statistics of the United States or online. Historical data may be included, e.g. "Summary of New England cod landings, by state, 1950-95", 1995, pp. 20-21. Available via National Marine Fisheries Service, 1999-present; HathiTrust, 1950s-.

Fishes of the Gulf of Maine, Henry B. Bigelow and William C. Schroeder. First revision. Fishery Bulletin of the Fish and Wildlife Service 53. 1953.

National Marine Fisheries Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 1970-

Fishery statistics of the United States. Published 1939-?. Available via National Marine Fisheries Service under the heading "Fishery Statistics", 1940-1977. Also available from HathiTrust under one of these titles: Fishery statistics of the United States or Statistical Digest.

Fisheries of the United States. Published 1950s-present. Includes preliminary data; final data released in Fishery Statistics of the United States or online. Historical data may be included, e.g. "Summary of New England cod landings, by state, 1950-95", 1995, pp. 20-21. Available via National Marine Fisheries Service, 1999-present; HathiTrust, 1950s-.

Landings. 1950-present, National Marine Fisheries Service

Maine landings. Monthly and annual bulletins published beginning July 1946; now ceased. Some issues available via HathiTrust, 1975-1979 or under the title "Current fisheries statistics".

Fishing communities of the United States, 2006. National Marine Fisheries Service.
Includes a snapshot of Maine, a list of fishing communities and ports in Maine, and a regional summary.

Fisheries History, National Marine Fisheries Service

U.S. Census Bureau (and its predecessors)

"The Fisheries", in Statistics of the United States, (including mortality, property, &c.,) in 1860: comp. from the original returns and being the final exhibit of the eighth census, under the direction of the Secretary of the Interior., pp. 527-551. Available at Census Bureau and HathiTrust.

"The Statistics of the Fisheries (Exclusive of the Whale Fishery), by States and Territories, at the Census of 1870", in Ninth Census - Volume III. The Statistics of the Wealth and Industry of the United States [...] 1870, pp. 791-793. Available at HathiTrust.

"The Statistics of Fisheries, Exclusive of the Whale Fishery, 1870", A compendium of the Ninth census (June 1, 1870), p. 941. Available at HathiTrust

"Report on the Ship-Building Industry of the United States," 1884. [Chapter 1 is on Fishing Vessels.] HathiTrust

Fisheries of the United States, 1908 (print and online), Bureau of the Census, Govt Doc C 3.5:F 53 1908.