33<^ Roosevelt Wild Life Bulletin 



pickerel; (2) sunfish, black and red-fin suckers; (3) rockbass; (4) 

 fork- tail catfish; (5) Oneida Lake whitefish or tuUibee. 



Their list of fish inhabitants of the lake includes at least 20 

 species of really excellent food fish, some of which are locally of 

 little or no value as food, but which elsewhere are locally utilized. 



Cobb ('05) indicated that other than some sorts of hook and line 

 devices, the only apparatus employed in the commercial fishery of 

 Oneida Lake in 1903 were seines, seven of which were in use. The 

 only fish reported as caught by that means were 600,000 pounds of 

 suckers valued at $12,000.00. 



The total yield of all kinds of fish of the commercial fishery of 

 that year amounted to 708,993 pounds valued at $18,088.00. The 

 catch of suckers alone by other than hook and line methods amounted 

 to over 87 per cent of the total catch. 



In the face of these figures it would seem that Adams and Hank- 

 inson were justified in their opinion : " Clearly such a large lake 

 should not be managed solely to the angling mterests, but should 

 produce an abundance of fresh food fish for this part of the State." 



The second example is that of Lake Champlain. Evermann and 

 Kendall ('02) listed about 50 species of fishes of all kinds, large 

 and small, as recorded from the lake. Of these fully one-half are 

 good, and the majority excellent food fishes, but some of them are 

 now very rare. 



In 1903, according to Cobb ('05) the commercial fishes of New 

 York in this lake comprised only 9 kinds, of which the total catch 

 amounted to 142,275 pounds valued at $10,245.00. Pickerel, bull- 

 heads and other catfish, yellow perch and smelt amounted to about 

 90 per cent of the catch. The apparatus employed in the fishery 

 comprised hand-lines, set-lines, tip-ups, and spears. Only bullheads 

 and catfish were reported as taken with set-lines ; tip-ups took these 

 same species besides yellow perch, pickerel and pikeperch. Only 

 eels were taken with spears. On the Vermont side different methods 

 prevailed. Lines and gill nets in addition to the apparatus used in 

 New York were operated. Thirteen kinds of fish were reported, 

 the great bulk of which were taken in seines, amounting to 490,552 

 pounds, valued at $33,179. No muskellunge or blackbass were 

 reported, but besides those recorded for New York were sturgeon, 

 suckers, sunfish, whitefish and lake herring. The total yield amounted 

 to 528,682 pounds, valued at $37,669, of which pikeperch repre- 

 sented over 38 per cent. Smelts were taken on hand-lines only. 



The total yield for Lake Champlain, exclusive of Canada, for 

 which the figures are unknown, amounted to 670,957 pounds, valued 



at $47>9i4- 



All of the kinds not ordinarily taken on hook and line apparatus, 

 were caught in Vermont, comprising whitefish, lake herring, sturgeon 

 and suckers, amounting to 119,686 pounds, valued at $7,737.00. Of 

 these the suckers represented nearly 2^7^ per cent. 



Since 1903, commercial fishing on the interior waters of New 

 York and in Vermont has been considerably reduced and restricted. 

 Seines are no longer used in some waters where they were formerly 



