The following resolution was adopted by the American 

 Fisheries Society at its Fifty-first Annual Meeting at 

 Allentown, Pennsylvania, September, 1921. 



Whereas, It is well recognized by fish-culturists that the artificial 

 propagation of both large and small mouth bass is impractical upon 

 the large scale practiced in the propagation of other food and game 

 fishes, and that it is well recognized that increase of these species 

 by reproduction under natural conditions is ordinarily more than 

 sufficient to maintain nature's balance in waters Inhabited by 

 these species, and that the removal of parent fish from their nests 

 results in the loss of from 500 to 25,000 helpless fry. 



Resolved, that under the intensive angling of the present day, 

 supplemented by the many new and alluring devices cast at the 

 quarry, the conservation of these two important game fishes is neces- 

 sarily dependent upon the proper protection of the parent fish during 

 the entire period that they are spawning and caring for their young, 

 supplemented by diie precaution to maintain in all bass waters an 

 abundance of bass food. 



For the foregoing reasons the U. S. Bureau of Fisheries 

 as well as State Fisheries Commissions engaged in the 

 propagation of the basses frankly state that "only suffi- 

 cient numbers of bass for a brood stock will be furnished," 

 or words to that effect. 



A brood stock usually means from one to three cans of 

 little bass from one-half inch to three inches in length, 

 the number to a can varying from 250 to 1,000, it being 

 impossible to carry more than one-fourth as many of the 

 larger fingerlings as of the one-half inch fry. The appli- 

 cant who has been accustomed to receive pike perch or 

 yellow perch in million lots, or some species of ti'out in 

 lots of several thousands, is naturally disappointed. 



The introduction of this small amount of fish to waters 

 of such large range as the basses require, will show results 

 in waters not already inhabited by bass, and it is the pro- 

 per method of stocking new waters. Their introduction 

 into waters already inhabited by the same species is a 

 mere bagatelle as compared with what nature will ac- 

 complish if the bass already there are permitted to spawn 

 unmolested and protect their nests until the fry have left 

 them. 



It is well known to anglers that the male bass, both 

 largemouth and smallmouth, protect the nest while the 

 eggs are incubating and for a short period after the fry 

 have hatched, after which time the young scatter to forage 

 for themselves. While protecting its nest, the bass re- 

 sents any intrusion and will seize almost anything dropped 

 upon the nest. He will take even an unbaited hook 

 dragged over it. The capture of these guardians of the 

 eggs and very young fry is easy and requires no skill. 



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