538 NATURAL HISTORY OF AQUATIC ANIMALS. 



cially about the islands. After spawning they retire to the deep water in the lake. In 1879 there 

 was an increase in the catch of White-fish in these waters. A point opposite the mouth of Esca- 

 iiaba River is regarded as having very superior advantages for the profitable establishment of a 

 hatchery. In 1879, near the mouth of Manistigue River, a specimen weighing twenty-nine pounds 

 was caught. 



Between Manitowoc and Whitefish Bay the White-fish is of the first importance. At nearly 

 all the fisheries the best runs occur during August and September. A very few are taken in the 

 spring in the pound-nets at Cedar Grove. A great many small White-fish are taken in the vicinity 

 of Milwaukee. The White-fish ranks first in importance in this section. In 1800 the average catch 

 was one hundred to the net; it is now not more than one-eighth of that number. Overfishing and 

 the capture of the spawning fish are assigned as reasons for this decrease. Their size has also oi 

 late diminished, many being so small that, were the meshes of the nets not stiff from being tarred, 

 the fish could easily escape. In this vicinity there are no spawning grounds of note. 



At the south end of Lake Michigan two varieties or grades are recognized, viz, the "shore" 

 and the "outside" fish. The latter are firmer than the " shore" grade and bear shipment with less 

 loss. The "outside" fish are taken in gill-nets, and the others in pound-nets. The "outside" fish, 

 moreover, lias a smaller head and reddish fins. There are no spawning grounds on this coast, 

 and no White-fish, consequently, are taken in autumn. 



Between Glen Haven and Saugatuck the White-fish ranks first in importance. Capt. J. J. 

 Brown says that at least three-fourths of the fish taken here are White-fish. He recognizes no 

 different varieties, and knows nothing of the "blood-fish." 



There has been a decrease during the last ten years in the waters between the Straits of 

 Mackinac and the Detour Passage ; the principal cause being, probably, that the fish have been 

 disturbed there on their spawning grounds. Captain Bennett is of the opinion that fishermen 

 should be prohibited by law from taking White-fish after the first of November. This gentleman 

 asserts positively that some of the once most famous spawning grounds are now entirely abandoned, 

 and he assigns the above as the cause for this desertion. Too small fish are taken by reason of 

 the use of line-meshed seines. North Point, Thunder Bay, is considered the best spot in that 

 locality for the capture of the White-fish where it ranks first in importance and one of the best 

 points of all the lake region. A few are caught in gill-nets in early spring, but the bulk is taken 

 from the latter part of September until winter, the height of runs being from the 10th to the 15th of 

 November, at which time they are spawning. It is thought that the number of nets has doubled 

 dining the last two years, and that the fish have decreased fully two-thirds since 1865. Formerly 

 a "rig" consisted of about one hundred twelve-rod nets: now, of two hundred and fifty forty-five- 

 rod nets. One rig has salted twelve hundred barrels in one eason. Mill-refuse thrown into the 

 streams is supposed to be a prolific cause of the decrease in abundance of this fish. 



The White fish ranks first in importance in Saginaw Bay. Mr. Fitzgerald, however, says that 

 they are annually decreasing in the river seines, estimating the yearly diminution for each seine 

 at about fifty barrels. In 1878 three thousand White-fish were taken in the river, and in 187!), he 

 thinks, not one dozen. Seining for White-fish in the river was formerly a very profitable business. 

 It is still profitable outside the bay, in the lake. The best grounds are off Point Aux Barques and 

 eastward. Here the whole fleet of Lake Huron tugs congregate at certain seasons of the year. 

 They seem at this point to spawn more abundantly on the Canadian than on the American shore. 

 Comparatively few are taken here during early spring, the principal season being from May to 

 September. It is thought that the greatly increased navigation in the river has driven the White- 

 fish out into the lake; and even there they are not as abundant as they were formerly. 



