﻿REPORT 
  OF 
  COMMISSIONER 
  OF 
  FISH 
  AND 
  FISHERIES. 
  17 
  

  

  reduce 
  this 
  to 
  a 
  financial 
  basis 
  and 
  see 
  what 
  a 
  striking 
  exhibit 
  is 
  made: 
  

   The 
  total 
  expense 
  to 
  the 
  government 
  of 
  hatching 
  and 
  planting 
  salmon 
  

   is 
  under 
  $1 
  per 
  thousand 
  fish 
  of 
  the 
  size 
  in 
  question; 
  the 
  value 
  of 
  the 
  

   resulting 
  salmon 
  caught 
  by 
  the 
  fisherman 
  is, 
  at 
  a 
  very 
  reasonable 
  esti- 
  

   mate, 
  6 
  cents 
  per 
  pound, 
  or 
  $100 
  for 
  the 
  2,000 
  pounds 
  actually 
  taken. 
  

   It 
  is 
  not 
  claimed 
  or 
  expected 
  that 
  such 
  extraordinary 
  results 
  are 
  regu- 
  

   larly 
  attained, 
  but, 
  if 
  the 
  average 
  outcome 
  is 
  only 
  one-tenth 
  as 
  large 
  as 
  

   shown 
  by 
  these 
  figures, 
  then 
  the 
  salmon 
  work 
  of 
  the 
  Commission 
  is 
  

   yielding 
  an 
  actual 
  money 
  return 
  of 
  1,000 
  per 
  cent 
  per 
  annum. 
  

  

  Man's 
  possible 
  influence 
  on 
  the 
  fishes 
  of 
  the 
  open 
  sea 
  is 
  problematical, 
  

   but 
  there 
  is 
  no 
  doubt 
  of 
  the 
  effects 
  of 
  human 
  intervention 
  on 
  the 
  abun- 
  

   dance 
  of 
  fishes 
  and 
  other 
  animals 
  which 
  regularly 
  frequent 
  the 
  bays 
  

   and 
  coastal 
  waters, 
  more 
  especially 
  the 
  bottom-living 
  species 
  like 
  the 
  

   cod, 
  the 
  flounders, 
  and 
  the 
  lobster, 
  which 
  are 
  hatched 
  in 
  large 
  numbers 
  

   at 
  the 
  marine 
  establishments 
  of 
  the 
  Commission. 
  The 
  utility 
  of 
  fish 
  

   culture 
  as 
  applied 
  to 
  the 
  cod 
  is 
  scouted 
  by 
  some 
  people 
  in 
  the 
  United 
  

   States 
  and 
  abroad; 
  singularly 
  enough, 
  however, 
  some 
  of 
  these 
  same 
  

   people 
  are 
  willing 
  to 
  admit 
  the 
  injury 
  done 
  by 
  overfishing 
  or 
  indis- 
  

   criminate 
  fishing. 
  

  

  In 
  taking 
  up 
  the 
  culture 
  of 
  the 
  cod 
  many 
  years 
  ago, 
  and 
  in 
  continu- 
  

   ing 
  it 
  to 
  the 
  present 
  time, 
  the 
  Fish 
  Commission 
  has 
  proceeded 
  on 
  the 
  

   principle 
  that 
  the 
  effects 
  of 
  man's 
  improvidence 
  may 
  be 
  counteracted 
  

   by 
  the 
  application 
  of 
  man's 
  ingenuity 
  and 
  power 
  in 
  aiding 
  nature. 
  The 
  

   ultimate 
  success 
  of 
  cod 
  culture 
  on 
  the 
  Atlantic 
  coast 
  was 
  therefore 
  

   confidently 
  expected, 
  and 
  the 
  expectations 
  have 
  been 
  more 
  than 
  real- 
  

   ized. 
  Practical 
  results 
  of 
  an 
  unmistakable 
  character 
  were 
  first 
  mani- 
  

   fested 
  in 
  1889, 
  since 
  which 
  time 
  a 
  very 
  lucrative 
  shore 
  cod 
  fishery 
  has 
  

   been 
  kept 
  up 
  on 
  grounds 
  that 
  were 
  entirely 
  depleted 
  or 
  that 
  had 
  never 
  

   contained 
  cod 
  in 
  noteworthy 
  numbers 
  in 
  the 
  memory 
  of 
  the 
  oldest 
  

   inhabitants. 
  There 
  is 
  much 
  unsolicited 
  testimony 
  on 
  this 
  point 
  from 
  

   many 
  people 
  who 
  have 
  profited 
  from 
  the 
  past 
  twelve 
  or 
  fifteen 
  years' 
  

   operations 
  at 
  Gloucester 
  and 
  Woods 
  Hole 
  stations. 
  The 
  benefits 
  have 
  

   not 
  been 
  confined 
  to 
  the 
  immediate 
  vicinity 
  of 
  the 
  hatcheries, 
  but 
  have 
  

   extended 
  westward 
  and 
  southward 
  along 
  the 
  Middle 
  Atlantic 
  coast 
  and 
  

   eastward 
  along 
  the 
  whole 
  coast 
  of 
  Maine. 
  

  

  A 
  very 
  important 
  line 
  of 
  practical 
  work 
  conducted 
  by 
  the 
  Commis- 
  

   sion 
  is 
  the 
  transplanting 
  of 
  aquatic 
  food 
  animals 
  into 
  waters 
  to 
  which 
  

   they 
  were 
  not 
  indigenous. 
  This 
  work 
  is 
  addressed 
  not 
  onh^ 
  to 
  lake, 
  

   pond, 
  and 
  stream 
  fishes 
  like 
  the 
  basses 
  and 
  trouts, 
  but 
  also 
  to 
  the 
  sea- 
  

   going 
  species 
  like 
  the 
  salmon, 
  shad, 
  and 
  striped 
  bass. 
  Examples 
  of 
  

   the 
  results 
  of 
  such 
  efforts 
  have 
  been 
  published 
  in 
  the 
  annual 
  reports 
  

   from 
  year 
  to 
  year, 
  and 
  some 
  further 
  data 
  will 
  appear 
  elsewhere 
  in 
  the 
  

   current 
  report; 
  but 
  attention 
  is 
  particularly 
  drawn 
  to 
  two 
  of 
  the 
  most 
  

   successful 
  instances 
  of 
  acclimatization 
  of 
  native 
  fishes. 
  About 
  thirty 
  

   years 
  ago 
  the 
  shad 
  and 
  the 
  striped 
  bass 
  of 
  the 
  Atlantic 
  coast 
  were 
  

  

  