Biological Survey — Erie-Niagara Watershed .19 



I. STOCKING POLICY FOR THE STREAMS, LAKES AND 

 PONDS OF THE ERIE=NIAGARA WATERSHED, EXCLU- 

 SIVE OF LAKE ERIE 



By G. C. Embody 



Professor of AqiiiciiUure, Cornell Vnirersity 



In the present survey the same methods have been used as here- 

 tofore described for the Genesee and Oswego watersheds. The field 

 blank (App. I), when properly filled out, contains the informa- 

 tion upon which the stocking policy is based. The duty of collect- 

 ing- this information has fallen principally upon the following 

 persons : — Messrs. A. S. Hazzard, R. P. Hunter, R. A. Lauben- 

 gayer. Dr. Thomas Smyth and the writer. 



The shorter streams have generally been followed throughout 

 their courses but in the case of longer ones which could not be so 

 fully covered, it has been the practice to take a full set of readings 

 at several stations in the lieadwaters, the middle and lower sections 

 and especially at every road crossing. 



Dr. F. E. Wagner determined the oxygen, carbon dioxide content 

 and the alkalinity for waters which gave any indication of unsuit- 

 ability for the maintenance of fishes. Mr. J. R. Greeley and 

 Dr. D. J. Leffingwell likewise supplied additional information in 

 regard to the distribution of fishes in Avaters dif^cult of observation. 

 Acknowledgment must be made also of courtesies extended by game 

 protectors, fishermen and owners of property adjacent to streams 

 and ponds, who supplied information of great value in the conduct 

 of the work. 



During the summers of 1920 and 1921, T. L. Hankinson and 

 others collected fishes in Erie County streams and in the report 

 (Hankinson, 1924^) certain recommendations were made for stock- 

 ing. These have been examined and compared with the information 

 secured during the past summer. 



The stocking policy a.s recommended includes the names of fishes 

 for which the waters seem best suited, the length of stream or the 

 area of pond over which suitability was established and the calcu- 

 lated number of 3-inch fingerling trout ])er mile which would 

 seem necessary to fulfill the annual stocking requiremnts. The 

 specific recommendations for each stream will be found in the 

 Stocking List (App. III). 



A discussion of the factors involved in the development of a 

 stocking policy has already been given in the reports on the Gen- 

 esee and Oswego surveys. There are certain ])oints relative to the 

 determination of the stocking number per mile of stream which 

 will bear repetition since the recommendations have not always 

 been understood by those applying for trout. 



^ Hankinson, T. L., 1924. A preliminary report on a fish survey in western Xew 

 York. Bull. Buffalo Soc. Nat. Sci. XIII, No. 3, p. 57. 



