﻿52 
  REPORT 
  OF 
  THE 
  COMMISSIONER 
  OF 
  FISHERIES. 
  

  

  As 
  the 
  sii])])!}' 
  of 
  white 
  porch 
  and 
  yellow 
  perdi 
  hi 
  the 
  upper 
  part 
  

   of 
  Chesapeake 
  Bay 
  appears 
  to 
  Ix^ 
  mcreasmg, 
  the 
  work 
  with 
  these 
  

   species 
  was 
  conducted 
  on 
  only 
  a 
  limited 
  scale. 
  Between 
  ]\Iarch 
  20 
  and 
  

   30, 
  1914, 
  eggs 
  of 
  the 
  yellow 
  perch 
  numbering 
  80,702,000 
  were 
  secured, 
  

   which 
  yielded 
  57,400,000 
  fry 
  and 
  9,000,000 
  eyed 
  eggs 
  for 
  shipment 
  

   to 
  State 
  and 
  private 
  hatcheries. 
  Unusually 
  low 
  temperatures 
  m 
  this 
  

   river 
  delayed 
  the 
  spa^^Tling 
  season 
  of 
  the 
  white 
  perch 
  for 
  about 
  10 
  

   days, 
  but 
  310,225,000 
  eggs 
  of 
  that 
  species 
  were 
  collected 
  during 
  the 
  

   latter 
  half 
  of 
  April 
  and 
  the 
  month 
  of 
  May, 
  producing 
  218,600,000 
  

   fry 
  and 
  1,450,000 
  eyed 
  eggs 
  for 
  shipment 
  to 
  New 
  England. 
  In 
  

   conjunction 
  with 
  the 
  other 
  work, 
  450,000 
  alewife 
  eggs 
  w^er(^ 
  developed 
  

   as 
  an 
  experiment 
  in 
  the 
  ^IcDonald 
  liatching 
  jars, 
  and 
  from 
  them 
  

   184,000 
  fry 
  were 
  obtained. 
  

  

  On 
  the 
  Potomac 
  River, 
  where 
  the 
  coUectuig 
  of 
  yellow 
  perch 
  usually 
  

   starts 
  in 
  February, 
  this 
  work 
  could 
  not 
  be 
  undertaken 
  until 
  the 
  

   middle 
  of 
  March, 
  owing 
  to 
  the 
  fact 
  that 
  the 
  river 
  was 
  blocked 
  with 
  

   ice, 
  and 
  the 
  rapidly 
  rising 
  tempcM-atures 
  after 
  that 
  date 
  made 
  it 
  

   exceedmgly 
  dillicult 
  to 
  secure 
  sufficient 
  })rood 
  fish 
  to 
  produce 
  the 
  

   usual 
  stock 
  of 
  (^ggs 
  for 
  the 
  Bryans 
  Pohit 
  hatcheiy. 
  However, 
  by 
  

   constant 
  and 
  ])ersistent 
  effort 
  15,567 
  yellow 
  perch 
  had 
  been 
  taken 
  

   froni 
  the 
  lislu^-men's 
  nets 
  and 
  placed 
  in 
  live 
  cars 
  by 
  March 
  27, 
  and 
  

   from 
  them 
  129,155,000 
  eggs 
  were 
  obtahied. 
  The 
  output 
  for 
  the 
  

   season 
  was 
  3,900,000 
  eyed 
  eggs 
  and 
  110,224,389 
  fry, 
  which 
  were 
  dis- 
  

   tributed 
  in 
  various 
  tributaries 
  of 
  the 
  Potomac 
  River 
  in 
  Maryland 
  

   and 
  Virginia. 
  

  

  From 
  a 
  financial 
  standpoint 
  the 
  shad 
  season 
  on 
  this 
  river 
  was 
  the 
  

   poorest 
  ever 
  ex]>erienced. 
  None 
  of 
  the 
  commercial 
  fishermen 
  oper- 
  

   ating 
  haul 
  seines 
  witiiin 
  range 
  of 
  the 
  Biu-eau's 
  station 
  were 
  able 
  to 
  

   make 
  expenses, 
  and 
  the 
  cat('h 
  of 
  fish 
  by 
  the 
  gill-net 
  fishermen 
  was 
  

   far 
  below 
  the 
  average. 
  Egg 
  collections 
  were 
  made 
  from 
  April 
  23 
  to 
  

   May 
  20, 
  when 
  the 
  work 
  was 
  discontinued 
  on 
  a<H"<nmt 
  of 
  scarcity 
  <>f 
  

   fish. 
  The 
  season's 
  work 
  comprised 
  30,180,000 
  eggs 
  collected, 
  

   27,088,060 
  hatched, 
  and 
  611,000 
  eyed 
  eggs 
  shipped. 
  

  

  In 
  the 
  Albemarle 
  Soimd 
  region, 
  where 
  for 
  the 
  past 
  five 
  years 
  the 
  

   good 
  results 
  of 
  shad 
  propagation 
  and 
  protection 
  have 
  been 
  mani- 
  

   fested 
  by 
  a 
  steady 
  and 
  appreciable 
  uicrease 
  in 
  the 
  amnial 
  output 
  of 
  

   the 
  Edenton 
  station, 
  the 
  work 
  received 
  a 
  check, 
  the 
  output 
  of 
  yomig 
  

   shad 
  being 
  only 
  about 
  one-third 
  that 
  of 
  1913. 
  The 
  poor 
  results 
  may 
  

   be 
  attributed 
  to 
  several 
  causes, 
  chief 
  among 
  them 
  beuig 
  the 
  imfavor- 
  

   able 
  w<nither, 
  whicli, 
  during 
  the 
  entire 
  spawning 
  season, 
  was 
  too 
  cold 
  

   to 
  permit 
  of 
  the 
  normal 
  ripenuig 
  of 
  a 
  large 
  percentage 
  of 
  the 
  fish 
  in 
  

   the 
  streams. 
  Another 
  unfavorable 
  feature 
  was 
  the 
  mmsual 
  scarcity 
  

   of 
  ripe 
  male 
  fish. 
  At 
  times 
  as 
  many 
  as 
  100 
  females 
  with 
  ripe 
  eggs 
  

   were 
  taken, 
  mth 
  only 
  one 
  matm'e 
  male 
  available, 
  making 
  it 
  neces- 
  

   sary 
  to 
  discard 
  eggs 
  m 
  large 
  numbers. 
  The 
  reports 
  received 
  from 
  the 
  

   lower 
  portion 
  of 
  Albemarle 
  Soimd 
  hidicated 
  that 
  shad 
  were 
  there 
  m 
  

   the 
  usual 
  numbers, 
  and 
  it 
  is 
  beheved 
  that 
  this 
  setback 
  is 
  only 
  tem- 
  

   porary. 
  The 
  total 
  collections 
  of 
  eggs 
  for 
  the 
  Edenton 
  station 
  were 
  

   42,885,000, 
  anil 
  29,423,000 
  fry 
  were 
  the 
  output 
  therefrom. 
  

  

  The 
  hatt^hing 
  facilities 
  of 
  the 
  station 
  were 
  mcreased 
  thiring 
  the 
  

   year 
  by 
  the 
  construction 
  of 
  a 
  new 
  iron-pipe 
  water-supply 
  and 
  drauiage 
  

   system, 
  and 
  the 
  mstallation 
  of 
  additional 
  hatchmg 
  tables 
  with 
  a 
  

   capacity 
  for 
  200 
  jars. 
  

  

  