FISHING INDUSTRY OF THE GREAT LAKES 



593 



It appears from this table that until 1890 the order of abundance 

 was as loUows: Herring, blue pike, sauger, sturgeon, whitefish, cat- 

 fish, yellow pike, and suckers. The yellow perch changed places with 

 the sturgeon in 1890, but in 1899 the sturgeon and catfish fell per- 

 manently below eighth place and the list was disturbed by the appear- 

 ance of the carp and white bass. In the census of 1903 the white 

 bass and whitefish dropped out of the series and the sheepshead and 

 sucker came in. (The sucker, beino; a cheap fish, has fluctuated in 

 importance from year to year according to the tone of the markets.) 

 In 1908 the whitefish recovered eighth place from the sheepshead, and 

 in 1917 displaced the perch from sixth. 



The main features of the 1922 statistics are the great rise in im- 

 portance of the blue pike and perch, occasioned by an enormous 

 increase in production, and the decline in importance of the carp and 

 whitefish. The latter again dropped out of the series in this census. 

 Thus, of the eight species that were most important in the fisheries 

 before 1890, five still maintained that distinction in 1922. 



The principal species on the Canadian shore in 1922 were, in order 

 of abundance, blue pike, herring, perch, "coarse fish" (including 

 "suckers, sauger, and white bass) , whitefish, wall-eyed pike, carp, and 

 pike. The relative abundance of the various species as shown by the 

 annual catches at five-year intervals over a period of years is given in 

 Table 11. 



Table 11. — Relative abundance as shown by total weight, in pounds, of the an- 

 nual catch of the principal species taken in the Canadian waters of Lake Erie, as 

 shown by 11 censuses 



Species 



Herring 



Whitefish 



Yellow pike 



Pike- 



Sturgeon 



Perch 



Coarse ar-i mixed fish. 



1875 



316, 000 

 125, 000 

 193, 000 

 13, 000 



268, 000 

 39,000 



1880 



854, 000 

 205, 000 

 143, 000 

 19, 000 

 213, 000 



169, 000 

 69, 000 



1885 



5, 935, 000 



186, 000 



685, 000 



17, 000 



459, 000 



208, 000 

 110, 000 



1890 



5, 3S3, 000 



204, 000 



961, 000 



62, 000 



580, 000 



552, 000 

 134,000 



1895 



5, 139, 000 

 148, 000 

 1, 642, 000 

 30, 000 

 319, 000 

 396, 000 

 977, 000 

 45, 000 



1900 



6, 526, 000 

 401, 000 



1, 218, 000 

 821, 000 

 169, 000 

 694, 000 

 559, 000 

 37,000 



Species 



1905 



1910 



191S 



Herring 



Whitefish 



Yellow pike 



Blue pike 



Pike - 



Sturgeon 



Perch 



Coarse and mixed fish. 

 Carp 



3, 015, 000 



304, 000 



1, 692, 000 



6, 959, 000 



1, 383, 000 



923, 000 



935, 000 

 74,000 

 552, 000 

 703, 000 



1 2, 516, 000 



61, 000 



674, 000 



883, 000 



979, 000 



5, 594, 000 

 1, 832, 000 



607, 000 

 4, 882, 000 



630, 000 



56, 000 



1, 042, 000 



948, 000 



904, 000 



9, 651, 000 

 838, 000 

 166, 000 



3, 354, 000 

 115,000 



1, 272, 000 

 900, 000 

 431, 000 



6, 306, 000 

 751, 000 

 505, 000 



6, 312, 000 

 143, 000 

 36, 000 



2, 109, 000 



1, 227, 000 

 233, 000 



1 These fish were certainly not all pike, but probably included blue pike. 



The interesting features of the table are the rise in production and 

 the corresponding change in relative abundance since 1910, at about 

 which time the increased demand for certain species raised the prices 

 paid by American markets. The statistics have not been treated in 

 a way to permit detailed analysis, but nevertheless certain tendencies 

 are indicated by them. The sturgeon has declined to insignificance, 

 and blue pike, perch, and " coarse fish" have steadily risen in import- 

 ance since 1910. The whitefish, which also rose to prominence at that 



