FISHERY BULLETIN OF THE FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE 



Despite the inadequacy of the biological back- 

 ground, we have useful information on the Green 

 Bay fisheries. Particularly valuable are statistical 

 data for the 21-year period 1929-49 which permit 

 accurate description of the changes in production 

 and good estimates of fluctuations in fishing pres- 

 sure and in abundance of the principal species. 

 True, the causes of the changes in abundance con- 

 tinue to be unknown ; nevertheless, sounder think- 

 ing is promoted when we are in position to describe 

 changes quantitatively. Reasonably dependable 

 norms can be established and exceptional situa- 

 tions evaluated more effectively. 



This paper on the Green Bay fisheries is docu- 

 mentary and its discussions are generally descrip- 

 tive rather than analytical. Its primary purpose 

 is to make the more significant statistical data 

 available in concise form to investigators, con- 

 servation officials, sportsmen, industry, and others 

 interested in the future of the fisheries. It is 

 hoped that this review of past changes in the fish- 

 ery will make possible a better understanding of 

 the situation as it exists now and of the changes 

 that may come about within the next few years. 



Portions of the statistical data given in this 

 paper were included in earlier publications by Hile 

 (1937) on the artificial propagation of the walleye 

 in Lakes Huron and Michigan; by Van Oosten, 

 Hile, and Jobes (1946) on the whitefish fishery of 

 Lakes Huron and Michigan; by Van Oosten 

 (1947) on the smelt (Osmerus mordax) mortality 

 of 1942-43 in the same lakes ; by Hile (1950) on the 

 recent phenomenal rise in the abundance of wall- 

 eyes in Green Bay ; and by Hile, Eschmeyer, and 

 Lunger (1951a) on the decline of the fishery for 

 lake trout (Saivelinus namaycush) in Lake 

 Michigan. These earlier papers, however, dealt 

 with special problems and undertook no review of 

 the Green Bay fishery as a whole. 



The authors wish to express appreciation to Dr. 

 James W. Moffett for his helpful criticisms of the 

 original manuscript; to Elmer Higgins who 

 offered many useful suggestions on the section 

 concerning the problem of economically sound reg- 

 ulations; and to Dr. Reeve M. Bailey, Curator of 

 Fishes, Museum of Zoology, University of Michi- 

 gan, for his valuable advice on the nomenclature of 

 Green Bay fishes. 



SOURCES OF DATA AND METHODS OF 

 ANALYSIS 



Data on production in 1885 were taken from 

 Smith and Snell (1891) and those for 1891-1908 

 were compiled (with WP A assistance) from hand- 

 written records turned over to the U. S. Fish and 

 Wildlife Service by the Michigan Department of 

 Conservation. 



Statistics on production and estimates of the 

 fluctuations in abundance of the principal species 

 and in intensity of the fishery in 1929-49 have 

 been based on reports of commercial fishing sub- 

 mitted each month to the Michigan Department of 

 Conservation by all fishermen licensed to operate 

 in the Great Lakes waters of the State, and sub- 

 sequently released to the Fish and Wildlife Serv- 

 ice for detailed analysis. 



The methods employed in statistical analysis of 

 the commercial fisheries of the Great Lakes have 

 been described in earlier publications by Hile 

 (1937), Hile and Jobes (1941), and Van Oosten, 

 Hile, and Jobes (1946). Two points only need 

 be stressed here. First, estimates of abundance of 

 a particular species are derived from records of 

 the actual catch in pounds per standard unit of 

 fishing effort (lift of 10,000 linear feet of gill net; 

 lift of 1 pound, trap, or fyke net; . . .). Second, 

 estimates of the intensity of the fishery for a par- 

 ticular species are based only on gear lifted on 

 days when some quantity of the species was cap- 

 tured by the fisherman submitting the report. 



COMMERCIAL PRODUCTION IN 

 GREEN BAY 



PRODUCTION IN 1885 



The earliest published review containing usable 

 statistics on the commercial production of fish in 

 Green Bay was that made for 1885 by Smith and 

 Snell (1891). The catch statistics for Big Bay 

 de Noc (including grounds in the Summer Islands 

 area), Escanaba and vicinity, and Menominee 

 County were combined to obtain the data of table 

 l. 2 (See fig. 1 for chart of area.) 



3 The figures given in table 1 represent our best judgment in th( 

 resolution of certain discrepancies in the data of Smith and Snell. 

 The text relating to the Big Bay de Noc area mentioned 812 

 100-pound packages of salted walleyes but included no reference 

 to salted lake trout. The statistics for the same area in the 

 general tables for Lake Michigan, however, showed SI, 200 pounds 

 of salted lake trout and 2,000 pounds of salted "pike and pickerel." 

 In our summarization we followed the table. Again, the text 

 concerning the fisheries for Escanaba and vicinity mentioned 



