REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 



101 



LAKE ERIE. 



In 1890 the fisheries of this hike surpassed in extent those of any 

 other members of the chain, and in 1893, notwithstanding a serious 

 decline in almost every important branch, they still maintained first 

 position in the matter of capital invested and quantity of products taken. 



The prominent features of the fishing industry of Lake Erie are the 

 numerous fleet of fishing steamers; the extensive employment of gill 

 nets in the vessel and boat fisheries ; the large number of ponnd and trap 

 nets operated; the enormous catch of herring, wall-eyed pike, saugers, 

 and whitefish, and the extensive wholesale trade in fresh-water fish' 

 centered at Sandusky, Cleveland, Buffalo, and other cities on the lake. 



In 1893 nearly half the product of the Lake Erie fisheries consisted of 

 herring; the catch, amounting to over 20,900,000 pounds, was obtained 

 chiefly witli gill nets. In 1890 the output of this fish was 38,868,000 

 pounds, and in J 885 it was 19,355,000 poviuds. The abundance of her- 

 ring determines, in a large measure, the condition of the fisheries in a 

 given year, and tlie rise and decline of the industry have depended 

 chiefly on the catch of this fish, whose importance is illustrated in the 

 accompanying comparative summary. 



Eanking next to the herring in quantity and value is the blue pike, 

 a fish taken in large numbers with both pound nets and gill nets. The 

 aggregate catch in 1893 — 0,656,341 pounds, valued at $175,392 — was 

 less than in 1890, when 7,488,903 pounds, worth $148,201, were taken. 

 An interesting point about this fish is that in 1893 the pound-net catch 

 was very much larger and the gill-net yield much less than in 1890. 



The whitefish output in 1890 was only two-thirds that in 1885; in 

 1893 it was only half that in 1890, the decline being more marked in 

 the gill-net returns; in the pound-net fishery a decrease of 6 per cent 

 in number of nets set was attended with a decrease of 49 per cent in 

 catch, while in the gill-net fishery a decrease of 28 per cent in number 

 of nets used resulted in a diminution in yield amounting to 19 per cent. 



Among the other fishes of special prominence in this lake, sturgeon, 

 cattish, perch, black bass, and wall-eyed pike showed a diminished 

 abundance in 1893 as compared with 1890, while saugers, sheepshead, 

 and carp were taken in larger quantities. Especially worthy of note is 

 the output in 1893 of over 635,000 pounds of carp, valued at $10,481. 



Coniparalire. table showimj ilte nield of the fisheries of Lake Erie in ISSO, 1886 



and 1893. 



1890, 



