10 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 



agents of the Commission. It was not practicable to ascertain the loca- 

 tion of apparatus which was put down after the region had been visited, 

 although the number of nets set after the canvass had been made by 

 the agents of the Commission was accurately obtained from the fisher- 

 men, who sent the information to Washington on circulars left with 

 them for that purpose. The variation is comparatively unimportant, 

 but, nevertheless, might give rise to some misunderstanding and ques- 

 tion if not explained. 



4. IMPORTANCE OF THE LAKE FISHERIES. 



In order that the increasing importance of the lake fisheries may be 

 fully appreciated, it is only necessary to call attention to the extent of 

 country over which the products are distributed; to the large and grow- 

 ing population dependent upon those fisheries to a greater or less extent 

 for their food supply; to the thousands of men who find profitable em- 

 ployment in fishing or as preparators of fishery products ; to the capi- 

 tal invested iu the industry; and to the other important occupations 

 related to or dependent upon the fisheries, the most noticeable of which 

 is salt mining, ice harvesting, barrel aud box making, boat and vessel 

 building, and net and twine manufacture. 



But while commercial fishing is the chief and practically the only 

 subject considered in this review, the importance of the pleasure fishing 

 upon the lakes has been incidentally referred to, and this is a matter 

 that it seems appropriate to call attention to here. Although there are 

 no statistics to show the amount of fish caught by sportsmen aud other 

 pleasure seekers, and it is not probable that any such data could be 

 easily and satisfactorily obtained, it is, nevertheless, known that the 

 quantity and value of the fish so taken amount to a large aggregate. 

 As an illustration of the importance this pleasure fishing assumes in 

 some localities, the writer feels safe in estimating, from his own obser- 

 vation, that no less than $10,000 worth offish are taken for each year 

 from the breakwater at Chicago by men, women, and children who go 

 out there in summer for a day's outing, aud nearly all of whom catch 

 more or less fish. 



5. ARTIFICIAL PROPAGATION OF FISH. 



Of all the questions involved in a consideration of the lake fisheries 

 and their continued success none is of greater importance than that of 

 the effect which may be produced upon the abundance offish by artifi- 

 cial breeding. Allusion has been made to this in a previous paragraph, 

 where was shown the special need of obtaining statistics from which 

 proper deductions could be made regarding the effect of fish culture. 

 Indeed, the matter was thought to be of such great importance that a 

 preliminary inquiry had been made previous to 18S5 to ascertain the 

 effect of fish hatching. The U. S. Commissioner of Fisheries, in his 



