98 Thirty-First Annual Meeting 



It seems as though a no more forcible illustration of the gra- 

 tifying results of the whitefish operations can be given than that 

 of a comparison between the work of the past season and of 1896, 

 but five years before. There Avas practically no difference in the 

 methods employed, and the grounds operated were the same. In 

 1896 the total number of fish caught on the Detroit River was 

 11,263, while during the season recently completed 41,242 were 

 taken, not far from four times the number obtained but five 

 years previous under almost identical conditions. 



Not only on the Detroit Eiver, which is perhaps the l)est 

 ]ioint on the Great Lakes for the coUectio]! of whitefish eggs, has 

 tlie work been so highly successful, but at all other jolaces where 

 an attempt has been made the results have been the 

 same. It is certain that the season of 1901 has been 

 by far tlie l)est on the Great Lakes, and the records 

 of l)oth the Lnited States and Canadian governments 

 have never been equaled by the unprecedented take of upwards 

 of 800,000,000 eggs. This large take resulted in the filling of 

 every hatchery on tlie Lakes to its utmost capacity, and at one 

 time it was thought necessary to plant a portion of the eggs on 

 the spawning grounds. Later, however, this obstacle was over- 

 come by holding jiart on trays for a short time. More auxiliary 

 stations adjacent to the spawning grounds shotild l)e ])rovided 

 for the liandling of the great surplus. This would do away 

 largely with the necessity of transporting the fry for such long 

 distances, which is not only very expensive, Imt at times rather 

 detrimental to their condition. These auxiliary hatcheries will, 

 no doubt, l)e provided for in the near future by the United States 

 government. 



The following account may perhaps give a fair idea of some 

 of the details of the Detroit Eiver work. 



The collection of eggs was made from the field stations on 

 Belle Isle and Grassy Island, the former being located in the De- 

 triot River opposite the upper end of Detroit, and the latter about 

 eight miles down the river below the city. The first fishing was 

 done on the 16th of October and the work was continued until 

 December 3rd. During this time, 2,875 hauls of the seine were 

 made and 41,242 fish captured, an average of between fourteen 

 and fifteen per ha\d, this latter being much better than usual. 



