24 REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONER OF FISHERIES. 



extended, at no expense to the bureau, to a number of investigators 

 connected with the Marine Biological Laboratory. In the summer 

 of 1922 the laboratory was reopened with a very small staff of the 

 bureau's workers and a considerable number of volunteers investi- 

 gating marine biological problems of their own selection. 



The station at Beaufort continued without a scientific director 

 on account of the inadequacy of the salary to attract a man with 

 sufficient training to discharge the duties of the position. Experi- 

 ments in terrapin culture Avere continued, and the facilities of the 

 station were utilized by the Navy Department for investigations 

 relating to the prevention of fouling of ships' bottoms. Several in- 

 dependent investigators were also accommodated. 



With the exception of two months the laboratory at Key West 

 has been without a technical staff on account of the Ioav salaries. 



The principal work of the Fairport (Iowa) laboratory has been 

 briefly described elsewhere in this report. 



PROPAGATION AND DISTRIBUTION OF FOOD FISHES. 

 REVIEW. 



During the fiscal year 1922 the fish-cultural work of the bureau 

 was conducted along established lines on the usual extensive scale 

 and with satisfactory results despite many difficulties. On the Pacific 

 coast low water, followed later by freshets, affected the collection of 

 salmon eggs. Through the Great Lakes region warm weather in the 

 early part of the season retarded the run of whitefish and lake trout 

 and lowered the quality of their eggs, but conditions improved later. 

 Unseasonable Aveather occurred during the period when the pond- 

 fishes were spawning and resulted in chilling the eggs of the basses, 

 crappie, sunfish, and other spring-spawning species. 



A comparison of egg, collections and of the output of the hatcheries 

 with the previous year shows a considerable divergence in the num- 

 bers of the various species handled. The present year exhibits an 

 increase in the output of such species as the buffalofish, glut herring, 

 shad, whitefish, Pacific coast salmon, trouts, yellow perch, cod, 

 striped bass, and winter flounder, while decreases are evident in the 

 output of carp, smelt, pike perch, haddock, and pollock. These 

 annual variations may be accounted for primarily by climatic con- 

 ditions, which favorably or otherwise affect the spawning of anA 

 species. Another factor that contributed largely to the/'clecreaseg 

 in output Avas the reduction of funds for fish-cultural operations. 

 The force for the collection of eggs must be assembled and placed in 

 the field in advance of the expected run of fish, that they may be 

 in leadiness to secure the eggs as soon as they are available. In 

 many very promising fields it was not possible to conduct opera- 

 tions until the close of the season nor to hold the field force for 

 delayed runs of fish on account of limited funds. 



The most important operations of the division of fish culture are 

 those addressed to the maintenance of certain of the great com- 

 mercial fisheries, which because of their magnitude must be con- 

 sidered factors of importance in the maintenance of the fish supply 

 of the country. A reduction in the general fund set aside for the 

 propagation and distribution of food fishes must necessarily affect 

 this class of work. 



