PROPAGATION AND DISTRIBUTION OF FOOD FISHES, 1922. 43 



Charlevoix station. The results of this experiment prove conclu- 

 sively that the water now available at the station is not suitable for 

 fish culture. While the lake trout seemed more resistant to the 

 chlorinated water than the whitefish, the loss on this species was 

 nevertheless serious. 



BAY CITY (MICH.) SUBSTATION. 



Pike-perch culture was again undertaken on Sao;inaw Bay at 

 Bay City. Mich., and the necessary force of men Avas assembled on 

 April 1. Conditions seemed normal in every respect, and the usual 

 satisfactory collection of eggs was anticipated. The first eggs were 

 taken on April 10, and between that date and the 18th practically 

 the total number of 75,450,000 eggs was obtained. A violent storm 

 occurring on the 18th and continuing for several days brought all 

 fishing operations to an abrupt end, and the station Avas closed on 

 the 25th. Most of the eggs were delivered to the Detroit hatchery 

 of the Michigan Fish Commission, and smaller numbers were fur- 

 nished to the Conservation Commissions of Indiana and Iowa. The 

 importance of the work that may be done in Saginaw Bay in connec- 

 tion with the valuable pike-perch fishery and the desirability of a 

 properly equipped station conveniently located for the incubation of 

 the eggs available is again mentioned. 



PUT IN BAY (OHIO) STATION. 

 [S. W. Downing, Superintendent.] 



The egg collections at this station for the fiscal year 1922 aggre- 

 gated 690,730,000, an increase of 128,305,000 over the year previous. 

 The eggs were divided among the species as follows: Whitefish, 

 385,820,000; pike-perch, 149,980,000; yellow perch, 56,930,000; and 

 carp, 98,000,000. Although the work addressed to the whitefish 

 produced entirely satisfactory results, it is of interest to note the 

 decline of the work in certain sections of Lake Erie. 



In the Toledo (Ohio) field, which includes the principal fisheries 

 from the mouth of the Detroit River down the south shore of the 

 lake as far as Wards Canal and Turtle Creek, midway between 

 Toledo and Port Clinton, there were produced only 16,060,000 eggs, 

 and none whatever were obtained from the Monroe (Mich.) fields. 

 Previous to the fiscal year 1921 these two fields vielded each year 

 between 50,000,000 and 70,000,000 eggs. Whether or not this sud- 

 den decline in a profitable fishery is clue, as many persons interested 

 are inclined to think, to the increased volume of pollution from 

 recently established industrial plants at Monroe, Mich., and Toledo, 

 Ohio, the bureau is not prepared to say, but it is significant that at 

 other points free from such possible influences a decline is not 

 apparent. The egg-collecting season extended from November 11 

 to December 12, eggs being obtained from Toledo, Port Clinton, 

 Catawba Island, North Bass Island, Middle Bass Island, and Put in 

 Bay, all in Ohio. Of the total collection, some 98,000,000 were 

 shipped in the green stage to other stations and about 28,000.000 

 were planted on the spawning grounds immediately after fertiliza- 

 tion. These plants represented eggs of poorer quality and were 

 necessary to provide space in the hatchery for the better eggs. The 



