OiitiJii Lake lishcs 2y7 



Ontario, and otlur small lakes in New York tributary to the St. Lawrence, it is 

 fuund in considerable numbers and appears to be landlocked. In Lak.- < 'iiiario it 

 is excessively abundant, grca. multitudes sometimes dying in early summer. 



"Just how it got into these lakes has never been satisfactorily delennined. 

 It is claimed by many that they were intro<Juced into Lake Ontario under the 

 impression that they were young Shad. However that may be, it hardly accounts 

 for their presence in the small interior lakes of New York. 



"The species is known to be common in the Gulf of St. Lawrence and it is 

 not at all unlikely that many find their way even,- spring uj) the St. I^iwrence to 

 1-ike Ontario, though this is by no means certain. It may Ik; that they are actually 

 landlocked in these various lakes, that they breed there and are able to maintain 

 themselves notwithstanding the dying of many ever\- year. 



"There is no doubt that those found in these lakes are very much smaller 

 than those found along the coast, which indicates that they are a dwarfed form, 

 the >mall size being the result of a restricted environment and an insufficient food 

 supply. . . . 



"In Lake Ontario it rarely exceeds 5 or 6 inches in length, the majority seen 

 jiroliably not exceeding 3 or 4 inches. Those of 2 to 4 inches in length are often 

 used as bait. Their bright silvery color makes them very attractive to game fishes, 

 but they are (jiiitc delicate and will not stand much inniishment." 



Hean gives the following additional infoniiation {'02, pp. 303-304) : "In the 

 rivers the alewives appear to eat nothing, but they can be capturetl with small 

 artificial flies of various colors. Their eggs are somewhat adhesive and number 

 from 'lO.ooo to ioo,txx) to the individual. They are deposited in shoal water ; 

 spawning Ix-gins when the river is at 53° to 60° F. The period of hatching is 

 not definitely known, but is belicve<l to exceed four days. 



"During the spring and summer the young prow to the length of J or 3 

 inches; after their departure from the streams nothing is known of their prog- 

 ress, but it is Ix-lieved that they reach maturity in four years. . . . 



"The Mranch .\kwife. though full of small Imnes. is a verj- valuable focnl fish 

 and is consumed in the fre>h condition as well as dry saltc<l, pickled and smoked. 

 The fry can be reared in jionds by placing adults in the waters to be stocketl a 

 little l)eforc their spawning season ; an<I they furnish excellent foo<'. for kiss, 

 rockfish, trout, salmon and other choice fishes. The proper utilization of the 

 immense oversupply of these fish in I^kc Ontario has Inrcome a serious economic 

 problem. 



"Alewives are caught in seines, gill nets, traps and pounds, and they arc often 

 taken by anglers with artificial flies." Greeley ("27, p. 61) notes their use for 

 liait in I-ike Ontario. 



References. Hean. *02. '03; Evemwnn. '01 ; Greeley, '2J: Smith. '>}2; 

 Wright and .Mien. '13. 



Leucichthys artedi tullibee (Richardson"). Tt i.t.iBF.r. MosoRft. Wiiirr- 

 nsii. Omiha I.akk Wiiitfkisii. The Tullilx-c is known 1<vally as the 

 "Oneida I.ake Whitefish," and so far as can 1* learne<l, Oneida is the only one 

 of New York l.ilvi - in wbiih it is now common; fonnerly it was abundant in 

 Onondaga I..ik> uly mcnil>er of the Salmonidae common in Oneida 



