American Fisheries Society. 117 



the}' sell for a low price and are bought by poor people. There 

 are many foreigners in our eastern cities that are steady con- 

 sumers of carp, and take all that come to market. Carp go to 

 market generally in good shape ; they can be packed in ice in Illi- 

 nois and will reach New York alive. If they are properly cooked 

 they are very good fish. 



Now we have in our waters a pretty good su])ply of coarse 

 fishes. There is a tendency on the part of legislatures to cut off 

 the commercial fisheries, to reserve more and more waters for 

 hook and line fishing. This harvest of coarse fishes still re- 

 mains. If the crop is not harvested it is lost. In the Illinois 

 river they catch over 14,000,000 pounds of fish a year, chiefly 

 carp and buffalo. That affords employment to 1,000 fishermen, 

 who incidentally catch other fishes. It can be shown by statistics 

 in the Fish Commission office that the yield of black bass in this 

 great carp river, the Illinois river, has increased along with the 

 carp. They now catch more bass than ever and the chances are 

 that the young carp are food for the l^ass and the more predatory 

 fishes. 



The work of the net and seine fishermen in the Illinois river 

 results in the capture of these coarse fishes, carp, buffalo, cat fish 

 and dog fish, and the other fishes taken do not count for much. 

 At the same time there are plenty of game fishes for those who 

 want them for sport — such fishing is better than ever. So there 

 are undoubtedly many waters in this country that will support 

 the coarse food fishes and the fine game fishes without the one 

 being an injury to the other. That may also be the case in Lake 

 Erie where the carp catch is already important and marketable. 



The dealers of Sandusky and Port Clinton are shipping all 

 the carp they can get, not only to the eastern markets but to St. 

 Louis, Cincinnati and Louisville. 



On the Pacific coast the carp is abused just as much as it is 

 elsewhere, and yet the Chinese of California are consuming carp 

 and cat fish more than any other kind of fishes. 



In New Jersey the carp have taken to living in the slightly 

 brackish water, and most of the catch comes from those waters 

 which lie between the more salty bay waters and the fresh waters. 

 The carp there are in places where they appear to hurt nothing, 

 and they are beginning to find their way to market. If I had a 



