576 U. S. BUREAU OF FISHERIES 



OTHER INDIGENOUS SPECIES 



Lake Superior contains few localities in which it is possible for the 

 shore species to thrive, and except for the bays of the north shore, 

 Whitefish Bay, and around the northern islands and the Apostle 

 Islands there are no sheltered places. Consequently sturgeon were 

 never abundant and the wall-eyed pike is confined to the areas men- 

 tioned. The sturgeon is almost extinct and the wall-eyed pike is of 

 minor importance, particularly on the American shore. Suckers are 

 also relatively scarce. They have been marketed on the American 

 side for more than 30 years, but only in the last 10 years have they 

 been brought to market from Canadian waters. 



FISHING REGULATIONS 



Jurisdiction over Lake Superior is divided between Ontario, Min- 

 nesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan; Wisconsin controlling a geographi- 

 cally small, but very important section. 



APPARATUS 



Gill nets. — Except for Wisconsin, which permits the use of a 4-inch 

 gill net for taking whitefish and trout, the other governments allow 

 nothing smaller than 4 ^-inch mesh. With respect to the capture of 

 herring the laws vary. Minnesota permits 2^-inch netting to be 

 used until such time as Wisconsin may declare a minimum of 2^4- 

 inches. Wisconsin allows a 2^-inch mesh in November and Decem- 

 ber; Michigan 23/^-inch from November 1 to December 15, or at any 

 time if set not more than 2 fathoms belo"w the surface in waters of 

 not less than 10 fathoms; and Ontario 23^-inch, or 23^-inch if fished 

 in less than 8 fathoms. Michigan permits IK to 2-inch nets, and 

 Wisconsin 1 ^/g-inch nets for the purpose of taking bait for hooks. 



Seines. — Seines in Wisconsin may be of not less than 3-inch mesh, 

 and in Michigan of not less than 4 inches in the wings and 23^ inches 

 in the bag. No whitefish or trout may be taken with seines in 

 Michigan waters. Ontario and Minnesota do not regulate the mesh 

 of seines. 



Traps and pounds. — For traps or pounds Minnesota has no regu- 

 lations, since none are employed on that shore. Ontario prohibits 

 traps but does not regulate the mesh of pound nets. Wisconsin 

 states that the mesh of pound-net pots may not be larger than 2 

 inches. The Michigan pound-net law has been devised with more 

 care, and the mesh of pound-net pots may not be smaller than 33^ 

 inches, as fished, with a back made of net no larger than 2 inches, as 

 manufactured, for at least 15 feet below the surface of the water. 

 The back may be constructed of any size mesh if 4-inch netting is 

 used elsewhere in the pot. 



For the taking of herring, where not more than 10 per cent of the 

 year's catch is of mature whitefish and trout, not less than 23^-inch 

 mesh may be used in the pot and not larger than 2-inch mesh in the 

 back. For the taking of herring alone, between the dates of October 

 1 and June 15, a pound with the pot of netting not smaller than 2 

 inches throughout, as manufactured, may be used where such nets 

 do not take immature whitefish and trout. 



