The Common Whitefish 



fish and wild fowl make the eggs of fishes a considerable por- 

 tion of their diet, those which require the longest period in 

 hatching, of course, suffering most. 



The artificial propagation of whitefish has long since passed 

 the experimental stage and has attained a high degree of perfec- 

 tion. The work can be carried on with great facility, and its 

 value is especially apparent when it is considered that under 

 natural conditions only a very small percentage of the eggs hatch, 

 while through artificial propagation from 75 to 95 per cent are 

 productive. Practically all the eggs taken for hatching purposes 

 are obtained from fish caught by the commercial fishermen, 

 which would otherwise be lost. 



In the fiscal year 1897-98 the United States Fish Commis- 

 sion hatched and planted 88,488,000 whitefish fry, and in 1898- 

 99 152,755,000 fry were hatched and liberated in suitable waters. 



The whitefishes are by far the most important group of 

 fresh-water fishes of North America, and probably of the world. 

 The common whitefish is the best of the tribe, but some of the 

 others nearly equal it in merit, and all are more or less esteemed 

 as food. Among the fishes of the Great Lakes the common 

 whitefish ranks next in value to the lake herring, lake trout, 

 and wall-eyed pike. In 1897 the catch in the United States 

 amounted to about 8,000,000 pounds, having a value of nearly 

 $300,000. If to this is added the yield of lake herring and other 

 species of whitefish. the aggregate is over 57,000,000 pounds, 

 having a value of nearly $800,000. The market value of the 

 whitefishes taken in 1898 in the British Provinces was reported 

 as $877,000, a sum representing about 18,400,000 pounds. 



The common whitefish reaches a larger size than any other 

 species of whitefish in the United States. Examples weighing 

 over 20 pounds have been taken, but the average weight is under 

 4 pounds. 



Whitefish fishing is done chiefly with gillnets set at or near 

 the bottom in comparatively deep water, although considerable 

 quantities are also taken in pound-nets, trap-nets, and seines. A 

 very large part of the catch reaches the market in a fresh con- 

 dition, although formerly considerable quantities were salted. 

 The leading centres of the trade are Chicago, Detroit, Sandusky, 

 Cleveland, Erie, and Buffalo, whence the fish are shipped frozen 

 or in ice to all parts of the country. 



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