214 Roosevelt Wild Life Bulletin 



inquiry by the United States Commission. Subsequently propagation 

 of game fish for inland waters constituted a considerable part of the 

 function of the Commission, and still forms an important division 

 of the Bureau. Federal fish hatcheries and fish cultural stations of 

 one kind or another have been established in almost every state of 

 the Union, and the states have their own hatcheries, sometimes as 

 many as a dozen or more in one state. Millions upon millions of 

 fish eggs have been hatched and the young distributed far and wide 

 in waters of this country and foreign lands. Fish of 

 various kinds have been imported from Europe and planted 

 in the waters of this country, and thousands upon thousands of dol- 

 lars have been expended in these operations. The results attained 

 are indicated by the present conditions. (For a general account of 

 the history and policies of the U. S. Bureau of Fisheries reference 

 should be made to H. M. Smith, 'lo.) 



PRESENT CONDITION OF THE INLAND FISHERIES 



To the fisherman and angler there appears to be something radi- 

 cally wrong as concerns the food and game fishes of the inland 

 waters. Notwithstanding the many years of extensive and intensive 

 effort and great outlay of money, the expected results have not been 

 attained. Shad have not been " reduced to one cent a pound." 

 Atlantic salmon are extinct in nearly all the rivers of New England, 

 and it is only in the remote and silent places that the brook trout can 

 be found, naturally, in their former abundance. Even the extensive 

 importations of extra-limital fishes have failed to supply the deficien- 

 cies except in scattered localities ; only a few, if any, rivers, streams, 

 lakes or ponds have been permanently restored or stocked to a self- 

 miaintaining point. A single example will serve to illustrate the 

 present situation, as similar conditions obtain with other species. 



Let us take the case of the " rainbow trout " which has been propa- 

 gated and distributed for more than 40 years in the eastern states. 

 There are but few localities where the successful results appear to be 

 anywhere nearly commensurate with the expenditure of money and 

 effort. In fact in the eastern states there are but few localities where 

 the reports indicate that attempts to acclimate the fish have been at 

 all successful. In the 40 years from 1880 to 1919, inclusive, the 

 United States Fish Commission or Bureau of Fisheries has delivered 

 to state fish commissions over 6,000,000 eggs and distributed more 

 than 21,000,000 young "rainbow trout" in the states east of the 

 Mississippi River. But the old problem still exists. What is the 

 answer? To this question the law of cause and effect applies, as in 

 all problems of like nature. 



Causes of Deterioration, Inland fish culture developed, through 

 the need of restoring depleted river fisheries, into restocking inland 

 lakes and streams. In a commendable effort to improve the angling, 

 in many cases, zeal and enthusiasm seem to have outweighed judg- 

 ment and forethought, resulting in the idea that the assembling in 



