168 



FISHERIES OF THE UNITED STATES, 1908. 



on Lake Huron, owe their prominence in part to their 

 wide adaptability. Fyke and hoop nets, seines, and 

 lines were next in order. Lake trout contributed 

 more than half of the value of the gill-net catch, and 

 whitefish and herring furnished the greater part of the 

 remainder; while lake herring and whitefish composed 

 more than one-half of the pound and trap net catch. 

 Of the products taken with fyke and hoop nets, 

 suckers were the leading species, but although the 

 quantity of this species taken was more than double 

 that of any other, except German carp, it contributed 

 only a little more than a third of the value of the total 

 product taken by this class of nets. Fyke and hoop 

 nets were used to a greater extent in the shore and boat 

 fisheries of Lake Huron than elsewhere, but they were 

 of the greatest relative importance on Lake Erie. In 

 Lakes Erie and St. Clair, as a result of the prevalence 

 of carp, seines were among the most important forms 

 of apparatus of capture used. Carp contributed 68 

 per cent of the value of the seine capture of the state. 

 Of the value of the total line catch, 60 per cent repre- 

 sented lake trout. Every district and class of fisher- 

 ies, except the vessel fisheries of Lake Huron, reported 

 products taken with lines. 



Lake trout. — Three species — lake trout, whitefish, 

 and lake herring — made up approximately 70 per cent 

 of the fishery product of Michigan. Lake trout fur- 

 nished 29 per cent of the value, though only 18 per 

 cent of the weight, of the state fishery product. 

 About 4 per cent of the catch was salted, but the gen- 

 eral practice in regard to this fish was to market it 

 fresh. 



The following tabular statement shows the quantity 

 and value of the catch reported at the various can- 

 vasses from 1890 to 1908, inclusive. Since 1903 a 

 heavy decrease in quantity has taken place, but 

 prices have been such as to keep the value very nearly 

 the same. 



Whitefish. — This product ranked second in value of 

 catch among all fishery products of Michigan. Two 

 species in addition to the common species were 

 taken, and a small amount of caviar was made from 

 the eggs. The totals given in the tabular statement 

 presented below are for all of these species combined, 

 including caviar. The great bulk of the catch 

 was sold fresh, but a small percentage was salted and 

 a very small amount smoked. The quantity taken by 

 the shore and boat fisheries was about a fifth larger 

 than that taken by the vessel fisheries, and brought 



slightly higher prices. This fish was taken in each of 

 the five lakes, but considerably more than half came 

 from Lake Michigan. Lakes Erie and St. Clair con- 

 tributed but small proportions of the total. White- 

 fish has experienced a marked recovery from the down- 

 ward movement apparent in 1899 and 1903, but the 

 yield in 1908 was still far below that in 1890 with 

 respect to quantity, although the demand made its 

 value greater than the value reported for any previous 

 year for which statistics are available. Comparative 

 figures for the various canvasses beginning with 1890 

 are given below: 



Lake herring. — This fish was taken in greater quan- 

 tities than lake trout and whitefish combined, but its 

 value was less than that of either of these species. 

 Lake herring represented 39 per cent of the weight and 

 21 per cent of the value of the total product. Nearly 

 two-thirds of the catch was salted, practically all of 

 the salting being done by the shore and boat fishermen, 

 who in 1908 treated over three-fourths of their lake- 

 herring product in this way. This fish was not taken 

 in Lake St. Clair, nor in more than a negligible quantity 

 in Lake Erie. 



The total lake-herring catch in 1908 exceeded in 

 quantity and value that of any previous year for which 

 statistics are available. The figures for the more re- 

 cent canvasses are as follows: 



Suckers. — This species contributed 12 per cent of 

 the weight and 8 per cent of the value of the state 

 fishery product, the catch in 1908 being scarcely in- 

 ferior to that of whitefish in weight, but only about 

 one-third as valuable. Only a small portion of the 

 total product of this species was salted, and almost 

 all of the quantity so treated came from Lake Michi- 

 gan. Nearly seven-tenths of the catch was made by 

 pound and trap nets, and the bulk of the remainder 

 was taken by fyke and hoop nets. This species has 

 shown a steady increase both in the weight and in the 

 value of the yield, as indicated by the following 

 tabular statement: 



