Fish Culture in Inland Waters 331 



permitted. Some years ago Vermont ceased to allow the use of 

 seines in Lake Champlain, and in justification of that restriction 

 reports for 1916 as follows : " The results of fishing for pikeperch 

 on Lake Champlain have been very satisfactory ; not only the anglers 

 who fish for sport are rejoicing at the improved conditions, but 

 there has sprung up a legitimate fishing industry in angling for pike- 

 perch and other lake fish for the market, some of these commercial 

 anglers making a very good living in a very congenial employment. 

 The improved angling conditions on the lake have created a demand 

 for guides or boatmen." 



" Most of the fish caught by market fishermen are shipped to New 

 York, and it is often impossible for individuals to buy fish in small 

 quantities for home consumption. 



" The sentiment in favor of seining for pikeperch in the spring 

 of the year has practically disappeared ; more money can be earned 

 by angling and it is available to all inhabitants of the state, while 

 the wholesale capture of fish by the operation of seines is limited 

 to a comparatively few people." (Titcomb, '^16, Pt. 2, pp. 5-6.) 



Again, the same report (Pt. i, pp. 78-79) says: "Under Section 

 65, which authorizes the Commissioner to remove, permit or cause 

 to be removed from public or private waters, fish which hinder or 

 prevent the propagation of game fish or food fish, a large number 

 of permits have been issued for the taking of suckers or mullets, 

 not only in trout waters but in tributaries of Lake Champlain and 

 other lakes where these species are not easily obtainable except dur- 

 ing the spawning season in the spring of the year and not very 

 desirable as food after warm weather." 



On another page of this report (Pt. i, p. 80) the following para- 

 graphs appear : 



" Permit to remove ciscoes [lake herring] from Lake St. 

 Catherine were issued to fifteen persons. These permits were effec- 

 tive from November 20th to December 20th only [spawning sea- 

 son?]. Nets over three hundred feet in length were prohibited, 

 and all fishing was done under supervision of a warden. The 

 holders of these permits were either residents of Vermont or tax- 

 payers on improved real estate in Vermont appraised at not less 

 than $1,000.00. 



" It is the policy of the Commissioner to issue these permits on 

 the basis that the fishery resources of the State should be made as 

 productive as possible and that if the experiment of issuing pemiits 

 in these waters proves successful, the same policy may be adopted in 

 other waters such as Lake Bomoseen in Rutland County and Sey- 

 mour Lake in Orleans County. The main point to bear in mind is 

 the protection of the more important species which are so important 

 to the public in general." 



From the foregoing it is seen that permits for commercial fishing 

 usually have been granted with one or the other of two objects in 

 view. The stated object of one is that of making the fishery 

 resources as productive as possible. The other object has been 



