THE DISTRIBUTION OF FISH AND FISH EGGS DURING THE 

 FISCAL YEAR 1908. 



CHARACTER OF THE WORK. 



More than 95 per cent of the output of the fish-ciiltiiral stations 

 consists of important comnieicial species, notably the sahnons, .shad, 

 wliitefish, pike perch, yellow perch, white perch, lake trout, cod, 

 l)ollock, flatfish, and lobsters. These are hatched in lots of many 

 millions annually and planted by the Bureau, the fresh-water spe- 

 cies principally in the large coastal streams and in the Great Lakes, 

 the marine species upon the inshore fishing grounds of the Atlantic. 



The cultivation of the fishes of the interior waters generally classed 

 as game fishes, although a comparatively small factor in the total 

 output, is a veiy important feature of the Bureau's work, supplying 

 as it does various kinds of j^oung fish for public streams, lakes and 

 ponds, fishing presei'ves, private ponds, streams, etc., in all parts of 

 the United States. Among the fishes most extensively cultivated 

 for these puiposes are the landlocked salmon, several species of 

 trout, the grayling, the basses, crappie, bream, and catfish; but 

 various others also are handled. The trouts are artificially hatched 

 from eggs taken from both wild and domesticated stock; the basses, 

 catfishes, and others are derived from mature fish held in ponds for 

 breeding purposes, or (except the small-mouth black bass) they are 

 rescued from the overflows of the Mississippi and Illinois rivers. 

 Collections from the latter sources include also pike, buffalo fish, 

 and several others, which are not distributed to applicants but are 

 returned immediately to the main streams. 



METHOD OF DISTRIBUTION. 



The first consideration in the Bureau's distribution of fishes is to 

 make ample return to the waters from which eggs or fish have been 

 collected. The remainder of the product is consigned to suitable 

 public or private waters on application which is endorsed by a 

 United States Senator or Representative. The fish are carried to 

 their destination in railroad cars equipped for the pui'pose, or by 

 messengers who accomj)any the shipments in baggage cars, and are 

 delivered to the applicant free of charge, at the railroad station 

 nearest the point of deposit. During the past fiscal year (July 1, 

 1907, to June 30, 1908), the Bureau received 8,284 applications for 

 fish, nearly all for the game species. The demand, especially for the 

 basses, crappie, and the catfishes, has for some time been greater 



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