Page 125 Division of Research 



Fisheries 



Fisheries research, under the direction of Dr. F. E. J. Fry, was concentrated at 

 three main centres — the Department's station at South Bay, Manitoulin Island; 

 the Ontario Fisheries Laboratory, Algonquin Park; and at the Department's Southern 

 Research Station, Maple. 



The South Bay Experiment. To review the object of this experiment, which 

 was commenced in 1947. it is to determine the benefits to the yield of the more valuable 

 fish which may result from exerting equal fishing pressure on the less valuable or 

 worthless fish. Commercial fishing had failed disastrously in several consecutive 

 previous years, and the population ratio of non-valuable to valuable fish was estimated 

 to be forty to one. 



A responsible advisory committee which sets policy is made up of representatives 

 of the Ontario Federation of Commercial Fishermen, the Ontario Federation of Anglers 

 and Hunters, the Northern Ontario Outfitters' Association, the Fisheries Research 

 Board of Canada, and the Ontario Government. The actual operation of the experi- 

 ment is directed by a committee, representing the Ontario Federation of Commercial 

 Fishermen and the Research Division of the Department of Lands and Forests, under 

 the chairmanship of a representative of the Fisheries Research Board 



The program is in two parts, the first being the actual fishing operations which 

 is directed by the Ontario Federation of Commercial Fishermen, and the second is the 

 scientific follow-up. which is the responsibility of the Research Division of the 

 Department. 



The work has included a survey of the bottom organisms which are the chief 

 food of the bass, whitefish and their competitors; the collection of meteorological and 

 hydrographic data, and the more prominent biological study which consisted largely 

 of an examination of the catches of fish. The primary purpose of this examination is 

 to gather information from which a description of the present state of the population 

 may be made. Biological statistics, gathered year by year, will enable changes in 

 production to be followed. 



Samples are taken of each catch, which are weighed, measured and sex-deter- 

 mined. Stomachs are examined and samples of scales taken for determination of age. 

 At times of the year when eggs are well developed, samples of them are taken for 

 estimation of the fecundity of the various species over their size range. 



From these records, the food, the growth, and the general condition of the 

 various species can be determined. The first body of results from analysis of the data 

 may be expected soon. 



At the conclusion of this experiment it is expected that an appraisal of all of the 

 research data compiled will provide practical answers to the main fisheries management 

 problems of Lake Huron. 



In 1949 South Bay fisheries yielded 130,000 pounds of fish, as compared with 

 194,000 pounds for 1948. The decline was due largely to a reduced catch of smelt in 

 the spring, when streams were low and few entered to spawn. 



One result of the research work is that reasonable predictions of catch can be 

 made for one or two years in advance, based on knowledge of the numbers of different 

 species of fish present in various age classes. 



