REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 



97 



The iigures giviug the catch of the principal fishes show marked 

 variations in the different years, and are A'ery suggestive when inter- 

 preted in connection with the methods employed and the kinds and 

 quantities of apparatus used. It appears that in 1880 the whitelish 

 {Coregonus clupeiformis) constituted nearly one-third of the catch, and 

 was by far the most important fish taken. Each subsequent year 

 showed a marked decrease in the yield, uritil in 1893 the fish consti- 

 tuted little more than one-tenth of the output and was surpassed in 

 quantity by several other species. In 1880 the lake liervmg (Coregonus 

 artedi) ranked next to the whitefish in quantity; in 1885 it was the 

 most abundant fish caught, and in 1890 and 1893 maintained the same 

 position. The catch in 1890 was larger than in any other year, being 

 nearly double that in 1S85 and more than a third greater than in 1893. 

 The sturgeon [Acipenser ruhicundus) was more important in 1880 than 

 in any subsequent year; from more than 7,500,000 pounds in 1880, the 

 catch fell to less than 1,500,000 in 1893, this being one of the most 

 noteworthy changes in abundance that has occurred in the fisheries of 

 this region. The output of lake trout {Salveliniis namaycush) increased 

 from 6,800,000 pounds in 1880 to nearly 16,300,000 pounds in 1893; the 

 catch in the last three years for which figures are available has shown 

 no marked change. ISTo separate statistics for- such fish as wall-eyed 

 l^ike, yellow perch, pickerel, suckers, and black bass are at hand for all 

 the years in question ; the aggregate catch of these and all other species 

 was about 17,000,000 pounds in 1880, and over 32,800,000 pounds in 

 the subsequent years, the yield in 1893 being about 2,800,000 pounds 

 less than in 1885 and 1890. The following table shows the fluctuations 

 in the fish product of the Great Lakes in the four years named : 



Comparison of the yield of the fisheries of the Great Lakes in ISSO, 1885, 1890, and 1893. 



The following table, based on the preceding, shows by percentages 

 the different ranks occupied by the several species at different times. 

 The decline of the whitefish and sturgeon and the rise of the lake her- 

 ring, trout, and minor species are clearly exhibited. 



Species. 



HerMng 



Sturgeon 



Trout 



Whiteflsh 



( )ther fish 



Total 



F. R. 95 ~1 



23.23 

 10.99 

 9.90 

 31.22 

 24.66 



25.91 

 7.16 

 12.61 

 18.37 

 35.95 



42.80 

 3.77 

 11. 32 

 10.89 

 31.22 



36.99 

 1.48 

 16.85 

 10.69 

 33.99 



100. 00 



100. 00 



100. 00 



100. 00 



