48 U. S. BUREAU OF FISHERIES 
have found it most difficult to operate at a profit during the past 2 
seasons; that the production of whitefish in Lake Michigan dropped 
to an all-time low in 1936 and failed to show significant improvement 
in 1937; that the production of chubs in the State of Michigan waters 
of Lake Michigan decreased more than 40 percent from 1935 to 1937; 
that the 1937 production of whitefish in Lake Huron was only 1,120,- 
000 pounds as compared to a 1930-34 average of 3,394,000 pounds; 
and, finally, that the production of yellow perch in Lake Erie de- 
creased from 14,219,000 pounds in 1934 to 2,051,000 pounds in 1936, 
Tt is true that the production of some species has at times shown 
temporary improvement, but these increases have merely constituted 
irregularities in the general downward trend. 
Decades of bitter experience have demonstrated conclusively that 
the depletion of Great Lakes fishes cannot be halted under the present. 
system of divided control, in which each State frames its own laws 
for the regulation of the fisheries within its boundaries. 
The possibility that adequate and uniform regulations for Great 
Lakes fisheries will ultimately be attained was increased greatly in 
1938 by the active support of two influential organizations, the Coun- 
cil of State Governments and the National Resources Committee. At 
a Great Lakes Fisheries Conference called by the Council at Detroit 
February 25-26, 1938, a resolution was adopted recommending the 
establishment, by treaty with Canada, of an International Board of 
Inquiry into conditions of the Great Lakes fisheries. A Special Com- 
mittee on Lake Michigan Fisheries was organized and held its first 
meeting at the time of the Great Lakes Conference. The Special 
Committee held a second meeting in Chicago on May 6. 
Both the Great Lakes Committee and the Special Committee on 
Lake Michigan Fisheries held meetings in the late autumn in Chi- 
cago, at which time they reviewed progress made during the year and 
elaborated their program for coordinated action by Canadian, Fed- 
eral, and State agencies. As an immediate goal both committees will 
attempt to secure the enactment of discretionary power acts whereby 
the conservation departments of the several Great Lakes States will 
be authorized to regulate Great Lakes Fisheries by executive order. 
The appointment of Dr. Van Oosten in October 1938, to member- 
ship in the Water Resources Committees, of the National Resources 
Committee, of the Upper Great Lakes (Superior, Michigan, and 
Huron) and Lake Erie basins marked the first representation of 
Great Lake fisheries interests on these committees. Dr. Van Oosten 
was later made a member of a subcommittee of each of the basin 
committees on water as related to industry and navigation. The 
Upper Great Lakes and Lake Erie Basin Committees plan to cooper- 
ate fully with all agencies interested in the development of a sound 
conservation program for Great Lakes fisheries. 
An executive order drawn up by the Wisconsin Conservation Com- 
mission and signed by the Governor on January 21, 1938, constituted 
an outstanding advance in the regulation of Great Lakes fisheries. 
The order contained provisions for substantial increases in the mesh 
size of commercial gear and in the size limits of lake trout and white- 
fish in the Lake Michigan waters of the State. These changes, which 
brought the Wisconsin regulations nearer the standards maintained 
by the State of Michigan, are an important step toward the attain- 
ment of uniform regulations for all Lake Michigan waters, 
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