22 Tzcciity-scz'ciitJi Annual Meeting 



This feature of the law operates very decidedly to protect the fish 

 in many instances where the fish run in large numbers to certain 

 localities at certain times of the season or year. In such in- 

 stances, the fisherman having the right to fish in the locality 

 where the run is large, can only fish the numl)er of nets allowed 

 him in his license, and his neighbors are not permitted to set 

 their nets on his grounds; and many fish which would be taken 

 if a larger number of nets were set, escape. To illustrate this 

 point, I have seen as many as eight tugs fishing on one small 

 reef, and occupying so small a territory that the nets of the dif- 

 ferent tugs were crossed and recrossed several times. 



Recently I have gone through the several annual reports of 

 the Fisheries Department of the Dominion of Canada to find the 

 results of their close season for twenty-five years on the catch 

 of whitefish for the Province of Ontario from Lakes Superior. 

 Huron, Erie. St. Claire, Georgian Bay and the Detroit River. I 

 have compared the catch of whitefish in the Province of Ontario 

 with the catch from the same waters in the State of ^lichigan. 

 which has less coast line than Ontario and has not had a close 

 season until this year. 



From the last Biennial Report of the Commissioners of Fish- 

 eries of the State of Michigan, I learn that from the year i8gi 

 to 1895 there was a decrease of 586-10% in the catch of whitefish 

 in that State. In the Province of Ontario, I find that during the 

 same period there was a decrease of 585-10% in the catch of 

 whitefish. This is approximately the same rate of decrease as 

 in Michigan, notwithstanding the fact that the number of nets 

 used in Ontario increased, during this period, 323-5% as against 

 an increase of only 91-5% in Michigan. In this connection, it 

 should also be remembered that Michigan has never afforded 

 anything like adecjuate protection to the small whitefish. while 

 the more rigorous Canadian laws have given very ef^cient pro- 

 tection to these small fish. When I consider the large cpiantities 

 of small immature whitefish that have been taken with pound 

 nets during the last twenty years, I often wonder that there are 

 any whitefish left in the waters. In the Michigan waters under 

 consideration. I find that i.c;88 ]iound nets were in use in 1895; 

 no restrictions being placed on the number of nets in a string, 

 or the nund^er of strings in a localitv. During the same vear in 

 the same waters in Ontario, there were only 342 j^oimd nets in 

 use. and they were restricted as I have indicated above. 



Tons of small whitefish are caught yearly from Michigan 

 waters with pound nets; and a large part of them are sold for 



