as a variety of species was ordinarily taKen to- 

 gether, these regulations obviously were 

 burdensome and almost unenforceable. The 

 recommendation resulting from the experi- 

 ments for a single maximum mesh size to 

 replace a series of minimum mesh sizes led 

 to the solution of this vexing problem not only 

 in Saginaw Bay but in numerous other fishing 

 areas in which the catch is made up of a variety 

 of species . 



Least pretentious of the early field pro- 

 jects was the survey of Lake Champlain made 

 in 1930-31 in cooperation with the Canadian 

 Government to ascertain the effects of commer- 

 cial fishing in the Canadian waters of Missis- 

 quoi Bay on the abundance of walleyes in United 

 States waters . The periods of field work were 

 limited in both years, and the studies did not 

 lead either to formal recommendations or a 

 completed report. 



The experimental chub-net investiga- 

 tions carried out in Lake Michigan in 1930-32 

 from the research vessel Fulmar were designed 

 to provide information on regulations, particu- 

 larly on mesh size, that would permit the most 

 efficient exploitation of the stocks of chubs 

 (deep-water ciscoes) with the minimum destruc- 

 tion of small lake trout that are regularly taken 

 in chub gill nets. The States of Michigan and 

 Wisconsin and four net manufacturers gave 

 liberal financial support to this operation. Al- 

 though the project proved disappointing in that 

 both of the supporting States ignored the recom- 

 mendations resulting from the work, the 

 materials and data collected formed the basis 

 for a number of valuable papers and still con- 

 stitute a major source of information on the 

 growth, distribution, and abundance of fishes 

 in the deeper waters and on the bottom fauna, 

 plankton, and hydrography of the lake . 



The 1931-32 survey of the deep-trap-net 

 fishery in Lakes Huron and Michigan was con- 

 ducted in cooperation with the State of Michigan 

 (which carried the bulk of the cost of field oper- 

 ations) to obtain information on which to base 

 regulation of a new and phenomenally efficient 

 net that early threatened ruin to the whitefish 

 fishery in those areas in which the gear was 

 fished intensively. Although detailed observa- 

 tions on the fishing action of the deep trap net 



and extensive data on seasonal abundance and 

 movements of whitefish and other species per- 

 mitted specific recommendations on regulations 

 shortly after completion of the survey, legisla- 

 tive action was delayed until the whitefish fishery 

 had collapsed in all major production centers 

 of Lake Huron. 



During this period of active field work 

 four scientists were added to the full-time staff 

 of Great Lakes Fishery Investigations- -Hilary 

 J,. Deason in 1927, Stillman Wright (by transfer 

 from Interior Lakes Investigations) in 1928, 

 Frank W. Jobes in 1930, and Harry A. Hanson 

 (by transfer from North Atlantic Fishery In- 

 vestigations) in 1931 . Hanson was transferred 

 to Washington headquarters in less than 2 years 

 and Wright left in 1933 to accept a position with 

 the Brazilian Government. Deason continued on 

 the staff until 1940 when he was transferred to 

 Washington. Except for a 2 -year period in 1935- 

 37 at Washington headquarters and with Columbia 

 River Salmon Investigations, Jobes remained in 

 Ann Arbor until 1949 when he resigned to enter 

 teaching. 



Period of Reduced Budgets, 1933-47 



The depression of the 1930' s brought 

 drastic curtailment of governmental research 

 activities and pressure for reduction of person- 

 nel. Field work on all major projects ended in 

 order to retain as many as possible of the staff 

 in anticipation of better times. Through re- 

 organization and adjustment elsewhere Ralph 

 Hile, still a member of the staff, was transferred 

 to Great Lakes Fishery Investigations from his 

 work on northern Wisconsin lakes for the purpose 

 of developing procedures for the analysis of the 

 statistics of the commercial fisheries of the 

 Great Lakes. Hile's biological studies, however, 

 continued for nearly 10 years to be based prin- 

 cipally on materials and data from the interior 

 lakes of Wisconsin, waters peculiarly well suited 

 to research on certain types of ecological prob- 

 lems, the results of which could be useful in the 

 conduct of studies on the Great Lakes. This 

 Wisconsin work was accordingly considered an 

 integral part of Great Lakes Fisheiy Investigations. 



The period of scanty budgets that started 

 in 1933 continued through fiscal year 1947. The 

 figures of $7,010 for fiscal year 1941 and $5,310 



