Van Oosten, John 



1947. Mortality of smelt, Osmerus 

 mordax (Mitchill), in Lakes Huron 

 and Michigan during the fall and 

 winter of 1942 -1943. Trans. Am. 

 Fish. Soc, Vol. 74(1944), pp. 

 310-337. 



Description of the spread of the mor- 

 tality, evaluation of the many suggested 

 causes (bacterial or virus disease held 

 to offer the only explanation consistent 

 with the facts), estimate of loss of 

 production to commercial and sport 

 fishermen, demonstration of improved 

 growth of smelt following the mortality, 

 and discussion of prospects for the re- 

 covery of smelt stocks. 



1948. Turbidity as a factor in the decline 

 of Great Lakes fishes with special 

 reference to Lake Erie. Trans. 

 Am. Fish. Soc, Vol. 75, (1945), 

 pp. 281-322. 



Exhaustive treatment of the contro- 

 versial question as to whether increase 

 of turbidity due to improper land use 

 or improper fishing has caused the 

 decline of the Lake Erie fisheries. 

 Review of literature on effects of tur- 

 bidity on fish is followed by presenta- 

 tion of argument in support of 

 conclusions: beach erosion and wind 

 action rather than cropland erosion 

 are principal sources of turbidity in 

 Lake Erie; levels of turbidity are 

 generally too low to affect fish adverse- 

 ly; trends in turbidity since 1910-1915 

 have been downward, not upward as 

 many have believed; fluctuations of 

 turbidity have shown no correlation 

 with fluctuations of growth and strength 

 of year classes; restoration of the 

 fisheries must come through scientific 

 fishery management --not scientific 

 farming. 



1949. The present status of the United 

 States commercial fisheries of the 

 Great Lakes. Trans. 14th N. Am. 

 Wildlife Conf., pp. 319-330. 



Discussion of depletion as exemplified 

 by declining production in the face of 

 more intensive and efficient fishing. 



Demonstrates from comparison of 

 1879-1903 and 1936-1945 statistics 

 that total U.S. yield would have de- 

 creased much more but for a large 

 rise in tlie take of coarse fish. In- 

 cludes data on the decline in production 

 of important species in individual lakes. 



1949. The sea lamprey --a threat to Great 

 Lakes fisheries. State Government, 

 Vol. 22, pp. 283-284, and 289. 

 History of penetration and spread of 

 the sea lamprey in the upper Great 

 Lakes, records of losses of production 

 of lake trout from lamprey depredations 

 in Lakes Huron and Michigan, comments 

 on the lamprey as a threat to the Lake 

 Superior lake trout and to other species 

 in all three lakes, and outline of current 

 and proposed sea lamprey research. 



1949. A definition of depletion of fish 



stocks. Trans. Am. Fish. Soc, 

 Vol. 76 (1946), pp. 283-289. 

 A listing of situations not to be held 

 as synonymous with depletion followed 

 by the definition: " . . .reduction, 

 through overfishing, in the level of 

 abundance of the exploitable segment 

 of a stock that prevents the realization 

 of the maximum productive capacity." 



1949. Progress report on the sea lamprey 

 study. The Fisherman, Vol. 17, 

 No. 3, pp. 6, 9, and 10. 



Outline of program and statement of 

 progress of cooperative researches 

 of the Great Lakes Sea Lamprey Com- 

 mittee composed of representatives 

 of the eight lake states, the Province 

 of Ontario, and the Fish and Wildlife 

 Service. 



1950. Progress report on the study of 

 Great Lakes trout. The Fisherman, 

 Vol. 18, No. 5, pp. 5 and 8-10, 

 and No. 6, pp. 5 and 8 . 



Outline of program of Great Lakes 

 Lake Trout Committee (composed of 

 representatives of states bordering 

 the three upper lakes, the Province of 

 Ontario, and the Fish and Wildlife 

 Service) and report on results of plant- 

 ings of about 400,000 fin -clipped 



37 



