LII REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 



All efforts to collect pike-perch eggs from Lake Ontario and tributary- 

 waters having failed, arrangements were made early in the spring to 

 establish a collecting station on the Missisquoi liiver, in northern Ver- 

 mont, which has always been noted for the abundance of its pike perch. 

 As soon as the ice disappeared the fish commenced ascending the river 

 in vast numbers as far as S wanton Dam, 7 miles above its mouth. 

 The point selected for a fishing-ground is on the right hand bank of the 

 Missisquoi Eiver, about 3 miles below Swanton Dam, the site of a former 

 fishing-ground. A small wharf and spawning shanty were erected 

 near where the seine would be landed, and pens were constructed for 

 holding the spawning fish preparatory to stripping them. 



As soon as the ice broke up the caiDturing of the fish was commenced 

 with the ordinary haul seines, and by April 28 over 3,000 had been 

 secured. This number might have been doubled had the operations 

 been conducted during the night. The first eggs were stripped on 

 April 23, and the last on April 28, the 591 females available yielding 

 38,000,000, of which 36,000,000 were sent to Cape Vincent and the 

 remainder to St. Johnsbury. The methods of stripping and fertilizing 

 the eggs were practically the same as at Put-in Bay and other stations 

 where pike percli are handled. They were sent from Swanton to Cayye 

 Vincent on trays and in cans of water, and from the condition in which 

 the different lots were received it would appear that better results can 

 be secured by shipping on trays. From the 30,000,000 eggs derived from 

 Swanton and 24,000,000 transferred from Put-in Bay, only 9,050,000 fry 

 were hatched. Of these, 25 iier cent were returned to the Missisquoi 

 River and idanted on the fishing-grounds; the balance were distributed 

 in the State of New York. It is believed the poor results were due 

 largely to the holding of the fish in i)ens too long before they were rij^e. 

 The outlook for tlie collection of several hundred million eggs at this 

 point in the future is excellent, and arrangements will be made next 

 year to conduct operations on a much larger scale. 



Investigations during the previous spring having indicated that 

 there were no points on Lake Ontario where a sufiiciently large num- 

 ber of sturgeon could be obtained to warrant the establishment of a field 

 station, arrangements were made this season to thoroughly investigate 

 the Lake Champlain fisheries, as it had been reported that large num- 

 bers were being taken on that lake. Mr. Myron Green, who was 

 employed to assist in the work, reported on May 17 that a great many 

 were being captured at East Alburg, Vt., and that he had 16 large 

 ones penned. An examination showed that none of these were ripe, 

 but three of them would probably have spawned withi)v three or four 

 weeks. Arrangements were made with the fishermen to examine all 

 the sturgeon caught, and in several instances females that appeared 

 to be nearly ripe were penned and held. During the latter part of the 

 month most of the fish captured seemed to be less matured than those 

 taken early in the season. Concluding that the point selected for 

 operations was at some distance from the spawning-beds, all of the 



