TWElNTY-SEVENTII BIENNIAL REPORT. 



as 



date, be furnished with funds to establish several i)ond systems wliere 

 fish can be reared in numbers great enough to furnish an aflecjuate sup- 

 ply of eggs for all the hatcheries. One of tlie best pond sv'steuis to be; 

 found anywhere, is located at the Mount Sliasta station, i)ut it is not 

 large enough and owing to the limited water supply, can not be 

 increased. Nearly one-third of the trout eggs collect('<l in ( 'jilil'ornia 

 this 3^ear were taken from the stock lish in the ponds jit Mount Shasta 

 Hatchery. The eggs can be procured from the ponds for less money 

 than they can be taken from wild tish when all the uncertainties con- 

 nected with collecting eggs from wild fish are considered. I'lu; di-oughts 

 and floods, deep snows, extremely cold weather and othci- conditions 



Pig. 7. Catch of trout from Lake Eleanor, part of the San Francisco Hetch Hetchy 

 project. Many of the new storage re.ser\-oirs in the mountain di.stricts are afford- 

 ing splendid fishing. 



alwaj'S make the work at the egg collecting station uncertain. We do not 

 know from one season to another what to expect. Some years the 

 extremely light rain or snowfall causes conditions that are unfavorable 

 for the collection of trout eggs. In other years, floods and extremely 

 high and cold water change the movements of the fish so that our take 

 of eggs is often far less than that expected. The breaking up of the 

 runs of trout in our streams by high dams, built by hydro-electric com- 

 panies and irrigation projects are all having their eifect and to meet 

 these new conditions, it is imperative that the Legislature provide ample 

 funds for the construction of rearing ponds where a sufficient number 

 of breeding fish can be raised to supply the demand for at least two- 

 thirds of the waters to be stocked. 



3—22634 



