414 Rousczrit Wild Life Annals 



In New York the weirs and lines are licensed by the State. A record of the 

 catch has kindly been furnished us by INIr. M. C. Worts, Superintendent of Inland 

 Fisheries of the Conservation Commission, Albany, N. Y., as follows : 



Table No. 9. Showi.ng C.vtch of Eels rv Weirs .\nd Lines i.\ Ixl.vnd W.\ters of New 



York State, for the Years i9I3-'i4-'i5 



Lncalities Lhs., iqjj Lhs., ign Lbs., iqis 

 Chaumont and other bays, Lake Ontario, New York 



State 62,508 S0.77S 65.498 



Sodus and other bays on south shore. Lake Ontario. ... 2 ,295 2 ,416 2 ,218 



Lake Ontario 18 ,010 i ,905 830 



Niagara River 915 i ,080 i .555 



Seneca and Cayuga Lakes and Seneca River i ,420 527 165 



Oneida and Oswego Rivers 41 ,635 33 ,839 i4 -.SI I 



Hudson River 2,573 4.129 ^6.605 



Other waters of New York 2 ,235 404 986 



Sturgeon lines, Lakes Erie, Ontario and the St. Lawrence 



River . 



4.405 2.149 530 



Total pounds of Eels for New Y'ork State from above 



sources 1.55.996 127.227 112,898 



Number of set lines (2,750 for 1915) estimated to average 10 lbs. p<r line 27.500 



Total production for State for 1915 (about 70 tons') 140,398 



We do not feel, however, that the statistics at all adequately represent the 

 catch of Eels in the State. Mr. Worts wrote that the records were not complete. 

 The practical difSculties in securing accurate statistics on Eels have been pointed 

 out by Meehan ('05). For the status of the Eel fishery on Oneida Lake and River 

 in 1904, reference should be made to Cobb ('04, pp. 233-236), and the Federal 

 statistics on Eel production for the United States for 1908 are given in a special 

 report for 191 1 (Durand, '11, pp. 27, 30, 36). 



At i)resent almost no effort whatever is made to use the skins of Eels. Steven- 

 son (03, p. 351) says: "Eel skins have Ixen larLjfly used in Europe for binding 

 books, and to a considerable extent in ni.iking \\hii)s, and have also been tanned 

 and dyed and made into suspenders. In Tartary thex- are dried and oiled and used 

 as a substitute for glass in windows." 



At the present time Eels are of considerable commercial importance in Xew 

 York State. Macdonald {'2y, p. 98) says that in 1925 there were 19 Eel weirs 

 and 479 Eel pots licensed for use in the waters of the State. The operators of these 

 devices, exclusive of those operating in the Hudson River, reported taking 52,951 

 pounds of Eels valued at $6,474.33. They received an average of 12c a pound for 

 their product. The Conservation Commission receives a license fee of $20 for the 

 operation of an Eel weir and 50<- for an Eel ])ot. Alacdonald (I.e.) gives the fol- 

 lowing figures for llic i''.el l-'ishery in Xrw "N'ork State for l<)_'3: 



Lake Ontario i).47 1 lbs., value S(:92.54 



Chaumont and Black River Hays of Lake Ontario (7.781 lbs., value 4.136,79 



Port Bay, off L. Ontario 31J lbs., value 34.32 



Xiagara River 854 lbs., value 61. 30 



Hudson River 1 2.745 lhs.. value 2.431). .(5 



Miscellaneous waters 1S3 lhs.. value 30.20 



