﻿LX 
  REPORT 
  OF 
  COMMISSIONER 
  OF 
  FISH 
  AND 
  FISHERIES. 
  

  

  Volume 
  II. 
  

  

  Pakt 
  XV.— 
  The 
  whale 
  fishery. 
  

  

  XVI. 
  — 
  The 
  blackfisb 
  and 
  porpoise 
  fisheries. 
  

   XVII. 
  — 
  The 
  Pacific 
  walrus 
  fishery. 
  

   XVIII. 
  — 
  The 
  seal 
  and 
  sea-otter 
  industries. 
  

   XIX. 
  — 
  The 
  turtle 
  and 
  terrapin 
  fisheries. 
  

   XX. 
  — 
  The 
  oyster, 
  scallop, 
  clam, 
  mussel, 
  and 
  abalono 
  fisheries. 
  

   XXI. 
  — 
  The 
  crab, 
  lobster, 
  crayfish, 
  rock 
  lobster, 
  shrimp, 
  and 
  prawn 
  fisheries. 
  

   XXII. 
  — 
  The 
  leech 
  trade 
  and 
  the 
  trepang 
  fishery. 
  

   XXIII. 
  — 
  The 
  sponge 
  fishery 
  aud 
  trade. 
  

  

  Other 
  sections 
  of 
  this 
  report 
  on 
  " 
  Fishing 
  vessels 
  and 
  boats," 
  "Appa- 
  

   ratus 
  of 
  the 
  fisheries," 
  " 
  Preparation 
  of 
  products," 
  " 
  The 
  river 
  fisheries," 
  

   and 
  "Bibliography 
  of 
  American 
  ichthyology," 
  will 
  be 
  published 
  as 
  soon 
  

   as 
  practicable. 
  

  

  20. 
  — 
  INVESTIGATIONS 
  OF 
  THE 
  FISHERIES 
  OF 
  THE 
  GREAT 
  LAKES. 
  

  

  In 
  1871, 
  at 
  the 
  very 
  inception 
  of 
  the 
  Commission, 
  an 
  investigation 
  of 
  

   these 
  fisheries 
  was 
  made 
  by 
  the 
  late 
  James 
  W. 
  Milner; 
  and 
  statistics 
  

   of 
  this 
  industry 
  on 
  the 
  Great 
  Lakes 
  were 
  again 
  gathered, 
  for 
  the 
  census 
  

   of 
  1880, 
  by 
  Mr. 
  Ludwig 
  Kumlien. 
  The 
  comparison 
  of 
  the 
  work 
  of 
  

   Milner 
  and 
  Kumlien 
  led 
  to 
  very 
  grave 
  fears 
  that 
  the 
  fisheries 
  for 
  white- 
  

   fish 
  were 
  about 
  becoming 
  exhausted. 
  While 
  it 
  was 
  true 
  that 
  the 
  total 
  

   number 
  of 
  pounds 
  obtained 
  in 
  1880 
  was 
  equal 
  to 
  or 
  greater 
  than 
  that 
  

   obtained 
  in 
  1871, 
  the 
  effect 
  had 
  been 
  accomplished 
  by 
  the 
  use 
  of 
  ap- 
  

   paratus 
  increased 
  enormously 
  in 
  effectiveness 
  and 
  by 
  the 
  addition 
  of 
  

   steam-tugs 
  using 
  a 
  far 
  greater 
  number 
  of 
  gill-nets. 
  More 
  ominous 
  than 
  

   anything 
  else 
  was 
  the 
  fact 
  that 
  the 
  average 
  size 
  of 
  the 
  fish 
  taken 
  was 
  

   much 
  smaller. 
  It 
  was 
  realized 
  that 
  the 
  utmost 
  efforts 
  should 
  be 
  made 
  

   by 
  way 
  of 
  artificial 
  propagation 
  to 
  avert 
  the 
  impending 
  catastrophe. 
  

   Accordingly 
  the 
  United 
  States 
  Commission, 
  as 
  well 
  as 
  those 
  of 
  Ohio 
  

   and 
  Michigan, 
  planted 
  many 
  millions 
  of 
  whitefish 
  fry 
  each 
  year 
  from 
  

   1878 
  to 
  the 
  present 
  time, 
  the 
  number 
  planted 
  some 
  years 
  equaling 
  

   50,000,000. 
  

  

  At 
  the 
  close 
  of 
  the 
  fishing 
  season 
  last 
  year 
  a 
  limited 
  investigation 
  

   of 
  the 
  whitefish 
  product 
  of 
  Lake 
  Erie 
  was 
  made 
  by 
  Mr. 
  Frank 
  K. 
  Clark. 
  

   His 
  conclusion 
  was 
  as 
  follows 
  : 
  

  

  "The 
  results 
  are 
  most 
  gratifying, 
  as 
  it 
  is 
  conceded 
  by 
  all 
  and 
  shown 
  

   bj 
  T 
  the 
  reports 
  that 
  the 
  aggregate 
  catch 
  of 
  whitefish 
  was 
  considerably 
  

   in 
  excess 
  of 
  that 
  of 
  auy 
  season 
  for 
  several 
  years. 
  

  

  "No 
  disappointment 
  would 
  have 
  been 
  felt 
  had 
  there 
  been 
  no 
  percep- 
  

   tible 
  increase, 
  as 
  much 
  planting 
  of 
  fry 
  was 
  required 
  to 
  offset 
  the 
  ex- 
  

   tensive 
  and 
  exhaustive 
  fishing 
  carried 
  on 
  all 
  over 
  the 
  lake, 
  on 
  both 
  the 
  

   spawning 
  and 
  feeding 
  grounds. 
  For 
  many 
  years 
  these 
  had 
  been 
  liter- 
  

   ally 
  covered 
  with 
  nets 
  during 
  the 
  spawning 
  season, 
  while 
  hundreds 
  of 
  

   gill-nets 
  have 
  been 
  employed 
  on 
  the 
  feeding-grounds 
  in 
  deeper 
  waters. 
  

   Notwithstanding 
  this, 
  how 
  7 
  ever, 
  we 
  find 
  that 
  not 
  only 
  has 
  the 
  decrease 
  

   been 
  arrested, 
  but 
  that 
  there 
  is 
  a 
  tangible 
  aud 
  satisfactory 
  increase," 
  

  

  