REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONER OF FISHERIES. 49 



1920 the rescued fishes that were not restored to the Mississipi)i but 

 were sent to other ^Yaters numliered 988,784, or less than seven-tenths 

 of 1 per cent of the entire numl)or handled. 



This public service in innnccbate aid of the local States but indi- 

 rectly of vahie to the entire country has been voluntarily assumed by 

 tlie Bureau because there has been a stronfj local demand for it and 

 because of the conviction that it is vastly more important and pro- 

 ductive of direct results than are the combined operations of many 

 fish-cultural stations. The work is receiving the approbation of State 

 fish commissioners, commercial fishermen, and the general public. 

 The possibilities of greatly extending its scope and magnitude are 

 believed to be almost unlimited, and the only obstacle that presents 

 itself is lack of funds. In the estimates of appropriations for the 

 Bureau for the fiscal year 1922, there is provision for a very modest 

 increase in the general funds for fish culture in order that the rescue 

 work, among other branches, may receive fuller consideration. No 

 money appropriated by Congress for any purpose can be relied on 

 to yield more certain and more direct economic results. 



ACCLIMATIZATION. 



Noteworthy enrichment of the aquatic food resources of various 

 parts of the country has resulted from the acclimatization of desirable 

 animals from other sections. Among the well-known instances of 

 successful acclimatization are the transfer of the Atlantic shad and 

 striped bass to the Pacific coast ; the Pacific steelhead salmon to the 

 (ireat Lakes and to minor lakes in New England and elsewhere ; the 

 western rainbow trout, the eastern brook trout, and other trouts to 

 numerous States in which they were not indigenous. 



The most recent success of this kind is the case of the Pacific hump- 

 back or pink salmon in Maine. Following plants of young salmon 

 in streams in the eastern part of the State, runs of adult fish appeared 

 during a number of j^ears. The fish occurred in greatest abundance 

 in the early autumn of 1919, when there were large runs in Dennys 

 and Pembroke Rivers, and smaller runs in Penobscot, Machias, St. 

 Croix, and Magaguadavic Rivers, the last-named stream being in New 

 Brunswick. Weirs in Passamaquoddy and Cobscook Bays took con- 

 siderable numbers of the new fish which were disposed of locally or 

 shipped to Boston and New York. Accurate inf(»rmation regarding 

 the amount of the catch was difficult to obtain, as the fishermen were 

 in fear of the local law which prohibits the taking of salmon at the 

 only time when the humpback is available, this law having been en- 

 acted with sole reference to the Atlantic salmon; but it is within 

 bounds to state that several thousand adult humpbacks were caught 

 and either shipped to market or consumed locally. 



The most interesting feature of this case is that the Bureau's fish- 

 culturists, sent to Dennys and Pembroke Rivers during the period of 

 the migration, took and fertilized 499,300 humpback-salmon eggs that 

 were sent to the Craig Brook hatchery. 



From the evidence at hand there seems no reason to doubt that the 

 humpback salmon can maintain itself in certain New England rivers 

 and will prove a valuable addition to the local fish supply. The only 

 condition of success that should be safeguarded is that a proper pro- 



