580 



U. S. BUREAU OF FISHERIES 



Table 6. — Relative abundance as shown by the total weight, in pounds, of the 

 annual catch of the principal species in the waters of North Channel and 

 Georgian Bay, as shown by 11 censuses 



> After 1909 the catches of other species not previously itemized were greater than of sturgeon. 



The Canadian waters are divided roughly into three districts- 

 Lake Huron proper, Georgian Bay, and the North Channel. The 

 statistics published by the Ontario government do not separate 

 accurately the catch of these three regions, fish taken in Lake Huron 

 being included with those of the other two districts and some taken 

 in Georgain Bay being credited to the North Channel. However, 

 except off the Duck Islands and ofT Tobermory, few fishing boats 



genetrate far into the waters of Lake Huron proper north of Cape 

 [urd, and for convenience the North Channel and Georgain Bay are 

 treated as a unit. Lake Huron proper really includes, then, only the 

 ports from Southampton to the American boundary. 



The most interesting features of Table 4 are the decline, in Ameri- 

 can waters, of the whitefish from first place in 1880 to sixth place in 

 1890, which position it has held practically ever since. The sturgeon 

 is gone as an important element in the fisheries and the perch and 

 catfish are declinmg. Suckers, on the other hand, are coming to the 

 fore, and the introduced carp has captured a prominent place. 



As shown in Table 5, for the Canadian side of Lake Huron proper, 

 the whitefish has become relatively insignificant since 1890 and the 

 sturgeon since 1900. Chubs and perch, which of late years have 

 increased in importance in the catch, have become more marketable 

 rather than more abundant. Trout have maintained first place since 

 1885 with the decrease of the whitefish, and herring have kept a 

 relatively high position though the weight of the catches has steadily 

 declined. Table 6, for the North Channel and Georgian Bay, shows 

 that trout have definitely replaced the whitefish in relative abundance 

 since 1895. The table may be taken to indicate that wall-eyed pike 

 have become less abundant and that pike and rough fish have come 

 into greater demand rather than increased in numbers. Sturgeon 

 have passed out as a commercially valuable species. 



