148 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 



THE GREAT LAKES. 



In connection with the consideration of the fish and fisheries of the 

 basin of the Great Lakes by the international commission appointed 

 by the United States and Canada to investigate the fisheries of the 

 contiguous waters of the two countries, a canvass of the commercial 

 fisheries of the United States waters of these lakes was begun by this 

 division in May, 1894, and by the close of the fiscal year had progressed 

 satisfactorily. The inquiry related to the statistics and methods of 

 the industry, the abundance of the economic fishes, and the changes 

 occurring since the last investigation. The United States Fish Com- 

 mission conducted a complete canvass of the Great Lakes in 1891, the 

 results of which are published in the annual report for 1892; but 

 recent marked and rapid changes in certain important phases of the 

 industry made another inquiry at this time desirable in order to arrive 

 at a proper knowledge of the extent and methods of the fisheries. 



SPECIAL INQUIRIES. 

 PACIFIC COAST FISHERIES. 



In November, 1893, Mr. A. B. Alexander, fishery expert on the 

 Albatross, was detached from that vessel and assigned to temporary 

 field duty in this division. He was ordered to make a study of those 

 fishes which have been artificially introduced into the waters of the 

 Pacific States and become the object of fisheries. Supplementary 

 instructions were subsequently issued covering a canvass of the whale 

 fishery and salmon-canning industry. Mr. Alexander had previously 

 been engaged in similar inquiries for this division, and his familiarity 

 with the fisheries of the region made his services valuable. The 

 inquiry began November 7, and was continued until about February 

 10. Work was begun in the vicinity of San Francisco, extended as 

 far south as Monterey Bay, and later carried on at Portland, Astoria, 

 and other places on the northern part of the west coast. 



The fishes to which attention was specially directed were shad, striped 

 bass, black bass, catfish, eel, and carp. The inquiry was addressed to 

 the methods, apparatus, history, and statistics of the fisheries, to the 

 wholesale trade, and to such phases of the natural history as may have 

 a bearing on the practical aspects of the subject. Statistical data 

 relating to the calendar year 1893 were obtained. The data collected 

 for the whale fishery consisted of the statistics for the year 1893 for 

 the San Francisco fleet and for the New Bedford vessels rendezvousing 

 at the former port. The salmon investigatiou covered all phases of 

 the packing industry in California, Oregon, Washington, and Alaska. 

 While it was not feasible to visit all streams on which salmon can- 

 neries were located, nor to personally study the salmon-packing in 

 Alaska, complete information was obtainable for the more remotely 

 located canneries at the headquarters of the firms located in Sa a 

 Francisco and Portland. 



