REPORT 



OF THE 



UNITED STATES COMMISSIONER OF EISH AND FISHERIES 



FOR THE 



FISCAL YEAR ENDING JUNE 30, 1900. 



I have the honor to submit a report covering the work of the United 

 States Commission of Fish and Fisheries for the year ending June 30, 

 1900, together with the reports of its different divisions. This, with 

 the papers published in the Bulletins of the Commission and as appen- 

 dices to this report, describes in full its operations for the fiscal year. 



PROPAGATION OF FOOD-FISHES. 



The fish-cultural work has been very satisfactory as compared with 

 previous records, notwithstanding the results in some directions have 

 not been as good as usual. The total number of fish distributed was 

 1,164,336,754, an increase (which consisted principally of shad, cod, 

 flat-fish, white-fish, and lake trout) of about 100,000,000 over the last 

 fiscal year. 



At the stations on the Pacific coast, for reasons beyond the control 

 of the Commission, the collections of quinnat-salmon eggs were not as 

 large as in the past few years, and there was consequently a consid- 

 erable falling off in the output of this species. The excessive drought 

 prevailing in California during the summer of 1899 caused such low 

 water in Battle Creek and in the McCloud River that but few salmon 

 ascended these streams as far as the hatcheries, the larger number 

 depositing their eggs on spawning-grounds below. At Battle Creek, 

 Avhere previous collections of eggs have been almost phenomenal, only 

 1 , 600, 000 were taken this year. On the McCloud eggs are taken during 

 both the summer and fall runs of fish, and this j^ear from the first 

 run only 6,228,260 were collected, and from the fall run 186,800, 

 making in all 6,414,060, against over 16,000,000 the year before. The 

 eggs taken at the California hatcheries were all hatched in that State, 

 and the fry were liberated in the Sacramento River and its tributaries 

 and in the Eel River. 



The results at the stations operated on the Columbia River were 



better, although the run of salmon was poor; the number of eggs 



permitted the liberation of 11,000,000 fry in the Columbia and its 



tributaries. 



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