REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. XI 



throughout the country. The general interest which has been mani- 

 fested has been due to the great extent of the industry, the dissimi- 

 larity of the fishes from those taken in otlier regions, the important 

 fish-cultural operations which have there been carried on, and the 

 probability of a more speedy and complete impairment of the supply 

 by overfishing than would be possible in the case of fisheries prose- 

 cuted in the open sea. 



This Commission has endeavored to keep well informed regarding 

 the condition of the lake fisheries. In 1885 the thorough canvass 

 made by the office disclosed a very satisfactory state of the industry, 

 the output of the commercial fisheries in that year probably being 

 larger than during any previous year. Several minor special studies 

 were also undertaken in the lake region in the years intervening 

 between 1885 and the next general canvass in 1891. 



The results of the inquiries conducted during the year show that, 

 taking the entire region into consideration, 9,738 jtersons were directly 

 employed in the industry, 15,420,778 was invested, and the value of the 

 catch was $2,471,708. The yield of the principal species was as follows : 

 Whitefish, 12,401,335 pounds; lake trout, 12,890,441 pounds; sturgeon, 

 4,289,759 pounds; lake herring, 48,753,349 pounds; other fish, 35,563,647 

 pounds. 



General comparisons for the entire region show that in 1890 the 

 number of persons employed, the amount of capital invested, and the 

 quantity and value of the catch were greater than in 1880, while the 

 number of fishermen and the value of the catch were less than in 

 1885, although the investment was considerably larger. 



A knowledge of the variations which have occurred in the abundance 

 of the principal fishes, as determined by the catch, is of great imi^or- 

 tance in shaping legislation and applying fish-cultural methods for the 

 maintenance of the supply. Whitefish, which in 1880 were taken in 

 larger quantities than any other species, were surpassed in 1890 by lake 

 trout and lake herring; the decrease in the output was 43 per cent 

 between 1880 and 1890, and 30 per cent between 1885 and 1890. The 

 catch of lake trout increased to only a slight extent since 1885, but was 

 almost twice as large as in 1880. The yield of sturgeon has exhibited 

 a steady decrease, which was especially marked in the last five years. 

 The most noticeable change has been the catch of minor whitefishes, 

 usually classed under the general name lake herring, of which the cisco 

 {Coregonus artedi) is the type. From the second place, which these fish 

 occupied in 1880, they advanced to first in 1885, and maintained the 

 same relative rank in 1890, becoming, at the same time, the most valu- 

 able of the lake fishes. The aggregate production of all other species 

 was about the same in 1890 as in 1885, and was somewhat more than 

 •louble that in 1880. 



The general increases and decreases which have occurred in the yield 

 of the different fishes must not be regarded wholly from the standpoint 

 of abundance, but should be interpreted in connection with the special 



