PROPAGATION AND DISTRIBUTIOlSr OF FOOD FISHES, 1921. 45 



men on the ground that the stripping of the fish reduced their 

 market A'alue. an objection Tvhich is not altogether well founded. 

 While it is true that the appearance of the female may be affected 

 by the stripping process, the roe at spawning time has no market 

 value. The spawning season of this species coincides with that of 

 the shad, and for that reason the egg collections were limited, the 

 hatching capacity permitting of a total collection of 56,130,000. 



PROPAGATION OF ALEWIFE, BOOTHBAT HARBOR (ME.) STATION. 



For the past two seasons attempts have been made to secure eggs 

 of the alewife for artificial propagation at the Boothbay Harbor 

 (Me.) station. The Damariscotta Kiver supports a run of the 

 species, and there is a fishery of some importance at Damariscotta 

 Mills. An examination of the fish taken at this fishery in tide- 

 water very soon disclosed that no fish with mature spawn were ob- 

 tainable from this source. The efforts made to hold the fish in an 

 inclosure-. awaiting the maturity of the eggs, were not successful, 

 and attempts to secure eggs from the fish after their entrance into 

 fresh-water ponds above the falls were equally unsuccessful. Seines, 

 pound nets, and fyke nets were employed at ^Damariscotta Mills and 

 at AVest Boothbay Harbor in ponds where the alewife is known to 

 spawn, but the results were negative in every instance in so far as 

 they pertained to eggs for propagation, though considerable num- 

 bers of fish with immature eggs and also of sj^ent fish were taken. 

 No satisfactory explanation of this unusual situation is at hand, since 

 alewives in spawning condition are taken in various forms of nets 

 at other points. 



PROPAGATION OF STRIPED RASS, WELDON (N. C. ) SUBSTATION. 



The bureau propagates the striped bass or rockfish at a single 

 substation, located on the Roanoke River at Weldon, N. C, where a 

 yearly average of about 12,500.000 fry is hatched and returned to 

 the spawning grounds in the river. The work is greatly handi- 

 capped by the floods usually encountered and also by the difficulty 

 experienced in securing ripe fish of the two sexes at the same time. 

 During the height of the run this latter condition is less pronounced 

 than it is earlier or later in the season. Contrasted with the output 

 of some of the commercial species, the work at this hatchery is not 

 large, but it is showing a steady and gratifying increase, as is evi- 

 denced by a comi)arison of the results of the past 10 years. The 

 production of striped bass fry at Weldon rose from 5,256,000 in 

 1912 to 20,184,000 in 1921, an increase of nearly 400 per cent. 



PROPAGATION OF ATLANTIC SALMON, CRAIO BROOK (ME.) STATION. 

 [J. D. De Rocher, Superlntondent.] 



For many years it has been the practice of the bureau to purchase 

 in May and June practically all tne salmon captured by the Penob- 

 .scot River fishermen, estimating the average weight at 12| pounds, 

 and paying the prevailing market prices for them, together with 

 a bonus of 60 cents per fish for careful handling. The fish have 

 been held in a large lake or inclosure until their eggs were mature, 



