REPOaX OF Till-: COMMISSIONER OF FISHERIES. 39 



Altliou<^li tho introduced sluul has for nuuiy years l)eeii sufliciently 

 abundant at various i)laces on the western seaboard to supply a 

 large demand, comparatively little use has been made of it until 

 recently. Now, however, there is a large and increasing sale for 

 fresh shad, and considerable quantities of the fish and the roe are 

 being canned after tlie method followed with salmon. 



PROPAGATION AND DISTRIBUTION OF FOOD FISHES. 



GENEKAL REVIEW OF THE OPERATIONS. 



During the fiscal year 1912 the lish-cultural work of the Bureau of 

 Fisheries was conducted along the established lines, on the usual 

 extensive scale, and vnth satisfactory results despite many diffi- 

 culties and drawbacks. The success of artificial propagation depends 

 largely on the physical and meteorological conchtions prevailing in 

 the short spa^\^ling seasons of the various species of fishes. High 

 ^vinds, freshets, droughts, abnormal heat or cold may render abortive 

 the most elaborate preparations, and cause variations from year to 

 year in the output of the stations so affected. Thus, owing to 

 extremely low-water stages during the summer of 1911 thousands 

 of salmon were unable to ascend the streams covered by the Bureau's 

 operations in California, violent storms on the Great Lakes in fall 

 curtailed the collection of whitefish eggs, wliile abnormally cold 

 weather and floating ice in the spring of 1912 made it impossible for 

 the fishermen to operate their nets, resulting in a heavy decrease in 

 the take of pike-perch eggs. The losses in these particular fields, 

 however, w^ere more than ofl"set by increased collections elsewhere, 

 so that the total output exceeded that of any previous year. 



The fish-cultural work in 1912 was conducted in 31 States and the 

 Territory of Alaska, at 32 main stations and 92 auxiharies, including 

 the two new salmon hatcheries on the Quilcene and Duckabush Rivers, 

 in the Puget vSound region of Washington, wliich were completed and 

 put into operation during the year. 



Upward of 40 species of valuable food and game fishes, and the 

 lobster, were propagated. The total output was over 3,687,900,000, 

 consisting of 3,426,000,000 fry; 32,214,000 fingerlings, yearlings, and 

 adults; and 229,600,000 eggs. 



