304 FISHERY BULLETIN OF THE FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE 



The production of whitefish in the State of Michigan waters of Lake Huron rose 

 to a higher level in 1922 and was consistently between 1 and 2 million pounds through 

 the period, 1922-1929. The average catch for the 8 years was 1,439,000 pounds, prac- 

 tically the same as that for 1889 and 1891-1896. 



In 1930, the whitefish fishery entered a period of chaotic change. The production 

 of 2,879,000 pounds in this year was nearly double that of 1929 and was greater than 

 that of any previous year. A further increase carried the yield of whitefish to an 

 all-time high of 4,140,000 pounds in 1931. The 1932 output' (4,050,000 pounds) was 

 only a little below the record catch. In the years following 1932, whitefish production 

 declined rapidly. This decline culminated in a 1939 yield of only 255,000 pounds, less 

 than half the lowest production recorded for any previous year (555,000 in 1900). 

 Detailed treatment of the violent fluctuations in the catch of whitefish in the State of 

 Michigan waters of Lake Huron over the period, 1930-1939. is given on pp. 317-333. 

 There evidence is presented that the high production in the earlier years of the period 

 was made possible in large measure by the use of deep trap nets, and that this excessive 

 yield in turn brought about a depletion of the stock that was responsible for the great 

 severity of the subsequent decline. 



The history of production of whitefish in the State of Michigan waters of Lake 

 Huron may be summarized as follows. An earlv period of relatively high but decreasing 

 yield (1889-1896) was followed by a long period (1897-1921) over which the catch was 

 fairly stable at a rather low level. Production was stable in the years, 1922-1929, also, 

 but the level of the take was considerably higher than that of the period, 1897-1921. 

 The most recent period of the fishery (1930-1939) was one of violent fluctuations. 

 Production rose suddenly to an all-time peak in 1931 of more than 4 million pounds 

 only to decline to an all-time low in 1939 of *4 million pounds. The normal annual take 

 mav be estimated as 1,114,000 pounds, the average catch per year for the period, 1889- 

 1929. 



The early yield of whitefish was high in the Ontario waters of Lake Huron proper; 7 

 the average was 759,000 pounds for the 7 years, 1879-1885. The annual catch varied 

 erratically but averaged much lower (283,000 pounds) in the period, 1886-1898. The 

 year 1899 was the first in a long period of low production. With the exception of 1908 

 and 1909, for which years the accuracy of the statistics is open to question (appendix 

 A), the take of whitefish did not exceed 100,000 pounds at any time in the years, 1899- 

 1922 (average, 57,000 pounds). These years of low output nearly coincided with a 

 similar period in Michigan (1897-1921). The increase to a higher level of production 

 in 1923 in Ontario resembles the increase that occurred in the State of Michigan waters 

 of the lake a year earlier, in 1922. The significance of the increase in 1923 is made 

 questionable by the fact that additional waters were included under Huron proper in 

 1922 and later years (see footnote 7). It should be pointed out, however, that this 

 extension of Huron proper was not accompanied by an increase in the recorded catch in 

 1922. Furthermore, comparisons may be made among the years, 1922-1939. Within 

 this period the yield increased irregularly through 1935 and thereafter dropped rapidly. 

 The take exceeded 300,000 pounds in each of the years, 1933-1935. The relatively high 

 yields of these years were still considerably less than those of the early period (1879- 

 1886) even though the recent figures covered more territory. Although production 

 declined in the Ontario waters of Lake Huron proper after 1935, it was still above 

 100,000 pounds in 1939. 



The catch of whitefish in Georgian Bay 8 increased from an average of 1,622,000 

 pounds per year in 1879-1886 to an average of 4,267,000 pounds in 1887-1894. The 

 decrease that began toward the close of the latter period brought the production of 

 whitefish in 1895 approximately to the level about which the yield fluctuated during 

 the 45 years, 1895-1939. The relative stability of the take in 1895-1939 is brought out 

 by the fact that production exceeded 2 million pounds only once (1904) and fell below 



'•I T Production listed in table 1 under this heading for the years, 1879-1921, is for the shore of Lake Huron from Cape Hurd at the tip of the 

 Saugoen Peninsula to the extreme southern end of the lake. Beginning in 1922, however, more northerly localities (islands of the open lake and the 

 westerly shore of Manitoulin Island) were included in "Huron proper." 



• Production listed in table 1 under this heading includes the catches from the entire North Channel and Manitoulin Island regions except in 1922 

 and later years. (See footnote 7.) 



