The Common Whitefish 



the hatcheries. In any one place the bulk of the spawning may 

 be, and generally is, completed in a much shorter space of time, 

 from 5 to 10 days. They begin to fish for the hatcheries on 

 the Detroit River in the latter part of October, but the fish are 

 not then ripe and are penned until the eggs mature. 



The general run of the whitefish taken in Lake Erie ranges 

 from about i^ to 5 or 6 pounds, but seldom exceeds 4 or 5 

 pounds. This applies to all parts of the lake, but the average 

 size may differ more or less in different places or in the catch 

 by different kinds of apparatus. The species, however, attains a 

 weight of 12 pounds and more, and some have been reported 

 weighing as high as 20 pounds, but these extreme sizes are now 

 practically extinct. Individuals weighing 8 or 9 pounds are con- 

 sidered very large for Lake Erie at the present time. 



It has been impossible to ascertain satisfactorily the average 

 size of the fish in the catch of any one fishery. In several 

 fares landed by the gillnet tugs at Dunkirk in August, 1894, 

 the average by actual weight was found to be between 2\ and 

 3 pounds, only a very small number weighing as low as i and 

 if pounds, while the largest weighed about 5 pounds. Accord- 

 ing to the statements of the fishermen, the average weight on 

 the platform ranges all the way from 2\ to 4 pounds, these 

 figures, which are only estimates, being based in part upon the 

 poundnet and in part upon the gillnet catch. 



The dealers would prefer to handle no whitefish weighing 

 less than about \\ pounds, and some would place the minimum 

 size suitable for market as high as 2 pounds. 



From the observations of fish-culturists, the smallest fish from 

 which eggs may be obtained on this lake weigh from \\ to 2 

 pounds. In that event the genera! catch of whitefish on Lake 

 Erie may be expected not to include immature fish, and the 

 minimum size desired for market would about correspond with 

 their earliest mature size, \\ to 2 pounds. It is questionable, 

 however, especially in the case of a rapidly decreasing product, 

 whether its extensive capture in the first year of maturity should 

 be allowed. 



It is claimed by some that very large quantities of immature 

 whitefish are caught in certain places, but the evidence in respect 

 to that matter lacks confirmation. According to the testimony, 

 comparatively few whitefish weighing under i^- pounds reach the 



127 



