1912 AND FISHERIES COMMISSION. 61 



(8) That careful returns be compiled of the annual yield of each 

 lake in order that as soon as a marked decrease becomes apparent in 

 any one lake, no further licenses may be issued for it during a term of 

 years, so as to allow of restocking by natural processes. 



Lake of the Woods. 



The location and peculiar configuration of the area known as Lake 

 of the Woods have given rise to problems in connection with its fisheries 

 which require individual investigation. 



A glance at the map will show that, broadly speaking, the area is 

 divided into two portions by the great neck of land called the Big Penin- 

 sula, the body of water to the south of it being for the most part open, 

 while that to the north of it is merely a network of channels between 

 innumerable islands of all sizes and descriptions. The international 

 boundary, which runs almost north for some thirty odd miles from the 

 point where the Rainy River enters the lake, places more than half of 

 the open water area of the southern portion under the control of the 

 United States, but turning then to the west leaves the northern portion 

 entirely in Canada, while the Manitoba boundary line touches both the 

 northern and southern portion's on their western extremities. For the 

 most part the lake, which lies, of course, in the Hudson Bay watershed, 

 is comparatively shallow, and with the exception of a small passenger 

 steamer plying between the towns of Rainy River and Kenora is not 

 used for commercial transportation purposes at present, nor would it 

 appear likely that its waters, will ever serve to any great extent as a high- 

 way of commerce. 



The waters themselves, however, were originally teeming with fish, 

 of wliich the most valuable commercial species were the sturgeon, the 

 whitefisli, the pickerel and the lake trout, and a,s the countr^^ opened up 

 great quantities of fl.sh were removed from them on both sides of the 

 boundary line, ^^■ith the result that to-day the sturgeon has practically 

 ceased to exist all over the lake, and the quantities of whitefish and trout 

 have very considerably diminished, especially in the American waters, 

 which have been fislied far more strenuously than the Canadian waters 

 of recent years. The International FiKheries Commission, indeed, have 

 given weighty consideration to the state of the fisheries in these waters, 

 and in the proposed international code most excellent regulations have 

 been devised to be applicable to Lake of the Woods and Rainy River, 

 dealing with such questions as the mesh, class and disposition of nets, 

 classes of fish that may be fished for, methods of fishing and size limits. 

 These regulations, however, do not altogether dispose of all the difficul- 

 ties peculiar to the Ontario fishery situation. 



The bulk of the commercial fishing in Canadian waters is carried on 

 in the northern of the two zones already referred to, the headquarters of 

 the industry being located at Kenora at the northern extremity of the 

 lake, and the industry itself being vested in the hands of one company. 



