26 



FISHERY BULLETIN OF THE FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE 



dance and fishing intensity for lake trout. Those 

 authors published detailed statistical data in sup- 

 port of their conclusions. 



An analogous explanation is believed to hold for 

 the negative correlation between abundance and 

 intensity of the fishery for white and redhorse 

 suckers in 1929-49, with the walleye as the "prin- 

 cipal associated species" responsible for the high 

 level of fishing at a time of low abundance of suck- 

 ers. The 1929^3 data do not indicate a signifi- 

 cant correlation between abundance and fishing 

 intensity for either species. (The fluctuations of 

 intensity for walleyes and suckers, however, were 

 positively correlated at a highly significant level — 

 value of r=0.737 for the 15 years.) The rise in 

 abundance of walleyes to the unprecedentedly high 

 level of 1947-49 changed the situation for that fish. 

 Walleyes which normally had been taken only in- 

 cidentally became the primary object of extensive 

 operations. The simultaneous sharp rise of abun- 

 dance and of fishing intensity increased the corre- 

 lation coefficient from 0.198 in 1929^3 to 0.844 in 

 1929-49. Part of the increased fishing for wall- 

 eyes resulted also in the capture of suckers. 16 Con- 

 sequently, the intensity of the fishing for suckers 

 rose considerably. Since the level of availability 

 of suckers was low (the abundance indices for 

 suckers in 1947^9 were all below the minimum for 

 1929-46) a negative correlation between abundance 

 and fishing intensity resulted. 



THE PROBLEM OF ECONOMICALLY 

 SOUND REGULATION OF THE FISHERIES 



From the preceding discussion it can be seen 

 that the increase which carried the commercial 

 production in Green Bay from the 1929—49 mini- 

 mum of 1,379,000 pounds in 1944 to nearly 8 

 million pounds in 1948 and 1949 was largely the 

 result of the exceptionally high abundance of 

 whitefish, lake herring, and walleyes and of 

 greatly increased fishing pressure. This pressure, 

 no doubt, was directed primarily toward the cap- 

 ture of the highly abundant species but those 

 below average abundance (lake trout and suckers) 

 felt its effects. The recovery of the smelt popu- 

 lation from the 1943 epidemic also contributed 



" It must be stressed here that fishing Intensity is estimated 

 separately for each species. Nets lifted by a fisherman on a par- 

 ticular day are charged against a species only if some quantity 

 of that species is taken. 



substantially to the heightened production in the 

 late years of the 1929—49 period. 



At the end of 1949 the fishing industry of north- 

 ern Green Bay had enjoyed three consecutive years 

 of production far above the catch in any of the 

 preceding 18 years. During the years of high 

 productivity the market was generally strong and 

 prices, aside from normal seasonal fluctuations, 

 were good. Yet, for all this prosperity, a trouble- 

 some situation has developed and, as explained 

 earlier, the groundwork has been laid for possible 

 disaster in the years ahead. The industry may 

 yet pay dearly for these few years of good fishing. 



The present difficult situation will become criti- 

 cal at such time as the abundance of fish returns 

 to a more nearly normal level. As was mentioned 

 earlier, numbers of fishermen have moved into 

 Green Bay from other areas. Much of the increase 

 in fishing intensity recorded in the preceding sec- 

 tion can be attributed to their activities. Although 

 this increased fishing was desirable in that it made 

 possible the cropping and use of an unusually 

 plentiful supply of fish, the congestion on the 

 grounds and the competition between the new- 

 comers and local fishermen led to some strained 

 relations even when all were making good catches. 

 These relations surely will deteriorate further at 

 such time as the abundance of fish decreases to 

 the point where the available stocks are insufficient 

 to provide profitable fishing for all commercial 

 operators in the area. To be sure, congestion may 

 be relieved somewhat by the return of some of the 

 "migrant" fishermen to their former ports or by 

 their transfer to yet other grounds outside Green 

 Bay ; 17 nevertheless, fishing intensity out of pro- 

 portion to the supply is anticipated. The situa- 

 tion in Green Bay is complicated further by the 

 activities of sportsmen and resort owners who have 

 a strong interest in the sport fishery, especially 

 for walleyes. 



The quality of fishing that accompanies fishing 

 intensity of a high level and stocks of only normal 

 abundance will provide a painful contrast with 

 conditions of the past few years, and a loud clamor 

 for protection of the fishery resource is certain to 

 arise. Unless sound judgment prevails, numerous 

 restrictive measures highly detrimental to the in- 

 dustry are almost certain to be enacted. We had 



"At the time of preparation of this paper (summer of 1951) 

 we received reports that some fishermen had left Green Bay. 



