REPORT ON THE PROPAGATION AND DISTRIBUTION OF 
FOOD FISHES. 
By Joun W. Tircomp, Assistant in Charge. 
GENERAL RESULTS. 
The usual work of propagation and distribution of food fishes was 
prosecuted during the past fiscal year, 44 species receiving attention 
at the various hatcheries; many of these species and four or five addi- 
tionai were collected from the overflowed lands of the Mississippi and 
Ilinois rivers; and the lobster also was propagated. The total output 
was 1,267,334,385 fish and eges, exceeding that for all previous years 
except 1902. 
The total output maintains a more or less constant increase from 
year to year, but the results from any particular branch of fish cultural 
work necessarily vary, owing to seasonal conditions. Shad operations 
were prosecuted with the same energy as heretofore, but in spite of 
all possible efforts there was a marked decrease in the number of 
eges collected at every station. At Bryan Point this was somewhat 
compensated for by the fact that the yellow perch work, conducted at 
the same time, was attended with very good success, over 23,000,000 
young perch being hatched and planted in the Potomac River. At 
Gloucester, N. J., on the Delaware River, where the /7sh //awk was 
engaged in the collection of shad eggs, the season was especially 
poor for the conimercial fishermen and but few ripe shad were caught. 
The natural spawning grounds on the Delaware appear to have under- 
gone an entire change, and Howells Cove, one of the best spawning 
grounds on the river a few years ago, which yielded in 1901 nearly 
50,000,000 eges, produced the past season 344,000. At Edenton, N. C., 
the shad season was the most unsuccessful in point of eg@ collections 
since the establishment of the station. At Battery station, Mary- 
land, at the mouth of the Susquehanna River, about the average 
number of eggs was taken, the output being 37,397,000 eggs and fry. 
The total product of this station was materially augmented by the 
hatching and distribution of 29,850,000 white perch. 
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