12 



CONSERVATIOX DEPARTMENT 



tlie opi'ii lake Avliere the maintenance of tlie eoniniercial fishery is 

 of dominant importance placed emphasis on a new aspect of sur- 

 vey programs, that of cooperative effort of all interested agencies — 

 State, Federal and Canadian. The gradual decline of the lake 

 fishery during the last two decades and especially the recent, 

 drastic slump in the herring catch pointed the way to this joint 

 effort in promoting a unified program of scientific stud3^ Cooper- 

 ative eff'ort has for years been urged to secure greater uniformity 

 in fishing laws and in methods of recording statistics. Some re- 

 sults along this line have been accomplished but in the matter of 

 scientific inquiry of conditions in the lake related to its produc- 

 tivity, there has been little unanimity of action. The slump in the 

 herring catch, therefore, provided the impetus for a combined 

 attack with the Federal Bureau, Canada and New York State par- 

 ticipating. Thus the program of the survey resolved into activities 

 pertinent to each of the following subdivisions of the area — the 

 streams, the shallow shore waters and the eastern end of the open 

 lake. 



Organization of Staff. — An essential feature in the organi- 

 zation of the biological surveys is the trained personnel recruited 



The "Navelle' of the Conservation Department in the service of the 

 Erie-Niagara survey 



mainly from the educational institutions of the State which during 

 the past three years have cooperated witli the l)ei)artment in its 

 survey work. The protective force located within tlie area as well 

 as sportsmen, anglers and conservationists make important contri- 

 })uti()ns in the Avay of experience and local statistics. 



In Ihe conduct of the ])resent survey the different agencies inter- 

 ested brought into effective cooperation an unusual representation 



