THE FISHES OF GEORGIAN BAY 29 



SESSIONAL PAPER No. 39b 



The deep-bodied pale trout of the deep water of Lake Superior, known as the 

 ciscowet, may possibly occur in Georgian Bay. Fishermen offer various reports 

 as to very dark or pale trout, with short deep bodies, which are never taken in 

 shallow water, and which they assume do not come inshore to spawn. 



Length to 3 feet. Body elongated, moderately compressed, the depth 4 to 4 '9. 

 Head stout, with large mouth, the length of the head 3.5 to 4'L Eye 7-3 to 9«1, 

 in one specimen of 14 in., 5-3. Snout 3*2 to 4«1. Coloration deep grey to black- 

 ish, under parts light. Everywhere with small rounded white spots. Upper part of 

 head and the median fins more or less vermiculated. Dorsal fin with 9 to 1 1 , usually 

 11, fully developed rays. Anal with 10 or 11 rays. Scales very small. The above 

 measurements are based on specimens of the usual run, and probably do not ex- 

 press the extreme variations for the species. 



The lake trout is the chief predaceous species of the deep water. It feeds on 

 herrings, young whitefish, perch or other small fishes, but has the reputation of 

 eating almost anything that attracts its attention. 



The fish is now the mainstay of the commercial fishery, the total catch of the 

 Georgian Bay and North Channel for 1909, as reported by the Superintendent of 

 Game and Fisheries for Ontario, being approximately 2^ million lbs,, almost three 

 times the amount of the whitefish taken during the same period, and with a value 

 approximately three quarters in excess of that of all other species taken together. 

 The figures of several years seem to indicate that the lake trout is withstanding 

 the drain of the commercial fishery much better than the whitefish. There are per- 

 haps several reasons for this. This fish is a predatory type, swimming at all levels, 

 and thus escaping to a greater extent the operations of the gill-net fishermen. It 

 is probable also that it is not affected to any great extent by the pollution of the 

 bottom through lumbering operations, while the latter would be fatal to the white- 

 fish. There is a further possibility that the artificial propagation of this fish in 

 the Great Lakes has had a larger effect both in numbers and natural distribution 

 than in the case of the whitefish. 



Genus Coregonus. 



At least two species of whitefishes occur in this region, one being the round 

 or frost whitefish (C. quadrilateralis) , the other the common lake whitefish (C 

 clupeaformis) . They are separable as follows: 



a. Body rovmded and elongated, the depth 4.8 to 5 in the length. Gillrakers few in 

 number, 10 to 12 on the lower limb of the first arch, and short, their length 

 about 5 in the length of the eye quadrilateralis. 



aa. Body more or less compressed, eUiptical, the depth 3 . 7 to 4 . 5. Gillrakers numerous, 

 16 to 18 on the lower Umb of the first arch, and slender, their length only about 

 2 in eye clupeaformis. 



