FISHING INDUSTRY OF THE GREAT LAKES 581 



PRESENT STATUS, METHODS, AND APPARATUS 



The principal fisheries on the American side of Lake Huron are at 

 present conducted by means of gill nets and the chief product taken 

 by them is trout, but at certain seasons whitefish are also an important 

 element in the catch. Latterly no boats have fished for chubs exclu- 

 sively, but in the spring of 1923, when for a time Lake Huron chubs 

 brought 15 cents per pound (the first time in history that such fish 

 brought a higher price than trout), all the boats owning suitable 

 nets took to chub fishing, and in a few weeks the price fell to 5 cents 

 and the nets were pulled out. Alpena is now the only important 

 chub-fishing port. Small-meshed nets are also used to a considerable 

 extent to take herring, Menominees, and perch, but except that the 

 large tugs frequently make a few lifts of the two last-mentioned 

 species in fall and sometimes again in spring, these nets are used 

 only by the shore fishermen. 



Hook fishing for trout is carried on out of several ports, but the 

 practice has not spread very rapidly in the last few years. 



The chief pound-net district in American waters is in Saginaw 

 Bay, and large numbers of traps and fykes are also employed in this 

 region. Elsewhere traps have largely replaced pounds. The increas- 

 ing value of "rough fish" has been responsible for the rise of an 

 important trap-net fishery at the north end of the lake, which vies 

 in production with the established fisheries in Saginaw Bay. 



On the Canadian shore a large portion of the production is yielded 

 by pound nets, most of which are located in the North Channel 

 district, on the north and east shores of Georgian Bay and on the 

 shores at the foot of the lake. In 1922, 288 pound nets were licensed 

 in the Canadian waters, and these produced most of the whitefish, 

 wall-eyed pike, pike, and rough fish, and a significant percentage of 

 the trout taken in that year. Most of the gill nets are in use in 

 Georgian Bay and in the main lake, and their catches are chiefly 

 trout, though some whitefish and chubs are also taken. Hooks are 

 also rather commonly employed in these sections to take trout. No 

 trap nets are allowed, and there are few fishermen who use small- 

 meshed nets for herring and rough fish along the shores. 



FISHING DISTRICTS 



Gill netting is carried on chiefly out of Cheboygan, Alpena, and 

 Harbor Beach on the American side, and to a lesser extent out of 

 Detour, Rogers, and Oscoda. Southampton, on Lake Huron, is the 

 largest tug center on the Canadian shore, but there are numerous 

 other hamlets and stations out of which are operated small boats 

 having a considerable equipment of gill nets. In Georgian Bay the 

 fishing ports are for the most part towns, and those most worthy of 

 mention are Tobermory, Meaford, Owen Sound, CoUingwood, and 

 Parry Sound. In the North Channel and around the islands that 

 inclose it are many sheltered harbors, and the fishing boats are there- 

 fore widely scattered in this section. 



Most of the pound nets and trap nets in use on the American shore 

 are employed m Saginaw Bay, though many are also fished in the 

 straits, around islands at the north end of the lake, and in the vicinity 

 of Thunder Bay. The chief poimd-net areas on the Canadian shore 



