536 U. S. BUREAU OF FISHERIES 



ranks second in importance, the catch in 1926 amounting to 20,615,000 

 pounds, or about one-fifth of the total production of all the lakes. 

 This is an increase of 44 per cent over the quantity taken in 1925 and 

 9 per cent when compared with the 10-year average for this lake. 

 Lake Michigan ranked third in importance in 1926, although previ- 

 ousl}^ it usually ranked second. The catch in 1926 about approx- 

 imated that for Lake Huron and amounted to 20,495,000 pounds. 

 This is about one-fifth of the total production of all the lakes and 

 shows a decrease of 6 per cent in amount, compared with the previous 

 year, and 7 per cent when compared with the 10-year average for 

 this lake. Lake Superior was fourth in importance in production 

 in 1926 with a catch of 17,747,000 pounds. This catch represents 

 about one-sixth of the production of all the lakes and is 12 per cent 

 greater than that of the previous year and 28 per cent greater than 

 the 10-year average for this lake. Lake Ontario was next, with a pro- 

 duction of 5,015,000 pounds in 1926, which is about the same as for the 

 previous year, the 10-year average, and the relative importance among 

 the lakes. The catch in Lake of the Woods, Rainy Lake, and Nama- 

 kan Lake, which totaled 5,117,000 pounds, showed a small loss, com- 

 pared with the previous year's total, although there has been a general 

 upward trend in the catch in these lakes since 1918. 



Catch hy species. — According to the production in the United States 

 and Canada in 1926, lake herring ranked as the most important 

 species of fish taken in the lake fisheries. The catch in 1926 amounted 

 to 19,329,000 pounds. This is the largest since 1920, and is 19 per 

 cent greater than the previous year's catch, and 3 per cent greater 

 than the 10-year average for this species. During the past 4 years, 

 the catch of lake herring has increased steadily, which is especially 

 noticeable with regard to the catch in United States waters, where 

 the major part of the catch is taken. Lake trout ranks second in 

 importance with a catch of 17,992,000 pounds. This represents 

 a very slight increase over the previous year and an increase of 9 per 

 cent when compared with the 10-year average for this species. The 

 annual catch of this species has remained fairly constant during the 

 past 10 years. Virtually two-thirds of the catch is taken in waters of 

 the United States and one-third in Canadian waters. 



Blue pike is third in importance witli a catch of 12,393,000 pounds 

 in 1926. This is a slight decrease, compared with 1925, and an in- 

 crease of 26 per cent, compared with the 10-year average for this 

 species. Th's latter increase is attributed to the somewhat small 

 production of the first 5 years of the 10-year period. During each 

 of the last 5 years of the 10-year period the catch was greater than 

 in 1926, with the exception of 1924, which it approximately equaled. 

 During late years about three-fourths of the annual catch of blue 

 pike have been taken in waters of the United States and about one- 

 fourth in Canadian waters. 



Whitefish was fourth in importance with a catch of 9,948,000 

 pounds. This is but a small gain over the production in 1925 and a 

 decrease of 2 per cent compared with the 10-year average. The 

 catch in waters of the United States during 1926 was greater than 

 that for any year since 1918, while the Canadian catch in 1926 was 

 somewhat less than that for any year since 1917 and was less than 

 the United States' catch for the first time in eight years. 



