FISHING INDUSTRY OF THE GEEAT LAKES 563 



PRESENT STATUS, METHODS, AND APPARATUS 



There were engaged in the fishing industry on Lake Michigan, 

 according to the census of 1922, 87 steam tugs, with a total tonnage of 

 1,709, and 269 other vessels, with a tonnage of 2,442, equipped with 

 35,930 gill nets. There were, in addition, rowboats and small 

 power boats which used 704 pound and trap nets and 10,453 giU 

 nets besides fyke nets and seines. The number of vessels and boats 

 was reported to have been greater only in 1893, but the amount of 

 apparatus employed was the least on record since 1890, and the total 

 production was the smallest on record. 



Most of the boats are engaged in gill netting for trout, whitefish, 

 and chubs, though in late years the markets for chubs have become 

 so unstable on account of the increased use of Lake Erie herring for 

 smoking, and the supply so uncertain, that few boats fish for chubs 

 exclusively but many have gangs of both kinds of nets. 



Many vessels, particularly on the Wisconsin shore, fish hooks for 

 trout only. The effectiveness of this method, when properly em- 

 ployed, and the relatively small cost of operation have maintained its 

 popularity. In 1917 a number of the hook tugs migrated to the 

 waters of Lakes Huron and Superior for part of the season, a practice 

 which has become more common as the trout supply in Lake Michigan 

 has fallen below that of the other lakes. Those tugs that can make 

 their way through the ice frequently fish all winter. 



Pound nets and trap nets are scattered here and there all along the 

 shores, but they are used most in the northern end of the lake, in 

 Green Bay and Grand Traverse Bay and in the sector north of those 

 regions. The catches are principally "rough fish," but many herring 

 and whitefish are taken also in certain localities. Trap nets are now 

 far more numerous than pound nets. 



FISHING DISTRICTS 



The principal giU-net centers are on the Michigan shore at Manis- 

 tique, Charlevoix, Northport, St. James, Frankfort, Ludington, Grand 

 Haven, and St. Joseph; on the Indiana shore at Michigan City; on 

 the Illinois shore at Waukegan; and on the Wisconsin shore at Kacine, 

 Milwaukee, Port Washington, Sheboygan, Manitowoc, Kewaunee, 

 Sturgeon Bay, Washington Harbor, and Marinette. Practically all 

 the pound and trap nets licensed on the lake are employed in the 

 north from Green Bay to Grand Traverse Bay. The boats engaged in 

 this fishery are for the most part small launches, and as these can 

 find shelter in any of the bays and harbors they are not assembled 

 at any particular point, as is the case with large gill-net boats. 



PRINCIPAL SPECIES 



The Federal census of 1922 indicates that, listed in the order of 

 magnitude of the catch, lake trout, chubs and herring, whitefish, 

 sucker, and yellow perch constitute the principal species taken in 

 the lake. The total number of pounds of each of these species caught 

 in 1922 is shown in Table 1. 



