424 REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 



cipal decrease since lias heeii in Manraee Bay and in Erie Connty, K. Y'., 

 au increased catcli being noticed in tLe vicinity of Sandusky. 



In point of value the common wliitefish ranks next to tlie lake her- 

 ring and the blue pike; but to the fish-culturist, and doubtless to the 

 general fishing public, that species possesses greater interest than any 

 other in Lake Erie. It is the fish which has been the principal subject of 

 fishery controversy and discussion on the lake, and the one whose pres- 

 ervation and increase is most desired by fishermen, dealers, and others. 



In 1880 the aggregate yield of this fish was 3,333,800 pounds ; the 

 investigation of 1885 disclosed a catch of 3,531,855 pounds in that year; 

 in 1890 the output was 2,341,451 pounds. The decrease in 1890, as com- 

 pared with 1885, amounting to 1,190,404 pounds, demands careful atten- 

 tion; and it becomes a matter of great importance to note the condition 

 of the fishery in recent years and to determine, if possible, the cause or 

 causes for this serious decline. 



In that part of the lake west of Port Clinton, embracing the most 

 important pound-net fisheries of the lake, there has been only a slight 

 decrease in the catch comi^ared with 1885. It is said, however, that 

 the decline since 1888 has been especially marked, which would indi- 

 cate that between 1885 and 1888 there was a substantial increase, a 

 fact which is borne out by a partial investigation of the region made by 

 this office in the latter year. The extent of the diminution of the catch 

 since 1888 may be judged by the comparative figures which are avail- 

 able for 30 pound nets set off West Sister Island. In 1888 48,000 

 pounds of whitefish were caught; in 1889 30,000 pounds were taken, 

 while in 1890 the yield was only 20,000 pounds. These figures may be 

 taken as representing the general condition of the whitefish fishery 

 during the period named. 



The catch of whitefish in the fisheries of the Bass Islands and other 

 grounds tributary to Sandusky was also smaller in 1890 than in 1885, 

 the decrease amounting to about 110,000 pounds, or 20 per cent. In the 

 fisheries of Ohio east of Sandusky Ray the yield of whitefish was 

 458,500 pounds in 1885 and 468,577 pounds in 1890. 



The whitefish fishery carried on from that part of the lake east of 

 Ohio, viz, in Pennsylvania and New York, is prosecuted chiefly with 

 gill nets, and it is interesting to observe that the catch has decreased 

 phenomenally since 1885, the actual and re>ative decline being greater 

 than elsewhere in the lake. In 1885 the output of this section was 

 more than that of the entire remaining part of the lake, aggregating 

 2,149,455 pounds. In 1890 only 1,075,809 pounds were taken. 



A study of the statistical returns for 1890 makes evident the fact 

 that the maintenance of the catch of whitefish at present is chiefly 

 accomplished by the employment of larger quantities of apparatus. 

 As an exami)Ie, the conditions in the region west of Sandusky and the 

 Bass Islands may be cited, though more marked cases could be given. 



So few whitefish are taken in this part of the lake in any fornt of 

 apparatus except pound nets that only the latter need be considered. 



