PISHING INDUSTRY OP THE GREAT LAKES 573 



Sturgeon and other shore species have never been abundant any- 

 where. Of these shore forms the wall-eyed pike has always been in 

 demand, and since 1903 on the American side and about 1913 on 

 the Canadian side the production of suckers has increased. The 

 amount of apparatus used on the Canadian shore has declined 

 since 1915, while the statistics for 1922 showed an increase over 

 previous censuses in the number of traps and pounds used on the 

 American side but a decrease in the number of gill nets employed. 



PRESENT STATUS, METHODS, AND APPARATUS 



There are at present less than a dozen tugs engaged in fishing on 

 the American side of Lake Superior, but there are a number of 

 smaller vessels at various ports. Usually one or two hook tugs from 

 Lake Michigan operate out of ports as far west as Marquette during 

 the spring months. A few local boats also fish hooks, but none of 

 them do so throughout the season, as is the case on Lakes Michigan 

 and Huron, for the reason probably that the small fish needed for 

 bait are scarce and can not always be had. 



Most of the boats fish gill nets, and trout is the principal species 

 sought. The nets are usually set in less than 60 fathoms, and at 

 present few ciscowets or fat trout are taken. Small-meshed nets are 

 used in November for herring where these occur in commercial quan- 

 tities, and at certain ports this fishery is very important. The chubs 

 spawn at about the same time, and a few lifts of these may also be 

 taken. 



In addition to these larger craft there are a considerable number of 

 smaller ones that fish gill nets near the shores and operate trap nets 

 and pound nets. The catches of most of these consist principally of 

 rough fish, but they also take whitefish and trout and supply the local 

 demand for herring and chubs. 



There are still fewer large boats engaged in fishing on the Canadian 

 shore, though there are several that transport fish or combine fishing^ 

 with transporting. Gill nets are the chief apparatus employed, and 

 trout are mainly caught. The best ciscowet grounds in the lake lie 

 off the eastern shore, and ciscowets are an important item in the 

 fisheries out of Port Coldwell. 



All trout spawn in the early fall in Lake Superior, and the fishing 

 season is over by November, but all the gill-net boats that conven- 

 iently can fish herring in Thunder Bay during that month. In 

 recent years the use of pound nets in the bays of the north and east 

 shores has increased, and in 1922 there were 53 such nets. They 

 produce most of the whitefish and rough fish taken on that shore. 



Hook fishing is insignificant in the Canadian waters, and in winter 

 practically all fishing operations are suspended on both sides of the 

 boundary. 



FISHING DISTRICTS 



The most important fishing centers on Lake Superior are Sault 

 Ste. Marie, Grand Marais, Munising, Marquette, Houghton, Onto- 

 nagon, Bayfield, and Duluth on the American shore, and Fort Wil- 

 liam, Port Arthur, Rossport, Port ColdweU, and Michipicoten Island 

 on the Canadian side. There are also individual fishermen located 

 in camps among the Apostle Islands, in villages on Isle Royale, and 



