PROGRESS IN BIOLOGICAL INQUIRIES, 1937 53'. 



Altlioiigli it is probable that artificial stocking lias been more 

 successful than is indicated b}' available information, the conclusion 

 is inescapable that a large percentage of hatchery fish liave been 

 wasted and that the only hope for improvement lies in acquiring in- 

 formation that will enable us to avoid the pitfalls of the past. It 

 is a striking commentary on fish management as practiced in this 

 country that while hatchery operations and methods of transporting 

 fish have been materially improved in recent years, the fate of the 

 fish after stocking has received practically no attention. We are 

 confronted with an anomalous situation in which a higlily organized 

 industry producing an extremely perishable product at great lal^or 

 and ex})ense is almost entirely oblivious to the fate of that product 

 once it leaves the hatchery. Both fish culturists and anglers call for 

 fish, and still more fish, without any attempt to determine whether 

 increased production is the answer to the almost universal complaint 

 that fishing is growing poorer each year. 



In view of these facts, a large part of the activities of the aqui- 

 cultural staff is devoted to acquiring information on the results of 

 stocking and the survival and growth in natural waters of liatchery 

 fish as compared with wild fish. In addition to field studies, investi- 

 gations of hatchery problems have been continued and arrangements 

 have been made to devote more attention to such problems in the 

 future. 



TROUT 



Test streams. — The scientific work at the Pittsford (Vt.) station' 

 under the direction of R. F. Lord has centered around the "'test 

 waters" which are managed in cooperation with the State Fish and 

 Game Service. During the past 2 years three streams and one lake — 

 the maximum authorized by law — have been operated as test waters. 

 Of these streams only Furnace Brook has been operated as a test 

 stream for 3 consecutive vears. The total catch of legal trout in this 

 stream was 8,580 in 1935, 6.995 in 1936, and 6,385 in 1937. It is 

 evident that in spite of heavy stocking the yearly catch is gradually 

 decreasing, as is the average catch per fishing effort, which dropped 

 from 7.2 trout in 1935 to 6.5 trout in 1937. On the other hand it is 

 surprising to find, as pointed out in previous reports, that there has 

 been only a slight decrease in the catch of rainbow trout, which have 

 not been planted in the streams in recent years and are, consecjuently, 

 entirely dependent on natural propagation. As a result of the much 

 greater decrease in the catch of brook trout the proportion of rain- 

 bows in the total catch rose from 34 percent in 1935 to 38 percent in 

 1937. 



During the past season a field census station was operated on 

 Furnace Brook every week end to obtain accurate information on 

 the marked trout taken by anglers. These fish were over 6 inches 

 long when planted as yearlings in the fall of 1936. Although only 

 7 percent of the marked fish planted were reported by anglers, k 

 creel check showed that approximately 50 percent of the marked 

 fish taken were overlooked. This would indicate that of 5,200 legal 

 fish planted in Furnace Brook during the fall of 1936 only about 

 14 percent appeared in the anglers' catches the following season. 



