BUREAU OF FISHERIES XV 



PROPAGATION OF COMMERCIAL SPECIES 



Marine species of the Atlantic coast. — Wliile haddock and cod were 

 handled in larger numbers, a very poor market for pollock materially 

 curtailed the output of this species from the Gloucester (Mass.) 

 station. Furthermore, a decline of approximately 500,000,000 fry 

 of the winter flounder was registered in the operations of the Booth- 

 bay Harbor (Me.) and Woods Hole (Mass.) stations. 



Pacific salmon. — With the exception of the chum salmon and the 

 steelhead salmon, the output of all the varieties of commercial Pacific 

 salmons registered a decline. Propagation of these forms is espe- 

 cially dependent upon the abundance of the run of fish, and since 

 these runs fluctuate according to year classes, the hatchery production 

 is likewise variable. 



Anadromous species of the Atlantic coast. — Included in this group 

 are certain commercial forms comiDrising the shad, striped bass, 

 Atlantic salmon, and glut herring. The shad work is chiefly centered 

 on the Potomac River, and in this field a considerable increase in 

 output was achieved. The propagation of striped bass in coopera- 

 tion with the State of North Carolina did not yield results of any 

 great importance during 1932. The propagation of Atlantic salmon 

 is dependent upon the quantity of eggs which may be obtained from 

 the Canadian Government, since they are not readily available in 

 the United States. A noticeable reduction in the egg supply was, of 

 course, reflected in a curtailed output of the fingerling salmon. 



C ommercial species of interior waters. — ^While the most important 

 groups in this field comprise the whitefish, lake trout, cisco, and 

 pike perch of the Great Lakes, the buffalofish and carp are handled 

 to a considerable extent, the work being chiefly confined to the 

 fertilization and planting of the eggs on the normal spawning 

 grounds rather than any incubation in the hatcheries. The number 

 of eggs of the two latter varieties handled was materially increased, 

 but in the case of the Great Lakes species, with the exception of the 

 pike perch, results were disappointing. The unusually mild weather 

 extending into the early winter greatly retarded the spawning and 

 rendered such eggs as were secured of rather poor quality. The 

 work on Lake Ontario carried on from the Cape Vincent (N. Y.) 

 station suffered most materially from these conditions. However, 

 during the spring months there was a phenomenal run of pike perch 

 which resulted in a stock of eggs to the full capacitv of not only the 

 bureau's hatcheries but all the State hatcheries handling this variety. 



PROPAGATION OF GAME FISHES 



While a considerable number of game fishes are handled in rescue 

 operations, the majority of these species are produced at the bureau's 

 own hatcheries, limited only by the space and funds available, and 

 it is therefore possible to exercise much gi'eater control over the 

 output. As a result of this, almost all of the most important forms, 

 including the trouts, landlocked salmon, and the largemouth and 

 smallmouth bass were distributed in greater numbers to kee]^ pace 

 with an increase in the number of applications which are reaching 

 new high totals each year. Since only two new hatcheries were ac- 

 tually placed in operation during the year, the increase is largely 



