360 American Fisheries Society 



Some of our streams have been satisfactorily cleared of 

 pollution. Thus the Licking River from Newark to Zanes- 

 ville, a distance of 25 miles, was polluted a few years ago until 

 everything in it was destroyed. A large glass manufacturing 

 plant which caused the damage was made to take care of its 

 chemical wastes, and one of the finest bass streams in the state 

 js being restored. Restocking was necessary of course. An 

 examination of it by our party this summer showed that while 

 conditions are not yet quite normal, the hatch of young game 

 fish is excellent and within a couple of years the effects of pol- 

 lution may no longer be noticeable. With the perfection of 

 our new method of controling pollution, it is hoped that the 

 state may rapidly proceed with its clean-up campaign. Other- 

 wise it is only a question of a few years until there will be 

 little angling in our streams. 



Perhaps I should not have dwelt so long on the unfavorable 

 conditions, for Ohio is much better off than many of the states, 

 especially those to the east of us. We still have numerous 

 fine streams where there is excellent fishing. Where there 

 is no pollution, breeding conditions are usually satisfactory and 

 there is an ample supply of fish food. There is a great deal 

 of angling, astonishingly great as compared with a generation 

 ago. We must, therefore, expect the individual catch to be 

 smaller, but the legal limit is very often attained, and the fish 

 are as large as in former years. With the bluegill and perch 

 there is a serious falling off, but these fish are easily caught 

 by the inexperienced angler and there should be more protec- 

 tion devoted to them during the breeding season. 



In regard to the non-game species of fishes, it may be said 

 that many of them appear to be much less numerous than in 

 former years. It was my privilege to make a fairly thorough 

 survey of the fishes of Ohio during the summers of 1897, 

 1899, and 1900, and in the twenty years that have elapsed many 

 species of the smaller fishes seem to have become rare or to 

 have disappeared entirely from the waters surveyed during the 

 past summer. Pollution may be responsible for this in some 



