REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 129 



given were the food and feeding- of the carp, the relation of the carp 

 to other lishes, the rehition of the carp to wild fowl, and the food and 

 market value of the carp. Much information of interest and impor- 

 tance was obtained, but it will require another full season's inquiries 

 in order to render the investigation approximate!}" complete. 



The carp investigation was begun in Lake St. Clair, where Mr. Cole 

 went to investigate some statements of a fisherman which were pul)- 

 lishcd in the Port Huron (Mich.) Times of April 10, 1901. These 

 assertions were to the effect that "the carp eats the spawn and destroys 

 the perch, bass, and other good fish of these waters"; that "the sup- 

 ply (of these fish) is already" much reduced," and that "in three 3'ears 

 more there will be no fish except carp left in the lake." At New Bal- 

 timore and other places on the lake Mr. Cole found the same senti- 

 ments prevailing in regard to the carp as those expressed in the 

 newspaper article referred to. Inquiry among the fishermen, mostly 

 city sportsmen, showed that certain stock charges were made against 

 the carp, and it was not usually claimed that these charges were based 

 on direct knowledge or observation. 



The sentiment against this fish in this region was due largel}" to a 

 belief (1) that the carp thrashes about and stirs up the mud, so that 

 the breeding-grounds of other fish are spoiled; (2) that the carp roots 

 up the vegetation, destroying the wild rice, etc., and thus ruining 

 good duck-shooting grounds; (3) that the carp eats the spawn of other 

 fish ; (1) that the carp eats the young of other fish ; (5) that the carp is 

 of no value as a food-fish; (6) that the carp is of no value as a game fish. 



The fact that black bass and other fish were nesting at this time 

 afforded opportunity to make observations on several of these points. 

 In a small ba}^ where carp were commonly found in the shallow water 

 among the weeds and grasses, there were a number of bass nests. At 

 no time was a carp seen among the bass nests, which were some dis- 

 tance apart and hence covered a considerable area. A fyke net was 

 set with a view to intercept any carp that might cross the tract covered 

 by the bass nests, but with negative results. On several nests 3'Oung 

 bass were later noticed, and Mr. Cole thinks it probable that more 

 would have hatched if the parent fish had not been speared (in viola- 

 tion of law) or caught with hook and line (in conformity with law), thus 

 leaving the eggs exposed to any fish that might come along. Nests of 

 some of the sun-fishes were found close inshore where carp were com- 

 mon, and these nests contained eggs; when the parent fish were fright- 

 ened way, it was noticed that swarms of minnows, which seemed to 

 be waiting this opportunity, rushed in and began to devour the eggs. 



The observations showed that the carp makes the water very roily 

 where it splashes about and evidently tears up more or less vegetation, 

 but there was no evidence that the flags often found floating were not 

 torn loose by muskrats or other animals. 



F. C. 1902 9 



