﻿KEPORT 
  OF 
  COMMISSIONER 
  OF 
  FISH 
  AND 
  FISHERIES. 
  31 
  

  

  and 
  Washington, 
  and 
  resulting 
  in 
  the 
  collection 
  of 
  4:7,079,000 
  eggs, 
  of 
  

   which 
  13,142,000 
  were 
  furnished 
  to 
  state 
  fish 
  commissions. 
  The 
  pros- 
  

   pects 
  for 
  work 
  were 
  very 
  bright 
  early 
  in 
  the 
  year, 
  the 
  run 
  of 
  fish 
  

   being 
  unusuall}^ 
  large 
  and 
  necessitating 
  the 
  installation 
  of 
  extra 
  racks 
  

   at 
  some 
  points, 
  but 
  owing 
  to 
  high 
  water 
  during 
  the 
  spawning 
  period 
  

   many 
  of 
  the 
  fish 
  escaped 
  over 
  the 
  racks, 
  and 
  in 
  some 
  of 
  the 
  rivers 
  the 
  

   dams 
  and 
  buildings 
  were 
  carried 
  away, 
  thus 
  putting 
  an 
  end 
  to 
  what 
  

   had 
  promised 
  a 
  ver}- 
  profitable 
  season. 
  Fry 
  and 
  fingerlings 
  of 
  other 
  

   species 
  of 
  salmon 
  to 
  the 
  number 
  of 
  4,730,000 
  were 
  produced 
  for 
  dis- 
  

   tribution 
  at 
  these 
  stations. 
  Eggs 
  of 
  the 
  white-fish, 
  lake 
  trout, 
  brook 
  

   trout, 
  rainbow 
  trout, 
  black-spotted 
  trout, 
  and 
  landlocked 
  salmon 
  were 
  

   sent 
  to 
  the 
  Clackamas 
  station 
  to 
  be 
  hatched, 
  with 
  a 
  view 
  to 
  stocking 
  

   the 
  waters 
  of 
  the 
  Pacific 
  coast 
  states, 
  thereby 
  saving 
  the 
  expense 
  of 
  

   transporting 
  fish 
  of 
  these 
  species 
  from 
  eastern 
  stations. 
  

  

  The 
  unseasonablj^ 
  warm 
  weather 
  in 
  March 
  and 
  a 
  sudden 
  lowering 
  of 
  

   the 
  temperature 
  earl}^ 
  in 
  April 
  caused 
  a 
  falling 
  ofi' 
  in 
  the 
  pike 
  perch 
  

   work 
  on 
  Lake 
  Erie, 
  the 
  total 
  collection 
  of 
  eggs 
  for 
  the 
  Put-in-Bay 
  

   station 
  amounting 
  to 
  325,675,000, 
  or 
  over 
  a 
  hundred 
  million 
  less 
  than 
  

   in 
  1902. 
  While 
  they 
  were 
  still 
  in 
  the 
  green 
  stage, 
  70,000,000 
  eggs 
  were 
  

   shipped 
  to 
  various 
  state 
  commissions; 
  the 
  remainder 
  were 
  hatched 
  

   and 
  planted 
  on 
  the 
  spawning 
  grounds 
  in 
  Lake 
  Erie. 
  The 
  pike 
  perch 
  

   work 
  at 
  Swanton, 
  Vt., 
  was 
  also 
  affected 
  b}^ 
  the 
  unfavorable 
  weather, 
  

   and 
  though 
  it 
  had 
  been 
  planned 
  to 
  operate 
  on 
  a 
  larger 
  scale 
  than 
  in 
  

   the 
  past, 
  the 
  results 
  at 
  this 
  point 
  were 
  smaller 
  than 
  ever 
  before, 
  only 
  

   50,000,000 
  eggs 
  being 
  secured. 
  About 
  10,000,000 
  of 
  these 
  were 
  fur- 
  

   nished 
  to 
  state 
  commissions 
  and 
  the 
  fry 
  hatched 
  from 
  the 
  remaining 
  eggs 
  

   were 
  distributed 
  in 
  the 
  waters 
  of 
  Vermont 
  and 
  surrounding 
  states. 
  

  

  Owing 
  to 
  scarcity 
  of 
  brood 
  fish 
  and 
  other 
  causes, 
  the 
  cod 
  work 
  at 
  

   the 
  Massachusetts 
  stations 
  was 
  unusually 
  light, 
  only 
  152,582,000 
  eggs 
  

   being 
  secured 
  at 
  all 
  points. 
  On 
  the 
  other 
  hand, 
  the 
  conditions 
  gov- 
  

   erning 
  the 
  flatfish 
  work 
  were 
  very 
  favorable, 
  and 
  328,060,000 
  eggs 
  

   were 
  taken 
  and 
  hatched 
  with 
  the 
  usual 
  small 
  percentage 
  of 
  loss, 
  the 
  fry 
  

   being 
  distributed 
  on 
  the 
  spawning 
  grounds 
  along 
  the 
  Massachusetts 
  

   coast. 
  At 
  the 
  Woods 
  Hole 
  station 
  the 
  cultivation 
  of 
  mackerel, 
  sea 
  

   bass, 
  scup, 
  and 
  tautog 
  has 
  been 
  resumed, 
  and 
  will 
  be 
  pushed 
  as 
  actively 
  

   as 
  practicable. 
  There 
  was 
  a 
  decided 
  falling 
  off 
  in 
  the 
  lobster 
  work, 
  

   the 
  stormy 
  weather 
  interfering 
  greatly 
  with 
  the 
  work 
  in 
  Maine, 
  while 
  

   nearly 
  all 
  of 
  the 
  fishing 
  centers 
  in 
  Massachusetts 
  showed 
  a 
  decreased 
  

   catch. 
  The 
  74,623,000 
  eggs 
  obtained 
  were 
  hatched 
  and 
  the 
  fry 
  planted 
  

   on 
  the 
  fishing 
  grounds 
  along 
  the 
  coast 
  from 
  Maine 
  to 
  Connecticut. 
  

  

  One 
  of 
  the 
  best 
  of 
  the 
  small 
  river 
  fishes 
  is 
  the 
  yellow 
  perch, 
  which 
  

   has 
  become 
  comparatively 
  scarce 
  in 
  some 
  localities 
  on 
  account 
  of 
  exten- 
  

   sive 
  fishing 
  and 
  absence 
  of 
  protection. 
  The 
  cultivation 
  of 
  the 
  species 
  

   is 
  demanded, 
  especially 
  on 
  the 
  Potomac 
  River, 
  and 
  has 
  been 
  taken 
  up 
  

   at 
  several 
  stations 
  incidentally 
  to 
  other 
  work. 
  The 
  output 
  in 
  1903 
  was 
  

  

  