46 U. S. BUREAU OF FISHERIES. 



and after having been stripped the}' have been released in the river. 

 Operations along these lines have resulted in the purchase of almost 

 the entire catch and paying for the fish at a seemingly exorbitant 

 price, this amounting in effect to the maintenance of the run for 

 the sole purpose of furnishing employment to a few river fisher- 

 men. 



After thoroughly canvassing the situation the bureau recently 

 decided to curtail its expenditures in this direction, with the view 

 of ascertaining if equally good results could not be brought about 

 hj less expensive methods. Taking all related facts into considera- 

 tion, it would seem that the State of Maine should interest itself 

 in providing efficient fishways over the dams which at present ob- 

 struct the passage of the salmon to their natural spawning grounds. 



At the beginning of the fiscal year there were on hand 316 brood 

 salmon, obtained l)y purchase from local fishermen in June. At the 

 spawning season in October these fish vielded 911,720 eggs, from 

 which 821,240 fry were hatched. On INfarch 12, 1921, 600,000 eggs 

 of this species were received from the New Brunswick h-atcheries 

 of the Canadian Government in exchange for eggs of the brook, 

 rainbow, and blackspotted trouts. These were successfully in- 

 cubated, producing 565.760 fry, all of which entered into the general 

 distributions in Maine waters. 



Propagation of Fishes of Interior Waters. 



Tlie serious inroads that have been made in tlie public waters of 

 the interior as a result of the extensive and ra]ndly increasing use of 

 the touring automobile are making it exceedingly difficult to maintain 

 the fish supply in such waters. Recognizing the necessity for heavier 

 stocking of their waters, many of the States have called upon the 

 bureau for assistance, wliich, in view of its greatly overtaxed re- 

 sources, it has not always been possible to extend. One of the great- 

 est demands is for brook trout. The bureau does not produce its 

 l)rook-trout eggs, but of necessity relies upon commercial fish-cul- 

 turists for a large portion of its supply. In many instances such 

 eggs can not be considered as more than a by-product of the com- 

 mercial plants. They are, as a rule, taken from 2-year-old and 3- 

 year-old fish and for that reason do not have the stamina that might 

 be expected from the progeny of older fish. In view of this situa- 

 tion. Congress has been asked for sufficient funds to establish a plant 

 for the production of the brook-trout eggs needed to fill t]\Q. bureau's 

 liatclieries. After placing it on an operative basis such a plant could 

 l)e made to produce eggs of superior quality in numl)ers sufficient to 

 meet the bureau's requirements and at a smaller cost than is now 

 involved in the purchase of a poor grade of eggs. 



The demand for smallmouth black bass can not be met by the 

 hatcheries, the principal handicaps in the work with this species 

 being unfavorable weather and insufficient pond space. Means for 

 increasing the production of bass and other so-called warm-water 

 fishes are again mentioned as being one of the most important re- 

 quirements of the service. During a long period of time the output 

 of such fishes has not kept pace with the demand, and to meet the 

 deficiency the bureau has found it necessary to utilize for general 



