6 KEPOET OF THE OOMMTSSIONEK OF FISHERIES. 



the condition of the commercial fisheries of the coastal waters and the 

 Great Lakes, the renewed productiveness of old and abandoned fishing 

 grounds and the abundance of tish on entirely new areas are strongh" 

 indicative. Unusual numbers of cod are reported all along the coast, 

 and surprising catches have been made on inshore grounds. In spite 

 of the growing scarcity of adult lobsters and the ruthless destruction 

 of young and eggs during the last ten years, fishermen on the New 

 England coast have been tinding in their traps many more 3^oung lol)- 

 sters than formerly: flatfish are much more numerous, especialh' small 

 flatfish in the shallow waters along shore: and exceptional catches of 

 whitefish were made this year in Lake Ontario and Lake Erie, which 

 fishing Arms operating there attribute wholly to the planting of arti- 

 ficially hatched fry. The stocking of smaller lakes and interior streams 

 produces determinate and obvious results. Conspicuous instances are 

 the present abundance of black-spotted trout in a lake in Yellowstone 

 Park where formerly no tish were found: the size and quantity of 

 trout caught by anglers in waters stocked from the W3'^theville station; 

 the phenomenal numbers of crappie and catfish taken and marketed 

 from certain reservoirs in Texas, many of which are artificial, and the 

 transformation of insignificant lakes in that State into valuable fishing 

 preserves. 



IMPROVEMENTS IN METHODS AND APPLIANCES. 



In the interest of progress and improvement in appliances and 

 methods of fish culture, experiments are at all times being conducted 

 at one station or another and theoretical knowledge is tested b}' prac- 

 tical application. These eflorts in 19D6 dealt with the rearing of lob- 

 sters according to recently devised methods, the eft'ect of cold storage 

 upon eggf^ in refrigerator cases, the kind and quantity of fish food 

 required under certain conditions, the volume of water to a given 

 number of eggs at various ages, the number of brood fish to be allowed 

 in a given area, the efiect of light on eggs and fry, the destruction of 

 algffi in trout ponds, the use of a salt solution for removing dead eggs, 

 and the methods of measuring eggs. 



OUTPUT AND DISTRIBUTION OF FISH AND EGGS. 



Snuiiiiai'!/. — The fish-cultural work of the past year was conducted 

 in 31 States and Territories, Three stations dealt with cod, flatfish, 

 and lobsters; 12 with Atlantic and landlocked salmons, shad, striped 

 bass, white perch, and yellow perch; 16 with whitefish, lake herring, 

 lake trout, and pike perch; 12 with Pacific salmons, and 21) with rain- 

 bow trout, black-spotted trout, brook trout, grayling, l)lack bass, 

 crappie, sunfish, and various minor species. The output consisted of 

 397,556,725 fertilized eggs, 1,526,681,638 fry. and 7,596,216 yearlings, 



