X REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 



only stream iu which a noteworthy run now exists is the Delaware. 

 The protection and increase of these valuable fishes demand the most 

 serious attention on the part of the State authorities, and their arti- 

 ficial propagation is being considered by the Commission. The supply 

 has become so reduced that the collection of even a small number of 

 eggs is difiacult. The runs of striped bass, white perch, and yellow 

 perch present no special features, although in the Potomac and some 

 other rivers excessive fishing is beginning to have its effect on the 

 perches. The increasing abundance of the striped bass in the waters 

 of California may be noted. 



The season of 1899 was one of the most noteworthy in the history of 

 the Pacific salmon fishery. The pack of canned fish in the Columbia 

 Eiver was the smallest since 1873, with the single exception of 1889. 

 The fall run of fish in the Sacramento was a failure. The catch in the 

 shorter rivers of Oregon and Washington was, perhaps, an average 

 one. In Puget Sound, on the other hand, all records were broken; 

 nearly 900,000 cases of canned salmon were prepared (against 320,000 

 in the Columbia) ; and this region now ranks next to Alaska among 

 the salmon-producing sections. In Alaska, also, the pack exceeded 

 that of any previous year, aggregating considerably over a million 

 cases. The total quantity of salmon canned in the United States 

 waters of the Pacific coast was about 2,450,000 cases of 48 one-pound 

 cans each (against 700,000 cases in British Columbia). The quantity 

 of fresh fish represented by this pack, together with the catch salted 

 or sold fresh, was not less than 175,000,000 pounds. 



The important fisheries for white-fish, lake herring, lake trout, and 

 pike perch in the Great Lakes are in a generally satisfactory condition. 

 While unfavorable weather, and a close season, during a time when the 

 largest catches are usually made, reduced the output from Michigan 

 waters in 1899, the supply of white-fish in Lake Erie and the Detroit 

 Eiver was very large, and the catch was much in excess of that of any 

 of the preceding ten or twelve years. 



The fishery products imported by the United States annually are 

 valued at upwards of $6,000,000. It is an interesting fact that a large 

 part of this sum represents articles which are similar to or identical 

 with products of our own waters, and which might just as well be pur- 

 chased in the home markets. This does not refer to products which 

 our fisheries do not yield in sufficient quantities to meet the demand, 

 but to those of which our waters contain an abundance. The reason 

 for seeking such products abroad is not difficult to determine. They 

 are prepared by methods different from those in use in the United 

 States, and are either superior in quality to the average home goods or 

 have certain qualities which commend them to some of our people. 

 The canned sardines of France, the pickled herring of Holland and 

 Norway, and the cod-liver oil of Norway are well-known examples of 

 these goods. Whatever excellence these may have is not due to any 

 inherent property of the fish themselves but solely to the methods of 



