CULTIVATION AND ACCLIMATIZATION OF FISHES 

 IN NORTH CAROLINA.* 



IMPORTANCE OF SUCH WORK. 



In many states the artificial propagation of food and game fishes is regarded 

 as a coordinate, if not as potent, a factor in the maintenance of the supply as 

 restrictive legislation; and cultivation and protection are therefore often jointly 

 carried on. The number of states in which no fish-cultural operations are con- 

 ducted is rapidly becoming smaller, and it is only a matter of a few years when 

 every state and territory will have its own fish hatcheries for the replenishing 

 of purely local waters, leaving the general government to devote its energies 

 chiefly to the cultivation of the migratory and coastal fishes. In general, there 

 are no public expenditures that will insure more certain and more immediate 

 returns than those devoted to intelligent and systematic fish-culture; while the 

 private owners of ponds, lakes, and small streams will find that aquiculture is as 

 profitable as agriculture and at the same time yields such a variety in diet and 

 such opportunity for recreation that every one who has the facilities should 

 engage in it. 



The supply of food and game fishes of many states has been greatly increased 

 by the introduction of nonindigenous species by the federal government, the 

 state authorities, and private persons; but in North Carolina only a limited 

 amount of such work has been attempted. The demand and the necessity for 

 introducing foreign fishes in this state are comparatively slight, and efforts to 

 improve the fish supply have been and can continue to be directed into more 

 important channels. 



Although North Carolina was one of the first states to take up the artificial 

 propagation of fishes, it soon abandoned all work of the kind; and for many 

 years the demands for fish culture in the state have been met as far as practicable 

 by the federal government. It would appear to be incumbent on the state to 

 establish and maintain a number of small and comparatively inexpensive 

 hatcheries, in the most favorable situations, for the special purpose (1) of pro- 

 viding brood stocks of fish for private ponds and streams, so that the cultivation 

 of food and game fishes by individuals may be encouraged and facilitated, and 

 (2) of keeping public waters replenished with various desirable fishes, including 

 those which may serve to attract anglers from outside the state. Among the 

 species that might advantageously be cultivated are brook trout, rainbow trout, 



* For much of the historical and other matter in this chapter, the author is indebted to 

 Mr. S. G. Worth. 



