566 U. S. BUREAU OP FISHERIES 



previously in use, and the chub-fishing industry for a time flourished 

 as never before. 



Chubs have latterly again become scarce, and in the summer of 

 1920 chub fishing had to be discontinued out of many ports. Since 

 then the catches have been larger, but any increase can be only 

 temporary. One of the species — the blackfin — has already become 

 commercially extinct, and the longjaw, which is the principal species 

 off Charlevoix, is conceded to be much reduced in numbers. None of 

 the species has ever been protected anywhere and no serious effort 

 to propagate them has ever been made. 



Trout fishermen in general are opposed to chub fishing because 

 small trout are caught in the chub nets. The percentage of small 

 trout taken is often high, it is true, but it has not yet been ascertained 

 that small trout are present throughout the area frequented by the 

 various species of chubs, and it seems not improbable that when the 

 behavior of the former is better known the use of chub nets may be 

 so regulated that the capture of undersized trout will be reduced to 

 a minimum. 



HERRING 



The most important herring fisheries are located in Green Bay, 

 where they are taken by means of gill nets and pounds chiefly in the 

 fall, when they come ashore to spawn. Some are also taken in the 

 deepest waters of the bay by gill nets in summer and are known then 

 as bluefins. In fall they are either salted or sold fresh. Some are 

 taken for market at points along the lake shore, but the quantity is 

 relatively insignificant. The price paid is so low (in the past not 

 more than 1 to 3 cents per pound) that unless the fish can be taken 

 abundantly and easily it is not worth the effort to fish for them. 

 They are nowhere protected by a closed season, and none are propa- 

 gated. 



WHITEFISH 



From first place in the fisheries of Lake Michigan in 1880, the 

 whitefish now ranks third in quantity and is produced from areas 

 that were least exploited in 1880. Practically the entire yield is 

 taken in pound nets and gill nets around the islands of Michigan at 

 the north end of the lake. Over most of the lake where this fish was 

 once abundant it is now scarce. The causes of depletion have been 

 pointed out by every investigator and are those factors which will 

 eventually eliminate the species elsewhere — wasteful and extravagant 

 modes of fishing and pollution. As in the case of the trout, there is 

 no effective closed season, but the species is extensively propagated. 



YELLOW PERCH 



The yellow perch is taken chiefly by the gill nets and trap nets 

 of the shore fishermen. Most of the catch now comes from the 

 Green Bay region, though some of it is produced out of almost every 

 other port. Formerly they were much more abundant, according 

 to the fishermen, and in many localities they have become commer- 

 cially unimportant. Except in Wisconsin, where they are protected 

 from April 15 to May 20, there is no closed season for perch. Some 

 are propagated. 



