occasional direct observation and by regular 

 maintenance of records by cooperating fisher- 

 men) on catches of lake trout in chub gill nets. 

 These data made it possible to trace the fur- 

 ther decline in the lake trout stock after the 

 collapse of the commercial fishery for the 

 species . 



Recoveries from the 1944-46 plantings 

 of lake trout fingerlings were the basis of a 

 report on the validity of scale readings and on 

 the growth of trout in Lake Michigan (doctoral 

 dissertation by Cable, University of Michigan) . 



Lake Huron 



Before the Cisco survey of 1956 field 

 work on Lake Huron was limited to the annual 

 collection of scale samples from the spawning 

 runs of the walleye, yellow perch, and lake 

 herring. An interim report has been published 

 on the fluctuations of the walleyes- -a continuing 

 study- -and a manuscript is nearing completion 

 on the growth and year -class strength of yellow 

 perch (doctoral dissertation by El-Zarka, Univ- 

 ersity of Michigan) . No work has been done 

 with the lake herring collections . 



Lake Erie 



Field work has been limited to the an- 

 nual fall sampling of the commercial catch at 

 the principal ports. A start has been made on 

 tlie study of the scales of walleyes, blue pike, 

 and whitefish, but the bulk of the material has 

 not been examined. 



Financial and technical aid was given to 

 a study of the life history of the gizzard shad in 

 western Lake Erie (doctoral dissertation by 

 Bodola, Ohio State University). 



Lakes Ontario and St. 

 Minnesota 



Clair; Red Lakes, 



No research has been undertaken on Lake 

 Ontario or Lake St. Clair. Some assistance is 

 given studies of the commercial fisheries of the 

 Red Lakes by L. Smith and students. University 

 of Minnesota. 



Fishery statistics 



A monthly report form with space for 

 daily records of the quantity of gear fished and 

 of the catch of each species, was developed by 

 the Service in the 1920' s for use on the Great 

 Lakes. Some states started the use of this 

 form at an early date (Michigan, 1927 Ohio, 

 1931; vVisconsin, 1936). Others used the form 

 a short time but abandoned it because no use 

 was made of the records; some did not introduce 

 it at all before 1950. When the Great Lakes 

 Fishery Investigations was expanded in 1950, 

 ■arrangements were made with the states for the 

 use of this "uniform" report throughout the 

 Great Lakes. As part of the agreement the 

 Service compiles and analyzes the records for 

 New York, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Indiana, 

 Illinois, and Wisconsin. Ohio and Minnesota 

 prepare their own tabulations (as does Ontario 

 which also employs the uniform reporting 

 system). 



The only routine publication based on 

 the statistical records is the annual compilation 

 of the pounds and value cf the catch in U. S. 

 waters (by lake, by state, and by gear) prepared 

 by Great Lakes Fishery Investigations and pub- 

 lished by the Branch of Commercial Fisheries. 

 In the main, these records constitute an increas- 

 ingly valuable backlog of information on local 

 and lake -wide fluctuations in catch, fishing effort, 

 and relative abundance of the principal species 

 to be drawn upon as needed. They have formed 

 the principal materials for papers on the white- 

 fish fishery of Lakes Huron and Michigan, the 

 lake trout fisheries of the upper Great Lakes, 

 the fishery of northern Green Bay, and the chub 

 fishery of Lake Michigan. Other information 

 from the statistical records has been included in 

 various biological publications. 



PUBLICATIONS BY STAFF MEMBERS 



The following list includes the principal 

 publications of staff members of Great Lakes 

 Fishery Investigations. £/ Omitted have been 



4/ The listing contains 5 papers by Elmer Hig- 

 gins, who though not actually a member of the 

 Great Lakes staff, had administrative responsi- 

 bility for the Great Lakes program during his 

 long tenure as Chief of the Branch of Fishery 

 Biology. 



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