BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 349 



5S.— OIV THE PROPRIETY OF HEPOSITIIVG WHITEFISH MINNOWS 

 OFF THE HARBOR OF (Xi:VELAI>», OHIO-* 



By FRANK IV. CLARK and SESMOUR BOWER. 



It is no doubt true that whitefish seldom approach Cleveland Harbor. 

 And yet it does not follow that the place is unfavorable to the early stages 

 of whitefish life, if the minnows are set free in clear, deep water, wholly 

 beyond the influence of sewage and refuse, as they were in the present 

 instance. It is quite probable that the bottom in that vicinity is not at 

 all adapted to spawning purposes, and that it furnishes only a very 

 meager supply of crustacean food ; hence but few adult whitefish are 

 attracted to that locality. But these conditions are inimical to the re- 

 quirements of the minnows, as the range and character of food demanded 

 by the latter are widely at variance with the demands of the same indi- 

 viduals at partial maturity or adult life. The latter, in common with 

 all sucker-mouth species, are bottom feeders, while the food of the mir- 

 nows consists of minute organisms existing in the water. Now, it is 

 claimed that the temperature of the water is a potent agency in the de- 

 velopment of these organisms; that they are far more abundant at cer- 

 tain seasons of the year than at others; but manifestly it would be 

 unreasonable to claim a like fluctuation for localities in a body of water 

 like Lake Erie. One place is therefore as good as another, so far as the 

 question of food for the young is concerned. It is also safe to say that 

 the parent whitefish are powerless either to destroy or protect their 

 young. Manifestly, then, neither the absence or presence of the adults 

 nor their food and spawning requirements can be regarded as a factor 

 in the problem of successfully planting the minnows in waters to which 

 the species is indigenous. 



Admitting that this is true, the question very naturally arises, what 

 is the object of depositing the fish in different sections of the lake 1 

 Why not place them all at some point most conveniently approached 

 from the hatchery, and thus save the expense and trouble of carrying 

 them farther"? This most certainly is the very plan that would be fol- 

 lowed if multiplication of the fish were the sole object in view. But it 

 is desirable not only to enrich the waters, but, in so doing, to create 

 new fishing grounds for the most valuable food species ; and new grounds 

 cannot be created simply by restocking the old, even in a continuous 

 body of water like Lake Erie. In such waters the only way to attain 

 this object is to enlarge the migratory range by taking advantage of 



*A million young whitefish which had been hatched by the United States Fish Com- 

 mission at Northville, Mich., under the direction of Mr. Clark, were to be planted in 

 Lake Erie. Mr. Clark was authorized to select the place and make the deposit. On 

 page "302 will be found a protest against putting them in Cleveland Harbor, to which 

 protest this article is a reply. — C. W. S. 



