l''i'4urc' '-!. A typical ti'a|j net lift in I'.S. watiM-- nf 

 the western basin. Depth of trap net opening may range 

 from 10 to 30 ft. 



Figure 3. — A haul seine, about 1,200 yd long, being 

 brought ashore. This net is set in a semicircle off of 

 barge towed by a boat. 



and goldfish, for example, are landed only at 

 times when more valuable species are not being 

 caught. In fact, fishermen often relocate their 

 nets or stop fishing entirely in areas where the 

 less desirable species are abundant. 



The main types of fishing gear currently em- 

 ployed in western Lake Erie are gill nets in 

 Canadian waters, and trap nets (in the open 

 lake) (Fig. 2) and haul seines (Figs. 3 and 4) 

 (in the shallower shoreline and bay areas) in 

 U.S. waters. Stringent regulations in recent 

 years have practically eliminated the use of gill 

 nets in U.S. waters of western Lake Erie. 



Of great importance to the fishery of the 

 western basin is shallow Sandusky Bay, located 

 between the mouth of the Sandusky River and 

 the open lake (Fig. 1) . It is about 15 miles long 

 and averages about three miles wide, has an 

 area of about 36,000 acres, and averages 6 to 

 8 ft deep. Although fish can move freely be- 

 tween the lake and bay, haul seines, which are 

 the major gear used in the bay, take a higher 

 proportion of low-value fishes throughout the 

 year than are taken by either haul seines or 

 trap nets in the lake. 



COMMERCIAL LANDINGS IN 1969 



The commercial yield for all of Lake Erie in 

 1969 was over 59 million lb (Table 1), or about 

 10 million lb higher than the average for 1913- 

 68 (Baldwin and Saalfeld, 1962, plus supplement, 



Figure 4. — Bagging the haul seine for removal of the 

 catch. Frequently most of the catch is discarded. 



1970). The 1969 Canadian landings reached a 

 record high of 48 million lb (about 81 ''r of the 

 total lake harvest) compared with U.S. landings 

 of 11 million lb (19''^)'. Ohio fishermen har- 

 vested about 9.5 million lb, or 86 '^r of the U.S. 

 total and 16% of the lakewide catch. 



The 1969 commercial landings in the western 

 basin totaled some 16.4 million lb or nearly 28^.^ 

 of the lakewide catch (Table 2); Ontario con- 

 tributed about 50*"^, Ohio 46''r, and Michigan 

 4"";-. Sandusky Bay, which makes up less than 

 4Sf of the area of the western basin, accounted 



' The 1969 statistics were obtained directly from the 

 several State and Provincial agencies that administer 

 the Lake Erie fishery. 



