REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONER OF FISHERIES. 47 



p-oiind fish that are annually wasted in the New P^ngland fisheries. 

 Tiie experiment, first tried in U)U), of phicin*; spawn takers on fish- 

 inn: vessels for tlie pur[)()se of takinn-, fertilizing:, and planting the 

 e^<rs fontained in hsh caught for market, was continued in 1920. 

 Five spawn takers between February 20 and April 20 made 14 trips, 

 8 on otter-trawl vessels and on trawl-line vessels, and afforded fur- 

 ther information as to the feasibility of attemptino- this work on a 

 sufliciently larofe scale to make it Avorth while. Upward of 220.- 

 OOO.OOO e^^irs. about equally divided between cod and haddock, were 

 tluis obtained and dej^osited in the natural spawninji; grounds, under 

 conchtions that closely simulate nature. The experience trained in 

 the two seasons' trials indicates that it is entirely practicable to con- 

 duct these operations on a gigantic scale at a comparatively low cost, 

 and it is the belief of the Ijureau that it may be desirable to initiate 

 the work in cooperation with the owners, masters, and crews of fish- 

 injT vessels. The saving of a few hundred millions of eggs might not 

 mean a great deal in vieAv of the magnitude of the fisheries and the 

 extent of natural spawning, but the annual saving of some thousands 

 of millions of eggs might be expected to produce an appreciable 

 effect on the supply of marketable fishes. 



RESCUE or STRANDED FOOD FISHES. 



No feature of the Bureau's work in fish conservation has had a 

 more rapid development in recent years than the rescue of fishes 

 from the overflowed lands along the Mississippi River. The fishes 

 that are salvaged comprise practically every useful species of the 

 region. The importance of and necessity for the work arise from 

 the fact that when the floods come many of the fishes are in spawning 

 condition and deposit their eggs far from the river. On the recession 

 of the flood waters the resulting young are left behind and eventually 

 become permanentl}' landlocked. Under such conditions the fish 

 inevitably perish as the cut-off ponds and sloughs gradually become 

 dr}' during summer or are quickly frozen on t^he advent of winter. 

 The toll of valuable food fishes that is thus taken is enormous, and the 

 opportunity to prevent a part of the annual waste and add to the 

 food supi^ly is most appealing. 



The simplicity of the operations, the low cost, and the certain 

 results of great magnitude are the outstanding features. In 1920, as 

 heretofore, headquarters were established at favorable points in the 

 Mississippi Valley, from which seining crews visited the landlocked 

 waters, removed the fish, and planted them in the open waters of 

 the river. The pi-incipal centers of the work were Homer and 

 La Crosse, Wis.: JBellevue and North McGregor, Iowa; Quincy and 

 Cairo, 111.; Clarksville and Canton, Mo.; and Friars Point, Miss. 



During the year ending June 30, 1920, but principally in the 

 siunmer and early autumn of the calendar year 1919, the aggregate 

 number of fish salvaged was 150,059,500. This out])ut exceeded by 

 about 100,000,000, the record that was established in the previous 

 fiscal year. 



From Homer, Minn., the work»began on August 1 and continued 

 until cold weather and ice made further oj)erations impracticable. 

 From this point five seining crews w'ere employed throughout the 

 season, collecting 37,073,812 miscellaneous fishes, of which 37,007,590 



