4 u. s. iBuRfeAX? Of f isiiElRlfig* 



and as a potent factor in stimulating those who are connected with 

 fish culture to continued and greater effort for the advancement of 

 the work. 



VALUE OF FISHES OF MINOR INTERIOR WATERS. 



It has long been recognized that the commercial fisheries of the 

 country have constituted one of our most valuable national assets, 

 but it is only recently that the fishes of our minor interior waters 

 have come to be considered by the general public as a resource of con- 

 sequence. The wild life of both land and water is now very generally 

 regarded as a great national asset, so much so that the so-called game 

 birds and other land animals have within recent years been made 

 the subject not only of Federal and State legislation but of interna- 

 tional treaty as well. Though perhaps of equal importance, fish 

 have not received the same attention, notwithstanding the fact that 

 the Federal Government has long maintained fish-cultural stations 

 at suitable points in various parts of the country. The monetary 

 value of our commercial fisheries is known with some degree of 

 accuracy from statistics that may be compiled without unusual dif- 

 ficulty. On the other hand, the value of the fishes of inland waters 

 that do not figure in a commercial sense must be based on estimate, 

 owing to the difficulty encountered in securing accurate data. How- 

 ever, enough is known to warrant the statement that the compila- 

 tion of such data would present an imposing array of figures whose 

 total would be surprisingly large. In support of this statement, the 

 following estimates of the value of fish taken by anglers in three 

 of the States bordering the Great Lakes are of interest. The figures 

 are quoted from an address by the fish commissioner of Minnesota 

 at Milwaukee, in March, 1922. The figures are intended to cover only 

 the actual value of the fish taken by anglers and do not include any 

 value the fish may have had as an incentive to travel, recreation, 

 or indirect worth of any kind ; nor do they include any estimate of 

 the amounts contributed by tourists and anglers to the volume of 

 business of railways, hotels, outfitters, and others. It is assumed 

 by the Bureau of Fisheries that the high value placed on this esti- 

 mated catch is based on retail prices. 



Value of fish taken by anglers. 



state. 



Pounds. 



Value. 



Wisconsin, 1921 . 

 Minnesota, 1921. 

 Michigan, 1920.. 



7,000,000 

 2,850,000 



$2,125,000 

 3,000,000 

 1, 275, 000 



The States mentioned are in no wise exceptional in this respect, 

 as the figures presented could be duplicated or even exceeded in 

 other sections of the country. The American public is rapidly ac- 

 quiring the habit of outing vacations by motor, with a consequent 

 increase in the demand for good fishing in inland waters. To meet 

 this demand, an extension either by the States or the Federal Gov- 

 ernment of that branch of fish culture dealing with minor interior 

 waters is imperative. Ever since practical fish culture was initiated 



