594 U. S. BUREAU OF FISHERIES 



time, fell off to an alarming degree by 1920. The once important carp 

 has steadily declined. Bass and other game fish have for many years 

 been placed on the protected list everywhere in Lake Erie and also in 

 others of the Great Lakes. 



PRESENT STATUS, METHODS, AND APPARATUS 



The amount of apparatus in use on Lake Erie, as stated in Table 8, 

 has latterly been reduced on the Canadian shore and production has 

 fallen off. Statistics for American waters also show a decline in the 

 quantity of apparatus employed. As in the past, the fisheries on 

 the western flat are at present mostly shore fisheries, conducted by 

 means of traps on the American side and by pounds across the 

 boundary. Their products are rough fish, though at certain seasons 

 a few whitefish are also taken. Gill nets, chiefly of 3-inch mesh, 

 are also abundantly emploj^ed by the shore fishermen to take the 

 same species, and at certain seasons seines are used, principally for 

 the capture of carp in the marshes. 



The tugs operating with gill nets alone are owned almost entirely 

 on the eastern half of the lake. They use principally 3-inch herring' 

 nets, which at certain seasons they also set for blue pike and perch. 

 All boats are now equipped with bull nets, and every boat has the 

 necessary apparatus for floating nets. At certain seasons 43^2 to 4^ 

 inch whitefish nets are employed, but only for short periods, but most 

 boats have a few gangs of such nets. 



The fishing seasons vary in different sections of the lake, and it is 

 now common practice for the tugs to migrate to other ports or even 

 into the waters of other States and to return home again when fish 

 appear near their own ports. There are no such migrations across the 

 boundary line; though the Canadian authorities have had difficulty 

 with American tugs that set nets in Canadian waters, and a patrol is 

 maintained and such nets as are found are seized. 



Considering the immense quantity of netting employed in so small 

 an area as Lake Erie, it is surprising that any fish are left. At times, 

 however, the fish seem to avoid all netting, and floated or sunken 

 nets are alike useless. At such times fishing is discontinued or the 

 efforts of the fishermen are directed toward less elusive species. 



FISHING DISTRICTS 



On the American shore the principal gill-net ports, in geographical 

 order, are Cleveland, Ashtabula, Erie, and Dunkirk, while on the 

 Canadian shore Port Maitland, Port Dover, Port Burwell, Port Stan- 

 ley, and Rondeau are most important. There are very important 

 shore fisheries scattered all along the lake, particularly at the western 

 end, but since the small boats engaged in these fisheries can find 

 shelter almost anywhere along the shore they are not collected into 

 harbors as is the case with the gill-net tugs. Cleveland, Loraine, 

 Vermilion, Huron, Sandusky, and Toledo are the important centers 

 handling the shore production on the American side of the lake, and 

 on the Canadian shore most of such fish are shipped from Kingsville, 

 Leamington, Rondeau, and Port Stanley. 



