374 U. S. BUEEAU OF FISHERIES 



on the opposite side of the river. At the close of the year all preliminary work 

 at the new site, including the construction of docks, was completed, and the 

 necessary buildings were in course of erection. 



Edenton (N. 0.) Station and Stjbstation 

 (William S. Vincent, Superintendent) 



Herring-collecting oi^erations closely approximated the work of former years. 

 Weather conditions were somewhat adverse, but over 220,000,000 eggs were 

 taken. Only about 20 per cent of these hatched, but this is about the average of 

 former years. It is very gratifying to report that the production of shad was 

 larger than usual. The station depends upon a single fishery for its supply 

 of eggs. This year only about 20,000 fish were taken, 5,000 less than last sea- 

 son. However, there was a much larger percentage of ripe roe shad in this 

 number, and about 8,000.000 eggs were obtained. On several occasions the col- 

 lecting launch was unable to reach shore, which made it necessary to fertilize 

 the eggs and plant them immediately. Shad fishing in upper Albemarle 

 Sound was better than for several years past. It is ditficult to explain this 

 condition, in view of the very poor catches of the past few years. 



From a stock of 800 adult yellow perch over 11,000,000 eggs were obtained, 

 and a very large percentage of them hatched. At this station, brood yellow 

 perch are placed in the ponds and bundles of small branches are distributed 

 at various depths. The eggs deposited adhere to these branches, which are 

 then collected and the eggs transferred to hatching jars for incubation. 



Weldon (JV. C.) substation. — The hatching of striped bass at this point, which 

 had been discontinued since 1923, was resumed on May 1, 1928. Hatching 

 equipment from the Edenton station was transferred to Weldon, and other 

 necessary apparatus was furnished bj^ the State of North Carolina, which 

 cooperated in the work. The Roanoke River was extremely high, the weather 

 was unfavorable, and the fluctuation in water level seriously hampered fishing 

 operations. Consequently the collection of eggs was not as large as had been 

 anticipated. A very good percentage of hatch was secured, however, and no 

 trouble was experienced from polluted water, which was the deciding factor 

 when the work was discontinued in 1923. About 7,000.000 fish were hatched 

 and planted in the Roanoke River adjacent to Weldon. 



FISHES OF MINOR INTERIOR WATERS 



This numerically insignificant proportion of the bureau's output 

 consumes a disproportionate share of the funds and facilities pro- 

 vided for fish-cultural work. Virtually every mile of stream in the 

 country and every pond or lake of an area greater than 1 acre is a 

 potential depository for Government fish, not only once but continu- 

 ally, in view of the constant drain on fish life imposed by heav}- 

 fishing. 



It is obvious that the product of 23 hatcheries must fall short of 

 meeting such a demand. The bureau recognizes further that the 

 efficiency of a station can not be measured by the number of fish 

 produced alone, but by the size and condition of the fish as well. 

 The various trout and pond stations have therefore been put to the 

 necessity of devising expedients for the production of larger fish at 

 the same time that they are producing more of them. In most 

 instances, where physical limitations permit, this requirement has 

 been met, as the constantly increasing records of production will 

 show. 



While trout can not be reared at strictly pond stations, the warm- 

 water varieties can be propagated in conjunction with other forms. 

 Consequently these stations are able to distribute a limited number 

 of bass in addition to the trout they produce. The supply, however, 

 is insufficient to compensate for the general shortage of warm-water 

 varieties, and the bureau is obliged to fill requests for 15 or 20 cans 

 of fish with one-third that number. 



