PROPAGATION AND DISTRIBUTION OF FOOD FISHES, 1932 537 



whereby fish which w'erc being distributed from hatcheries, due to 

 lack of facUities for rearing, were taken over by the sportsmen, cared 

 for, and fed in suitable nursery ponds or pools. Some expense to the 

 sportsmen was involved in the construction of the pools and the cost 

 of fish food and necessary attention. The bureau distributed practi- 

 cally the same number of fish to few^er nurseries during the fiscal year 

 1932, which indicates that the burdens of expense, slight though they 

 maj^ be, were beyond the resources of some organizations. However, 

 this weeding out process has not been without benefit, since the 

 nurseries which have remained in operation are the better supported 

 units, with superior facilities, and ofier more favorable prospects for 

 the production of larger numbers of large sized fish. A number of the 

 States have taken over such work, providing fish from their own 

 hatcheries and in some cases making a grant or subsidy to defray part 

 of the cost formerly borne by the sportsmen. Practical considerations 

 will make it impossible for the bureau to adopt the latter plan, and it is 

 highly desirable that there be a gradual transfer of these cooperative 

 nurseries to State auspices, whereby closer supervision may be 

 maintained and more satisfactory results achieved. 



Among the larger projects which have continued affiliations with the 

 bureau are those at Barneveld, N. Y. ; Ogletown, Pa.; Watertown, 

 N. Y. ; Turtle Lake, Mich. ; and Clare County, Mich. The latter is of 

 particular interest, in that it represents an effort on the part of a 

 community which derives direct financial benefit from its game fishing 

 waters to assure the perpetuation and maintenance of this asset. In 

 summary, the number of nurseries to which the bureau furnished fish, 

 or which received fish from other sources at the instance of the 

 bureau, declined from 119 in the fiscal year 1931 to 116 in the fiscal 

 year 1932. There follows a tabulation of their location, with a sum- 

 mary of the fish supplied. 



152060—33- 



