P BUREAU OF FISHERIES XI 
There is the ever-increasing possibility of a light run of fish, due to 
overfishing, pollution, obstr uctions, etc., and the further chance that: 
no eggs can be secured, even though the fish may be obtainable. The 
same situation applies in general to the propagation of the river her- 
ring. Shad work conducted on the Delaware River in cooperation 
with the State of New Jersey yielded very few fish, and no eggs were 
obtained. Previous to the opening of the shad season on the Potomac 
a large number of yellow perch were hatched at the Bryans Point 
station. A blizzard in March destr oyed the fishermen’s nets and 
seriously curtailed the output of the species in Albermarle Sound. 
A number of Atlantic-salmon eggs, obtained through exchange from 
sts 
Canada, were hatched and the ‘try distributed in Maine waters. 
COMMERCIAL FISHES OF INTERIOR WATERS 
Whitefish, cisco, lake trout, and pike perch, the main species sup- 
porting the extensive commercial fisheries of the Great Lakes, are 
the objects of attention in this field. As the eggs are secured as a by- 
product of the commercial fisheries, any adverse weather which 
retards fishing restricts the take of egos. The various species fre- 
quent different localities and have different spawning periods, so that 
the causes that diminish collections of one species do not affect the 
others necessarily. ‘There was an increase in the collection of lake 
trout and cisco eggs as compared with 1926. Whitefish and pike- 
perch collections declined in comparison with the previous year. 
Resumption of the practice of penning whitefish at some of the Great 
Lakes stations has effected a salvage of eggs that would otherwise be 
lost. A marked increase in the percentage of hatch has followed such 
practice. Where the eggs are taken by the bureau’s experienced 
employees better quality is assured than when the fishermen them- 
selves take and care for the eggs. The action of the conferences called 
in Ohio and Michigan urging “that the taking of spawn by the fisher- 
men in a proper manner be made a requirement of law should prove 
beneficial in increasing the output of the stations and in saving the 
fisheries from further “depletion. 
Pike-perch operations at Swanton, Vt., were not as satisfactory as 
heretofore, low water making the penning of adult fish difficult. 
Work with this species on the Great Lakes was successful, however. 
Hatching of buffalo fish at Plaquemine, La., was a virtual failure. 
SALVAGING FISHES FROM OVERFLOWED REGIONS 
Unusually low water during the spawning season, when the fish 
normally would migrate to the marginal areas and become land- 
locked, acted as a barrier to such movements. Later in the season, 
when seining operations have been conducted in other years, hign 
water hindered the rescue work, so that it was difficult to obtain the 
fish that migrated. As a consequence, the collection of fish from this 
source was very small and a considerable number of applications for 
them were left unfilled. 
