Downing. — Production and Destruction 31 



the economical and legitimate we refer to the taking of those fish 

 which have reached the age and size of maturity, the taking of 

 which is or should be legalized by the state or federal laws, for as 

 soon as fish of any species have attained their full maturity and 

 have been given a chance to reproduce, the sooner they are 

 removed from the waters in which they grew, the better it is for 

 their own species. If left in these waters they consume the food 

 that were better left for the consumption and growth of the 

 younger fish. Therefore we have no quarrel with the fishermen 

 who remove them, the dealers who by purchasing them encourage 

 the taking, nor the laws of the different states which make such 

 fishing legal. However, we can not too strongly condemn the 

 wanton destruction of undersized and immature fish, such as are 

 annually being taken from the waters of Lake Erie and placed upon 

 the market. Although the present prices that are being paid 

 for all kinds of fish are very tempting and make it profitable, just 

 for the present, for the fishermen to bring them in just as small 

 as they will be accepted, it is suicidal to his own business provided 

 he expects to remain in the business two or more years longer, as 

 will be shown later. 



Most of the states bordering upon Lake Erie have laws regu- 

 lating the size of most of the fish that may be legally taken, and 

 as a rule the size limit is large enough, provided they are rigidly 

 enforced, or conscientiously lived up to. But again, some of the 

 most valuable species are not mentioned in the statutes of some 

 of the states. For instance, of the four states bordering upon 

 Lake Erie, Ohio has more coast line than all the others combined, 

 and a far greater area of breeding grounds than all the others. 

 This is especially true of two of the best and highest priced fish 

 that are being produced, i. e. the whitefish and the pike-perch, and 

 also they are the two species that are being propagated to the 

 greatest extent, as a glance at the table giving the number of fry 

 produced at the hatcheries will show. 



We think, for this reason, the State of Ohio should have the 

 most judicious and stringent laws possible for the protection 

 of the young of these fish, yet one of these — one of the very best 

 and highest priced food fishes taken in Ohio waters — has no 

 protection whatever by the laws of the state which regulate the 



