﻿18 
  REPORT 
  OF 
  THE 
  COMMISSIONER 
  OF 
  FISHERIES. 
  

  

  of 
  this 
  species, 
  steps 
  were 
  taken 
  during 
  the 
  fall 
  of 
  1912 
  to 
  impound 
  

   brood 
  fish 
  in 
  the 
  inclosure 
  at 
  Sandy 
  Point. 
  In 
  the 
  three 
  days 
  

   mmediately 
  preceding 
  the 
  opening 
  of 
  the 
  fishing 
  season 
  several 
  

   hundred 
  brood 
  fish 
  were 
  captured 
  and 
  penned, 
  and 
  throughout 
  the 
  

   open 
  season 
  all 
  the 
  seines 
  within 
  reach 
  of 
  the 
  station 
  were 
  regularly 
  

   visited 
  by 
  spawn 
  takers, 
  but 
  in 
  no 
  instance 
  was 
  a 
  ripe 
  female 
  secured. 
  

   From 
  the 
  experience 
  gained 
  the 
  conclusion 
  has 
  been 
  reached 
  that 
  

   the 
  spawning 
  of 
  the 
  Lake 
  Champlain 
  whitefish 
  occurs 
  after 
  the 
  for- 
  

   mation 
  of 
  ice 
  in 
  the 
  lake, 
  at 
  a 
  time 
  when 
  spawn-taking 
  operations 
  

   could 
  not 
  be 
  successfully 
  conducted. 
  

  

  Tlie 
  marine 
  stations. 
  — 
  The 
  Boothbay 
  Harbor 
  station, 
  in 
  cooperation 
  

   with 
  the 
  fishery 
  authorities 
  of 
  the 
  State 
  of 
  Maine, 
  collected 
  during 
  

   tJie 
  year 
  16,965 
  egg-bearing 
  lobsters, 
  constituting 
  the 
  largest 
  brood 
  

   stock 
  ever 
  secured 
  for 
  the 
  pound 
  established 
  hi 
  connection 
  with 
  that 
  

   station. 
  This 
  stock 
  was 
  carried 
  through 
  the 
  winter 
  with 
  only 
  nominal 
  

   losses, 
  but 
  the 
  egg 
  collections 
  fell 
  behind 
  those 
  of 
  the 
  preceding 
  year, 
  

   owing 
  partly 
  to 
  the 
  smaller 
  average 
  size 
  of 
  the 
  lobsters 
  and 
  partly 
  

   to 
  the 
  unusually 
  large-percentage 
  of 
  barren 
  ones. 
  This 
  latter 
  condi- 
  

   tion 
  was 
  brought 
  about, 
  it 
  is 
  believed, 
  by 
  the 
  abnormally 
  mild 
  

   winter, 
  which 
  caused 
  many 
  of 
  the 
  lobsters 
  to 
  lose 
  their 
  eggs 
  in 
  the 
  

   pound. 
  The 
  impounded 
  lobsters 
  yielded 
  161,004,000 
  eggs, 
  an 
  aver- 
  

   age 
  of 
  12,122 
  per 
  lobster. 
  The 
  loss 
  on 
  the 
  eggs 
  during 
  incubation 
  

   was 
  insignificant, 
  and 
  the 
  resulting 
  fry 
  were 
  liberated 
  in 
  excellent 
  

   condition. 
  

  

  An 
  unusually 
  large 
  body 
  of 
  haddock 
  made 
  its 
  appearance 
  on 
  the 
  

   Maine 
  coast 
  near 
  the 
  Boothbay 
  Harbor 
  station 
  about 
  the 
  middle 
  of 
  

   April 
  and 
  afforded 
  excellent 
  fishing 
  for 
  a 
  month. 
  Durmg 
  this 
  period 
  

   approximately 
  100,000,000 
  eggs 
  were 
  secured 
  from 
  the 
  gill-net 
  fisher- 
  

   men 
  and 
  transferred 
  to 
  the 
  station, 
  but 
  the 
  losses 
  durmg 
  incubation 
  — 
  

   always 
  heavy 
  on 
  eggs 
  of 
  this 
  species 
  — 
  reduced 
  the 
  stock 
  to 
  such 
  an 
  

   extent 
  that 
  only 
  22,967,000 
  fry 
  were 
  produced. 
  

  

  In 
  marked 
  contrast 
  to 
  the 
  abundance 
  of 
  haddock 
  was 
  the 
  great 
  

   scarcity 
  of 
  flatfish 
  during 
  the 
  spawning 
  season, 
  not 
  only 
  in 
  fields 
  

   contiguous 
  to 
  the 
  Boothbay 
  Harbor 
  station, 
  but 
  in 
  all 
  waters 
  along 
  

   the 
  Mame 
  coast 
  where 
  they 
  are 
  usually 
  found. 
  The 
  diligent 
  opera- 
  

   tion 
  of 
  fyke 
  nets 
  at 
  all 
  likely 
  points 
  within 
  reach 
  of 
  the 
  station 
  

   throughout 
  the 
  spawning 
  season, 
  extending 
  from 
  February 
  25 
  to 
  the 
  

   last 
  week 
  in 
  April, 
  resulted 
  in 
  a 
  collection 
  of 
  only 
  4,007 
  breeders. 
  

   Part 
  of 
  this 
  stock 
  was 
  allowed 
  to 
  spawn 
  naturally 
  in 
  the 
  retaining 
  

   tables, 
  in 
  accordance 
  with 
  past 
  custom, 
  but, 
  owing 
  to 
  lack 
  of 
  room, 
  

   many 
  of 
  the 
  fish 
  wore 
  stripped 
  and 
  the 
  eggs 
  fertilized 
  artificially. 
  

   The 
  452,386,000 
  eggs 
  obtained 
  produced 
  413,961,000 
  fry, 
  the 
  loss 
  in 
  

   hatching 
  amountmg 
  to 
  only 
  about 
  9 
  per 
  cent, 
  as 
  compared 
  with 
  12 
  

   per 
  cent 
  the 
  precedmg 
  year. 
  There 
  appears 
  to 
  be 
  a 
  growing 
  sentiment 
  

   in 
  favor 
  of 
  the 
  flatfish 
  among 
  the 
  commercial 
  fishonnr>n 
  of 
  Maine, 
  

  

  