REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 



97 



The tigures giving the catch of the principal fishes show marked 

 variations in the difterent years, and are very snggestive when inter- 

 preted in connection with tlie methods employed and the kinds and 

 quantities of apparatus used. It ai)pears that in 1880 the whitefish 

 {Coregonus dupeiformk) constituted nearly one-third of the catch, and 

 was by far the most important fish taken. Each subsequent year 

 showed a marked decrease in the yield, until in 1893 the fish consti- 

 tuted little more than one-tenth of the output and was surpassed in 

 quantity by several other species. In 1880 the lake herring (Corer/ow us 

 artecli) ranked next to the whitefish in quantity; in 1885 it was the 

 most abundant fish caught, and in 1890 and 1893 maintained the same 

 position. The catch in 1890 was larger than in any other year, being 

 nearly double that in 1885 and more than a third greater than in 1893, 

 The sturgeon [Acipeyiser ruMeundus) was more inq^ortant in 1880 than 

 in any subsecpient year; from more than 7,500,000 pounds in 1880, the 

 catch fell to less than 1,500,000 in 1893, this being one of the most 

 noteworthy changes in abundance that has occurred in the fisheries of 

 this region. The output of lake trout {Sah-elinns namaycush) increased 

 from 6,800,000 pounds in 1880 to nearly 10,300,000 pounds in 1893; the 

 catch in the last three years for which figures are available has shown 

 no marked change. No separate statistics for such fish as wall-eyed 

 pike, yellow perch, pickerel, suckers, and black bass are at hand for all 

 the years in question ; the aggregate catch of these and all other si)ecies 

 was about 17,000,000 pounds in 1880, and over 32,800,000 pounds in 

 the subsequent years, the yield in 1893 being about 2,800,000 pounds 

 less than in 1885 and 1890. The following table shows the fluctuations 

 in the fish product of the Great Lakes in the four years named : 



Comparison of the yield of the fisheries of ihe Great Lakes in 1880, 1885, 1890, and 1893. 



Species. 



Herring ... 

 Sturgeon .. 



Trout 



Whitefish . 

 other fish.. 



Total 



15,967,517 

 7,557,383 

 6, 804, 600 

 21,463,900 

 16, 948, 600 



25, 869, 458 

 7, 147, 642 

 12, 586, 665 

 18,344,004 

 35, 894, 307 



48, 753, 349 

 4, 289, 759 

 12,890,441 

 12,401,335 

 35, 503, 647 



35, 740, 916 

 1, 426, 584 

 16, 279, 953 

 10, 327, 093 

 32, 845, 125 



, 742, 000 



99, 842, C76 



113, 898, 531 



96, 619, 671 



The following table, based on the preceding, shows by percentages 

 the different ranks occupied by the several species at different times. 

 The decline of the whitefish and sturgeon and the rise of the lake her- 

 ring, trout, and minor species are clearly exhibited. 



F. R. 95- 



