574 U. S. BUREAU OF FISHERIES 



along the Minnesota shore, whose fish are transported (in the case 

 of the former) to Bayfield and (in case of the others) to Duluth. 

 Across the boundary there are numerous fishing camps among the 

 islands between Fort William and Rossport, from which the fish are 

 collected by Fort William and Port Arthur boats ; and several fishing 

 settlements lie between Michipicoten River and Gros Cap, from 

 whence the fish are carried to Sault Ste. Marie. The fish from these 

 small fisheries form the greater part of the total production from the 

 ports that receive them for distribution. 



PRINCIPAL SPECIES 



In 1922 the principal species in the American waters, judged by 

 weight of catch, were herring, trout, whitefish, and suckers ; in Cana- 

 dian waters the census of 1922 showed that trout, herring, whitefish, 

 and wall-eyed pike were most important. Detailed statements of 

 the catches of these species at the time of the various censuses are 

 given in Tables 2 and 3 (p. 572). 



LAKE TROUT 



The shoal trout is the most important species of Lake Superior. It 

 supports the gill-net fishery out of every port and is the principal 

 species taken in most of the pounds. A small percentage of the 

 catch on the American side of the lake is taken by hooks. 



There are several races of trout in the lake, not including the 

 ciscowet, and some of them grow to large size, especially among the 

 islands along the north shore. The ciscowet, which is a deep-water 

 race, so fat that it may be called inedible, is now common only at 

 points along the Minnesota shore of Lake Superior and the eastern 

 shore of Ontario in depths of 60 fathoms or more. It supports a 

 fishery during most of the season at Port Coldwell. 



Trout are now less abundant than formerly, according to the testi- 

 mony of the fishermen and as indicated by the census returns. On 

 the American shore, census figures show that there has been a marked 

 decrease since 1903. Though the registered amount of apparatus 

 has been about the same during the period, the production given for 

 each of the last three census j^-ears has been only a little over half of 

 that recorded for 1903. In Canadian waters the fact that the amount 

 of apparatus used is decreasing in the face of higher prices is a good 

 indication of a decrease in abundance. There is no closed season on 

 trout in Canadian waters and virtually none in Michigan and Wis- 

 consin, since all fishermen are permitted to fish for spawn during that 

 period. Minnesota has a closed season in November, but the fish 

 usually spawn in October and the closed season has therefore no pro- 

 tective effect on the spawning fish. Trout are extensively propagated 

 artificially. 



WHITEFISH 



The whitefish is virtually extinct along the American shore from a 

 commercial point of view and is present m appreciable numbers only 

 around the Apostle Islands and in the vicinity of Whitefish Bay. 

 The census of 1922 showed a catch of only 380,000 pounds, and this 

 with about the greatest amount of equipment and highest prices in the 



