730 EEPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. [2] 



ami in Lake Michigan to the north shore fisheries at Thompson. The 

 points that had heretofore furnished more or less eggs, hut which were 

 not included in last fall's programme, are Monroe, Toussaint, and Ca- 

 tawba Island, Lake Erie ; Hammond's Bay, and some unimportant 

 fisheries of Thunder Bay, Lake Huron ; and Epoufette and Naubiu- 

 way, north shore of Lake Michigan. Penning operations were trans- 

 ferred from Monroe to Put-in-Bay. The only new territory worked was 

 at Detour and vicinity, on the north shore of Lake Huron. 



Whitefish commenced spawning at the Lake Erie islands on Novem- 

 ber 7. The first eggs were taken on that date from the pound-net fish- 

 eries at North Bass, while the last eggs were taken from penned fish on 

 December 2. The pound and gill net fisheries of Lake Erie furnished 

 39,600,000 eggs, and the penned fish 4,000,000, all of which were received 

 at North ville in good condition. The weather as a whole was quite un- 

 favorable, a series of heavy blows occurring during the best of the 

 spawning season. On December 2, Put-in-Bay was entirely frozen over, 

 while outside large fields of ice bore down from the westward and dam- 

 aged or destroyed quite a large amount of twine, nearly one-third of 

 which was still in the lake. 



The collection of spawn from the pound-net fisheries along the west 

 shore of Lake Huron, below Alpena, occurred between November 4 and 

 25, and these shore fisheries furnished 38,000,000 eggs, which were for- 

 warded to Alpena. At Detour the spawning commenced November 6, 

 and 16,800,000 eggs were taken here and sent to Alpena. The gill-net 

 tugs fishing out of Alpena furnished only 2,000,000 eggs, the first of 

 which were taken November 22. The total number of eggs placed in 

 the Alpena house was 56,800,000. 



The spawning season at Thompson, north shore of Lake Michigan, 

 occurs nearly one month later than elsewhere. The run is quite heavy, 

 and usually begins from December 1 to 5 and ends December 15 to 20. 

 The grounds are several miles out, and steam-tugs and gill-nets are 

 employed. From December 5 to 13, Mr. Tulian, with a force of four 

 men, secured 29,000,000 eggs from the tugs fishing out of Thompson and 

 Manistique. The weather was very severe, the temperature frequently 

 being at or below zero; and it was therefore impossible to effect a high 

 percentage of impregnation, and nearly one-half of these eggs were 

 afterwards drawn from the hatching jars and thrown away. Mr. Tulian 

 brought the eggs to Northville in one lot of ten large cases, by steamer 

 from Manistique to Escanaba, thence by rail to Milwaukee, thence by 

 steamer to Ludington, thence by rail to Northville, arriving at night on 

 December 16. The eggs were transferred to hatching-jars the following 

 morning, filling one hundred and forty-five jars. The total receipts of 

 whitefish eggs at Northville, direct from the spawning grounds, were 

 72,600,000. The total collection of whitefish eggs at both stations was 

 129,400,000. On January 29, 21,000,000 were transferred from Alpena 

 to Northville, by car No. 2, iu charge of George H. H. Moore. 



