FEDERAL FISH FARMING 



445 



to fish-culture in the past four or five 

 years are the following : ( i ) Determina- 

 tion of the cause and remedy for the 

 fatal malady known as the "gas disease"; 

 (2) isolation of a bacterial organism pro- 

 ducing a fatal disease in trout and dis- 

 covery of a possible remedy; (3) deter- 

 mination of the cause of a fatal proto- 

 zoan disease in trout ; (4) discovery of a 

 remedy for the diatom disease of lobster 

 eggs and larvae; (5) studies of the 

 causes for the death of fish in captivity 

 and the determination of a number of 

 cases of responsible peculiarities in the 

 water supply; (6) studies of the char- 

 acter of streams and the effects of 

 various conditions on fishes, which have 

 supplied much information on the subject 

 to the public; (7) determination of the 

 effects on fishes of galvanized iron and 

 other metallic containers used in trans- 

 portation of fish and fry, and (8) indica- 

 tion of certain undesirable types of ves- 

 sels for holding fish. 



CANCUR IN FISHKS AND MAN 



One of the recent developments in the 

 study of fish pathology has been the dis- 

 covery of a widely prevalent cancerous 

 affection of the thyroid gland in trout 

 and salmon under domestication. At cer- 

 tain hatcheries the disease attacks a very 

 large percentage of the fish, many of 

 which succumb in a short time. 



While it is not believed that fish cancer 

 may be communicated to human beings 

 through the eating of infected fish, the 

 conditions are serious as regards the 

 hatchery work ; for, unless the progress 

 of the disease is arrested and preventive 

 measures are discovered, artificial propa- 

 gation will become inadequate to meet 

 the present growing needs for fish for 

 stocking purposes. 



In the opinion of experts, cancer in 

 fishes, while important in itself, is of 

 very great and far-reaching consequence 

 because of its bearing on the cause of 

 cancer in man, and the vast amount of 

 material thus made available for experi- 

 ment and investigation throughout the 

 country is thought to afford the best pos- 

 sible opportunity for the elucidation of 

 general cancer problems. 



President Taft was doubtless prompted 

 by these considerations to send to Con- 

 gress a special message in which he ad- 

 vocated an appropriation of $50,000 to 

 enable the Bureau of Fisheries to estab- 

 lish a laboratory for the study of cancer 

 in fishes. 



NEW FISHERIES AND NEW METHODS 



DISCOVERED BY THE FEDERAL 



GOVERNMENT 



The importance to the fishing interests 

 of the work of the bureau in connection 

 with the economic fisheries is widely ap- 

 preciated and freely acknowledged. The 

 statistical inquiries of the bureau afford 

 the only adequate basis for determining 

 the condition and trend of the fisheries 

 and the results of legislation, protection, 

 and cultivation. Among the numerous 

 special matters in which the bureau has 

 benefited the fisheries the following may 

 be mentioned : 



By bringing to the attention of Ameri- 

 can fishermen new methods and new ap- 

 paratus, new fisheries have sometimes 

 been established and new fields exploited. 



By the introduction of cod gill nets the 

 winter cod fishery of New England was 

 revolutionized. In a single season shortly 

 after the use of such nets began a few 

 Cape Ann (Gloucester) fishermen took 

 by this means over 8,000,000 pounds of 

 large-sized fish, and as much as $50,000 

 has sometimes been saved annually in the 

 single item of bait. 



By the dissemination of information 

 regarding new fishing grounds important 

 fisheries have been inaugurated. Thus 

 when the abundance of halibut off the 

 coast of Iceland was made known by the 

 bureau, a fishery was begun which 

 yielded from $70,000 to $100,000 an- 

 nually to the New England fishermen. 



The bureau has experimented with 

 various unused or little-used products in 

 order to determine their economic value 

 and to suggest the best ways of utilizing 

 them. Less than fifteen years ago there 

 was practically no market for the silver 

 hake or whiting (Mcrhiciits bilincaris), 

 and immense quantities incidentally taken 

 in pound nets and other apparatus were 

 thrown away. The bureau pointed out 



