FISHING INDUSTRY OF THE GREAT LAKES 607 



because nets of small enough mesh are not permitted. Two other 

 species of deep-water herring occur with Jioyi in depths of 50 to 70 

 fathoms, but these are also small and can not be taken in the mini- 

 mum 3-inch net which is now allowed. The nets of 2^ inch and 

 2%-inch mesh set by me in the summer of 1921 showed that these 

 three species occur off Wilson, Rochester, and Sodus Point. Since 

 about half the entire area of Lake Ontario is frequented by no other 

 fish than these three species and the lawyer, it would be a distinct 

 economic gain if they might be taken commercially. 



OTHER INDIGENOUS SPECIES 



The ''rough fish" are found only in the shallowest water, and such 

 areas have been pretty well protected on Lake Ontario. The New 

 York law allowed no nets within 1 mile of shore from about 1890 

 until 1921, and the Canadians licensed practically no traps or pounds. 

 The chief species are sturgeon, eels, pike, wall-eyed pike, suckers^ 

 catfish, bullheads, perch, and lawyer. The Atlantic salmon, which 

 was at one time abundant in the streams emptying into Lake Ontario, 

 is now probably extinct. 



The sturgeon, once valueless, is now the most valuable of all the 

 species in the lake, and though almost exterminated it is still abundant 

 enough on the American shore so that several fishermen make par- 

 ticular efforts during the summer to capture it. Gill nets and set 

 lines are used, and the output is a few hundred fish yearly. 



The eel, which obtains access to the lake from the St. Lawrence 

 River, is taken chiefly on night lines, and all the other species are 

 taken in fykes, traps, or gill nets. The greatest amount of each 

 species, except the sturgeon and lawyer, is taken on the Canadian 

 side, where the most sheltered situations occur. 



The lawyers are abundant enough everywhere, but the Canadians 

 have no market for them and the Americans have just begun to 

 utilize them. The campaign of the United States Bureau of Fisheries 

 to acquaint people with the food qualities of this species is no doubt 

 largely responsible for the increased demand. 



None of the species mentioned in this section are protected by a 

 closed season except the wall-eyed pike, which in New York may not 

 be taken from March 2 to May 9, both dates inclusive. However, 

 most of the wall-eyed pike in American waters are of the blue race, 

 and these are not protected in any manner whatever. 



INTRODUCED SPECIES 



ALEWIFE 



An account of the Ontario fisheries is not complete without men- 

 tion of the alewife, which was present in abundance in the lake as 

 early as 1873, according to a letter found in the files of Fisheries 

 Inspector John W. Kerr, of Hamilton, dated June 10, 1873. It is 

 supposed to have been introduced, and is at present very abundant 

 along the shores but is not taken for market. Its chief interest lies in 

 the heavy mortality among adults in the spring, when they are said 

 to occur frequently in windrows on the beaches. To the decay of 

 these carcasses the fishermen attribute in large part the decrease of 

 the whitefish, and from personal observations I believe that it is not 



