EXTENT OF WISCONSIN" EISHERIES. 65 



ON THE EXTENT OF THE WISCONSIN FISHERIES. 



(An abstract of notes sent by Dr. P. E. Hoy to the President of the Acadamy.) 



There are thirty-six locations on Lake Michigan, and two or three 

 on Lake Superior, which are merely headquarters for the fishermen 

 for a large extent of shore, in the vicinity of the Apostle Islands, 

 and the shore immediately east of Duluth. 



In these regions there are employed about 148 pound-nets, 48 

 bearing gill-net stocks, and 212 lighting gill-net stocks, valued, at a 

 low estimate, at $200,000. 



To carry on fishing, there are proprietors and men, but a small 

 proportion of the number of men. on wages — about 800 men. 



The production of the Wisconsin nets, it would be difficult for 

 me to separate from the total Michigan, Wisconsin, and Illinois 

 fisheries; Chicago sales of lake fish amount to over a half million of 

 dollars, of which, of course, a large quantity come from Wisconsin, 

 as they recover into Milwaukee dealers, the whole of the Lake Su- 

 perior catch, on the Wisconsin shores. Milwaukee inspection re- 

 ports have reached about 17,500 half-barrels of lake-fish, worth 

 187,500. Other points in Wisconsin, placing salt-fish on the east- 

 ern market, would swell the amount to about $40,000 more. The 

 interest of the fisheries, probably brings into the State every year 

 about $350,000. These estimates are made with the figures in my 

 possession of statistics of the lake receipts of fish, for 1872, includ- 

 ing the handling offish in the markets, which has never been com- 

 piled before. 



The evidences are very apparent, and universally acknowledged 

 by fishermen, that the food fishes of the lakes are decreasing to an 

 alarming extent. 



The purpose of the United States Commission was first to inves- 

 tigate the decrease, its causes, and the remedies to be applied to 

 arrest the decrease, and restore the fishes to their former numbers; 

 in other words, to increase the product of the fisheries of the 

 United States. 



5 w A s 



