t'ISHERIES OF THE GEEAT LAKES. 



423 



The following recapitulation of the foregoing table shows that the 

 total and average catch in 1887 was less than in the two following 

 years, and that the yield in 1890 was less than in 1S8S and 1889, while 

 the average production per net was less than during any of the other 

 years. In view of the prominent position now occupied by the lake 

 herring, tliese figures possess special interest. 



The group of fishes embraced by the general term "pike perch," and 

 including the Avall-eyed pike or yellow pike, the variety of wall-eyed 

 pike known as the blue pike, and the sauger, ranks next to the her- 

 ring in abundance and economic value. These fish are much more 

 abundant in Lake Erie than elsewhere in the Great Lakes, and each is 

 here taken in larger quantities than in all the other lakes combined. 



The most important of these fishes is the blue pike, the catch of which 

 in 1890 was about 7,489,000 pounds, worth $148,200. It is found abun- 

 dantly in all parts of the lake except along the Michigan shore, and is 

 especially prominent in the fisheries of Erie, Pa,, and Cleveland and 

 Sandusky, Ohio. It is taken in large numbers in both pound nets and 

 gill nets, but in larger quantities in the latter than in the former, and 

 constitutes a conspicuous element in the vessel gill-net fishing of Erie 

 and Cleveland and the shore gill netting of the former city. Compared 

 with 1885, a slight decrease in the catch has occurred, amounting to 

 410,000 pounds. The ])riucipal decrease has been in the ice fishery of 

 Erie County, Pa., owing to a deficiency of ice, while most places in 

 Ohio present an increased yield. 



The species of this group of which the next largest catch is made is the 

 sauger, which is most important in the fisheries of Erie County, Ohio, 

 where more than half the eiitire outijut is obtained, although it is also a 

 very conspicuous factor in the fisheries of Ottawa and Lucas counties, 

 Ohio, and Monroe County, Mich. While a few saugers are taken with gill 

 nets, fyke nets, seines, and lines, the great bulk of the catch is obtained in 

 pound nets. Tlie saugers caught in 1890 amounted to 4,179,807 pounds, 

 with avalue of $51,721. In 1885 the quantity taken was 5,400,200 pounds. 



The wall-eyed pike, while less abundant than the sauger or blue pike, 

 is more valuable than the former and commands a higher price per 

 pound than either. It inhabits shallower water than the blue pike, and 

 is consequently taken in greater quantities in pound nets than by other 

 means. Nearly half the entire output of the lake is obtained in Erie 

 County, Ohio ; Ottawa and Lucas counties in the same State and Monroe 

 County in Michigan also have a relatively large catch. The quantity 

 taken throughout the lake in 1890 was 2,105,733 pounds, valued at 

 $90,615. In 1885 the reported yield was 2,694,500 pounds. The i)rin- 



