X REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 



105,863,000 fry. Over 100,000,000 eggs were also collected at Kittery 

 Point, Maine, which were transferred to the Gloucester Station, from 

 which 96,700,000 cod fry were hatched and liberated. 



During the months of November and December between 7,000,000 and 

 8,000,000 pollock eggs were collected from boats fishing out of Glou- 

 cester, and the fry resulting from them were planted in neighboring 

 waters. It was intended to take up the propagation of this species on 

 a large scale, but most of the pollock in that vicinity are now captured 

 with hand lines instead of gill nets, making it impossible to obtain 

 spawning fish in quantities. 



The constant decline in the lobster fishery accentuates the necessity 

 for increased work in this line. The schooner Grampus was employed 

 during the mouths of April, May, and June in collecting egg lobsters 

 along the entire coast of Maine. The fisheries on the coasts of Massa- 

 chusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut were looked after by fishing 

 smacks and steam launches, and as a result of these efforts 95,000,000 

 fry were liberated. 



During the spring of 1898 over 300,000,000 shad eggs were collected 

 on the Delaware, Susquehanna, and PotoDiac rivers, and in the Albe- 

 marle Sound, North Carolina; 228,000,000 of these eggs were hatched 

 and the fry planted — a very satisfactory increase over the previous year. 

 The usual shad oi^erations on the Delaware with the Fish Hawk were 

 interrupted by the war, which caused the detail of that vessel for naval 

 service. To prevent the abandonment of the work, arrangements were 

 made with the Pennsylvania authorities to operate the State hatchery 

 at Bristol. 



An important new feature of the fish-cultural work was the hatching 

 of 3,000,000 fry of the grayling at Bozeman Station. This fine food and 

 game fish has a very limited distribution, and its artificial propagation 

 has heretofore been chiefly experimental. 



The efforts to acclimatize food-fishes in waters to which they are not 

 indigenous have been continued by transferring quantities of eggs of 

 the quinnat salmon and steelhead trout to eastern stations to be hatched, 

 so that the fry could be planted in Atlantic coastal streams. Adult 

 tautog, lobsters, and blue crabs have been sent to California and planted 

 in the Pacific. Many of the lobsters were females with eggs, and the 

 plant should result iu from 3,000,000 to 4,000,000 fry besides the adult 

 lobsters. 



The steady increase in the catch of shad in the United States is con- 

 clusive evidence of the value of artificial propagation. In the year 

 1880, prior to which time but little work of this character had been 

 done, the catch of shad iu the United States vv^as 18,071,534 pounds; 

 and in the years immediately succeeding 1880 until 1885, Avhen the 

 first results of artificial propagation became observable, the supply 

 of these fish had decreased to such an extent that it was feared they 

 would be exhausted for commercial purposes. In 1888 tbe catch had 

 increased to 35,736,585 pounds, and iu 1896, the last year for which 



