REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 



99 



slightly smaller quautities iu 1893 tliau iu 1890, but the ruu in the 

 former year was much larger than in 1880 and 1885. The whiteflsh 

 catch was about 11 per cent less iu 1893 than in 1890. The common 

 whitefish appears to be rapidly decreasing in this lake and its place 

 is being supplied by other species of the same family, more especially 

 the longjaw, the bluefln or blackfiii, the menominee, and the herriug 

 or Cisco. The latter underwent a noteworthy increase in commercial 

 imi^ortance between 18r;0 and 1S93, the output increasing 81 per cent 

 (from about 0,000,000 pounds to over 11,000,000 pounds). Sturgeon 

 were taken in only one-tenth the quantity in 1893 that they were in 

 1880. The diminution in abundance of this valnable fish in the past 

 few years has also been marked in this lake as in other members of the 

 chain. 



The general condition of the Lake Michigan fisheries in 1893 was 

 good as compared with 1890. The increase in the production was over 

 4,L*50,000 pounds, while the value of the catch decreased about $1,800; 

 but, as has been shown, this was accompanied by a large increase in 

 fishing population and apparatus. The following comparison shows 

 the results of the fisheries of the lake during four years: 



Comparison of the yield of the fisheries of Lake Michir/an in ISSO, 1SS3, 1S90, and 1893. 



* Includes common whitefish, longjaws, blackflns, and menominees. 



LAKE nURON. 



The fisheries of Lake Uuron in 1893 showed a larger general increase 

 over 1890 than those of any other lake; the advance occurred in the 

 fishing population, the quantity of apparatus used, the quantity and 

 value of the catch. That the augmented yield was not due solely to the 

 increases in fishermen and appliances but represented a development of 

 latent resources is indicated by the fact that the average quantity and 

 value of the catch jier man and jier apparatus was practically the same 

 each year. This is in marked contrast with the conditions in some other 

 parts of the Great Lakes basin where the maintenance of the yield has 

 been due wholly to the employment of more persons and apparatus. 



The principal changes in the condition of the fisheries of this lake iu 

 1893, as compared with 1890, were the increased number of vessels used 

 in fishing and transporting (7 in 1890, 15 in 1893), the more extensive 

 employment of pound and trap nets (731 against 551), the marked 

 increase in the yield of trout, amounting to 128 per cent, and the large 



