THE GREAT LAKES FISHERIES IN 1899. 581 
CAVIAR. 
Caviar 1s manufactured to some extent by the fishermen of all the 
Great Lakes except Lake Superior, where sturgeon are not sufficiently 
abundant to supply the necessary eggs. This product is also prepared 
by wholesale fish-dealers, especially in the State of New York on Lake 
Erie, who either buy the eggs fresh from fishermen or obtain them from 
sturgeon purchased in a round condition and dressed before being 
sold. In the early days of the fisheries of this region the value of the 
sturgeon was apparently unknown to the fishermen, and large quantities 
of these fish were allowed to go to waste without even being converted 
into fertilizer; but in 1880 this fishery had reached large proportions 
and 230,160 pounds of caviar were produced, valued at $34,315. 
In 1885 the catch of sturgeon was considerably less than in 1880, 
but the quantity of caviar had increased to 477,020 pounds, with an 
approximate value of $57,242, or about 12 cents per pound. The 
constant decline in the fishery since that time has naturally resulted in 
a material reduction in the yield of caviar. The greater portion of 
the output in 1899, including a large percentage of that made by the 
fishermen, was handled in the wholesale trade of Lake Erie, and 
amounted to 97,555 pounds, valued at $73,201. The caviar prepared 
by the fishermen of the various lakes in 1899 amounted to 47,470 
pounds, valued at $30,510. About 70 per cent of this was the product 
of the fisheries of Lake Erie, and nearly 50 per cent, or 20,317 pounds, 
valued at $12,850, was prepared in Erie County, N. Y. The yield, 
by States, was as follows: Michigan, 6,569 pounds, $3,435; New York, 
31,287 pounds, $20,424; Pennsylvania, 6,274 pounds, $3,992; and 
Ohio, 3,340 pounds, $2,659. 
The quantity and value of caviar prepared by the fishermen of the 
Great Lakes in 1899 is shown, by lakes, in the following table: 


Lakes. | Lbs. Value. 
| 
| 
| 



* Includes for the St. Lawrence River 4,320 pounds, value $2,610, and for the Niagara River 140 
pounds, value $70. 
COMPARATIVE STATISTICS. 
Statistics of the fisheries of the Great Lakes are presented in the 
following tables for the years 1880, 1885, 1890, 1893, and 1899. The 
period of greatest development in the fisheries of this region, as indi- 
cated by the statistics under comparison, was from 1880 to 1885. In 
those years the number of persons employed increased from 5,050 to 
10,355, the investment from $1,345,975 to $4,520,081, and the products 
from 68,742,000 pounds, valued at $1,652,900, to 99,842,076 pounds, 
