PROPAGATION AND DISTRIBUTION OF FOOD FISHES, 1924 399 



CAPE VINCENT (N. Y.) STATION AND SUBSTATION 



[J. P. Snyder, Superintendent] 



The active fish- cultural work of the year at the Cape Vincent 

 station began in early October with the collection of lake-trout eggs, 

 the fields occupied being Pigeon and Simcoe Islands on the Canadian 

 side of Lake Ontario, and Stony Island in New York waters. The 

 collections extended from October 16 to November 9 and resulted 

 in 1,098,000 eggs, or about 200,000 less than were secured in these 

 fields the preceding year. The decrease was attributed to a smaller 

 catch of fish and to unfavorable weather during the spawning 

 season. 



Whitefish egg collections were seriously curtailed by the refusal of 

 the deputy minister of fi^ih and game of Ontario to permit the bureau's 

 men to secure eggs in the important fields formerly occupied in the 

 Bay of Quinte and along the lake shore near South Bay. It appears 

 that this action was not taken in a spirit of antagonism, but was 

 prompted by a desire to secure all possible e^gs for filling the hatch- 

 ery recently constructed by the Canadian Government at Glenora, 

 Ontario. The bureau's men were allowed to make egg collections of 

 all species at Simcoe Island and at Brighton and Bowmansville, 

 Ontario, and the whitefish eggs secured at these points, together with 

 those obtained at the usual points of collection on the American 

 side of the lake, aggregated 95,2.58,000. The station also received 

 17,000,000 from Lake Erie, but they were of very poor quality. The 

 eggs obtained in Chaumont Bay and in the vicinity of Cape Vincent 

 exceeded the collection of any previous year in these fields. As a 

 rule, they were of excellent quality. 



In addition to the fields heretofore occupied in the search for eggs 

 of the cisco, the operations were extended to Big Sandy Pond, N. \ ., 

 and to the Simcoe Island and Wellers Bay fields on the Canadian 

 side. Plans were also effected to send men into the Bay of Quinte, 

 but before any definite action had been taken it was learned that the 

 run of fish in that field Wiis too small to justify the expense in- 

 volved. The spawning season covered the period from November 17 

 to December 5, during which time 200,790,000 eggs were secured. 

 Most of the fry resulting from these eggs were planted on the cisco 

 spawning grounds in Lake Ontario and adjoining bays, the number 

 thus disposed of amounting to 128,300,000. 



Somewhat heavy losses were incurred as a result of the efforts 

 made to remove a growth, of vegetable origin, which developed in 

 considerable quantities on the whitefish and cisco eggs undergoing 

 incubation. The additional handling and frequent washings to which 

 the eggs were subjected in this process not only impaired their qual- 

 ity, but some of them were washed away despite the precautions 

 taken to prevent it. In an effort to check the growth, copper sul- 

 phate was used experimentally and with good results where the eggs 

 were at an early stage of development. When used on those at an 

 advanced stage, however, prematurely hatched fry in a weakened con- 

 dition were the result. 



Some losses also occurred as a result of minnows coming in tlu-ough 

 the pumps and lodging in the jar faucets, cutting off the flow of water. 

 These were very troublesome at times, and to exclude them from the 

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