CXXXVni REPORT OP COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 



institution of satisfactory comparisons bet^Yeeu the abundance of each 

 fish at different periods; this applies with special force to the wall-eyed 

 pike {Stizostedion vitreum), called pike and pickerel, and the true pike 

 {Lucius lucius), called by the same names. 



The following table shows in condensed form the extent of the fish- 

 eries of each of the Great Lakes in 1880, 1885, and 1890. The condi- 

 tions prevailing in each lake are, as a rule, so distinctive that a general 

 table of this kind conveys only an imperfect idea of the status of the 

 industry and of the nature of the fluctuations. It is seen, however, 

 that in 1890 the lake fisheries were somewhat less important than in 

 1885, but were much more extensive than in 1880, their rank being 

 determined by the value of the products. The returns for 1890 show 

 that 9,738 i^ersons were em])loyed in various capacities, $5,362,744 was 

 invested, and the value of the catch was $2,471,708. Compared with 

 1880, an increase has occurred in each of these items; compared with 

 1885, there are to be noted a slight decrease in the number of fisher- 

 men, a substantial gain in the amount of capital invested, and a decline 

 in the value of the catch. The details of these changes will be brought 

 out in the consideration of the fisheries of each lake. 



Comparative table shounng the extent of the fisheries of the Great Lakes in ISSO, 1885, 



and 1S90. 



* The value of till secondary products omitted. 



The variations in the yield of the principal fishes, considering the 

 entire lake region, may be seen from the followiug table. The species 

 shown separately are whitefish, lake trout, sturgeon, and lake herring; 

 other important fish, as pike perch and pike, deserve mention, but can 

 not be exhibited in this table, owing to the fact that they were not 

 separately recorded in 1880. 



Whitefish, which in 1880 constituted the chief part of the catch, 

 dropped to second place in point of quantity in 1885, and in 1890 were 

 surpassed in this respect by herring and trout. The decrease in the 

 output from 18S5 to 1890 was about 30 per cent. Lake trout, which in 

 1885 exhibited a large increase over 1880, were taken in slightly greater 

 quantities in 1890 than in 1885. Sturgeon have steadily decreased, 

 the catch in the decade in question being reduced over 40 per cent. A 

 prominent feature of the comparison is the largely augmented catch of 

 the lake herring and its assumption of the first position among the 



