﻿X 
  REPORT 
  OF 
  COMMISSIONER 
  OF 
  FISH 
  AND 
  FISHERIES. 
  

  

  these 
  waters, 
  special 
  attention 
  being 
  given 
  to 
  the 
  salmon 
  as 
  the 
  impor- 
  

   tant 
  commercial 
  fish 
  of 
  the 
  region. 
  The 
  physical 
  features, 
  including 
  

   temperature, 
  depth, 
  etc., 
  of 
  the 
  waters, 
  have 
  been 
  studied 
  because 
  

   of 
  their 
  bearing 
  on 
  fish 
  life, 
  and 
  valuable 
  data 
  obtained. 
  Collections 
  of 
  

   the 
  fishes, 
  crustaceans, 
  and 
  the 
  other 
  inhabitants 
  of 
  the 
  waters 
  have 
  

   been 
  made. 
  Investigations 
  were 
  carried 
  on 
  in 
  August 
  and 
  September 
  

   in 
  the 
  lower 
  Columbia 
  River 
  Basin, 
  in 
  order 
  to 
  determine 
  on 
  a 
  suitable 
  

   site 
  for 
  an 
  auxiliary 
  hatchery 
  to 
  be 
  operated 
  in 
  connection 
  with 
  the 
  

   station 
  on 
  the 
  Clackamas 
  River, 
  and 
  a 
  jjoint 
  was 
  selected 
  on 
  the 
  Little 
  

   White 
  Salmon 
  River 
  where 
  salmon 
  were 
  observed 
  in 
  greatest 
  abundance. 
  

  

  At 
  the 
  request 
  of 
  citizens 
  of 
  New 
  Orleans, 
  an 
  examination 
  of 
  the 
  

   waters 
  at 
  the 
  mouth 
  of 
  the 
  Pearl 
  River, 
  Mississippi, 
  was 
  made 
  to 
  

   determine 
  if 
  anything 
  could 
  be 
  done 
  toward 
  increasing 
  the 
  abundance 
  

   of 
  food 
  and 
  game 
  fishes. 
  Similar 
  investigations 
  were 
  also 
  made 
  in 
  the 
  

   Sabine 
  and 
  l!^eches 
  rivers 
  in 
  southeastern 
  Texas, 
  and 
  in 
  the 
  Atchafalaya 
  

   River, 
  Louisiana; 
  and 
  during 
  the 
  spring 
  and 
  summer 
  months 
  a 
  study 
  

   was 
  made 
  of 
  the 
  food 
  of 
  the 
  commercial 
  fishes 
  found 
  in 
  Lake 
  Superior. 
  

   An 
  account 
  of 
  these 
  various 
  investigations 
  and 
  inquiries, 
  as 
  well 
  as 
  of 
  

   other 
  studies 
  bearing 
  on 
  the 
  subject 
  of 
  fish 
  culture, 
  is 
  found 
  in 
  the 
  

   appended 
  report 
  of 
  the 
  Division 
  of 
  Scientific 
  Inquiry. 
  

  

  The 
  investigation 
  already 
  begun 
  as 
  to 
  the 
  condition 
  of 
  the 
  coast 
  

   fisheries 
  of 
  Florida, 
  more 
  particularly 
  the 
  sponge 
  and 
  oyster 
  fisheries, 
  

   pursuant 
  to 
  Senate 
  resolution 
  of 
  February 
  15, 
  1895, 
  has 
  been 
  com- 
  

   pleted. 
  The 
  report 
  sent 
  to 
  the 
  Senate 
  January 
  28, 
  1897, 
  and 
  published, 
  

   gives 
  an 
  account 
  of 
  the 
  inquiries 
  and 
  the 
  conclusions 
  reached. 
  

  

  The 
  work 
  of 
  the 
  joint 
  commission 
  appointed 
  to 
  investigate 
  the 
  

   fisheries 
  of 
  the 
  contiguous 
  waters 
  of 
  the 
  United 
  States 
  and 
  Canada, 
  

   on 
  which 
  Mr. 
  Richard 
  Rathbun, 
  of 
  this 
  Commission, 
  represented 
  the 
  

   United 
  States, 
  has 
  been 
  completed. 
  The 
  report 
  of 
  the 
  Commissioners 
  

   was 
  transmitted 
  to 
  Congress 
  by 
  the 
  President 
  February 
  4, 
  1897, 
  and 
  

   certain 
  of 
  the 
  conclusions 
  and 
  recommendations 
  therein 
  are 
  quoted 
  

   elsewhere 
  in 
  this 
  report 
  (pp. 
  cv-cxvii). 
  

  

  The 
  laboratory 
  of 
  the 
  Commission 
  at 
  Woods 
  Hole 
  was 
  opened 
  as 
  

   usual 
  in 
  the 
  summer 
  of 
  1896, 
  its 
  privileges 
  being 
  extended 
  to 
  a 
  number 
  

   of 
  representatives 
  from 
  well-known 
  educational 
  institutions. 
  

  

  The 
  Commission 
  continues 
  to 
  receive, 
  through 
  its 
  agents 
  and 
  from 
  

   others 
  interested, 
  reports 
  showing 
  the 
  results 
  of 
  fish-culture, 
  some 
  of 
  

   which 
  may 
  be 
  mentioned. 
  

  

  While 
  seining 
  the 
  Chesapeake 
  and 
  Ohio 
  Canal 
  during 
  the 
  month 
  of 
  

   March, 
  1897, 
  over 
  4,000 
  crappie, 
  from 
  ^ 
  to 
  1 
  pound 
  in 
  weight, 
  were 
  cap- 
  

   tured 
  between 
  Little 
  Falls, 
  District 
  of 
  Columbia, 
  and 
  Seneca, 
  Md., 
  and 
  

   liberated 
  in 
  the 
  Potomac 
  River. 
  These 
  resulted 
  from 
  plants 
  made 
  by 
  

   the 
  Commission 
  in 
  1894. 
  

  

  The 
  superintendent 
  of 
  the 
  St. 
  Johnsbury 
  (Vt.) 
  station 
  reports 
  the 
  

   capture 
  of 
  numbers 
  of 
  rainbow 
  trout 
  in 
  Sleepers 
  River 
  in 
  1896-97. 
  

   One 
  of 
  the 
  specimens, 
  captured 
  in 
  May, 
  1897, 
  was 
  10 
  inches 
  long, 
  weighed 
  

   J 
  pound, 
  and 
  contained 
  ripe 
  eggs. 
  Specimens 
  over 
  5 
  pounds 
  in 
  weight 
  

  

  