REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. LXXl 



not obtainable — ^for, of course no bait is required when nets are used— 

 but a very great saving is made in time and expense. As an instance 

 of this it may be stated that the average bait-bill of a shore trawler 

 would be not less than $150 to $250 per month when herring are so 

 high-priced as they were this winter. Therefore it is safe to estimate 

 that, when such a large fleet is employed in gill-netting as there was 

 this season, the amount saved to the fishermen (which otherwise must 

 be paid for bait) cannot be less than $30,000 to $40,000. 



The day is now not far distant when the U. S. Fish Commission will 

 be able to supplement what it has done, by propagating the cod on 

 a very extensive scale, this having been found perfectly practicable. 



C— THE INCREASE OF FOOD-FISHES. 



22. — BY PROTECTIVE MEASURES. 



The question of the proper measure of protection to be given to fish, 

 with a view of preventing their destruction or of securing their in- 

 crease, is one that has occupied much attention during the past few 

 years. The uncertainty as to whether the United States or the States 

 themselves should enact the necessary legislation has in many cases 

 prevented definite action. 



Eeference has already been made to the investigations of the Senate 

 committee on fisheries in regard to the amount of protection to be given 

 to the menhaden and bluefish, and the report of this body when issued 

 will doubtless contain much that will be of great importance in the ul- 

 timate solution of the problem. 



The subject of protection in the Great Lakes is also one that has been 

 recently mooted by various legislatures and conventions, the question 

 being somewhat complicated by the fact that a foreign nation for the 

 most part owns the opposite shores, and that the question of the jurisdic- 

 tion of the United States as against that of the Slates separately being, 

 as already mentioned, still unsettled. There are thus three parties in 

 the field, all of whom have to be considered in the inquiry. 



Numerous complaints have reached the Commission in regard to the 

 wasteful methods of capture, which seriously interfere with the proper 

 maturing of the many young fish introduced into the lakes by the sev- 

 eral States and the United States. These fish, only half grown, are 

 said to be taken by the ton. The remedy suggested is to prohibit the 

 use of any net of a mesh less than 4| or 4| inches. It is also suggested 

 that the depth of water in which fishing should be carried on during 

 the spawning season should be regulated. 



The lake trout is also a sufferer by wasteful methods of capture ; 

 and it is sometimes taken in such quantities as to supply much more 

 than the demand. 



A meeting of fish commissioners of States bordering on the Great 



