THE WHITEFISH 251 



the traveller between Cleveland and Omaha discovers before 

 him a large fish of excellent flavor, he may be sure that it 

 is either a Whitefish or a lake trout, from one of the Great 

 Lakes, and worthy of profound respect. 



But for the fact that this fish is so well and so widely 

 known, many pages might be written of it without exhausting 

 the subject. Dr. Jordan considers the Whitefishes the most 

 important group of fresh-water fishes of North America, and 

 probably of the world. 



The home of this group extends from Niagara to Chicago 

 and Duluth. The average weight of a typical fish is about 

 4 pounds, but specimens weighing 20 pounds have been taken. 

 In 1899 the catch of Whitefish (all species) amounted to 

 6,862,094 pounds, worth $345,640. In 1898 the catch in Cana- 

 dian waters, say Jordan and Evermann, amounted to about 

 18,000,000 pounds, worth $877,000. The latest returns from 

 our Whitefish industry are as follows: 



The Great Lakes (1903), 7,519,615 pounds, worth $337,866 

 Interior waters (1900-1903), 209,146 " " 12,320 



7,728,761 " " $350,186 



In winter, the Whitefish retires to the deepest portions of 

 the Great Lakes, and is beyond the reach of fishermen. In the 

 spring, it frequents the shallower waters, near shore, where 

 it spawns, and lingers to fall a prey to the gill-net fishermen, 

 even until late in the autumn. 



