FISHERIES OF THE GREAT LAKES IN 1885. 



105 



September. When the water is warm the wear and tear upon the nets is 

 greater than at other seasons, and the fish are comparatively scarce 

 and are difficult to preserve. The nets are generally tarred every spring, 

 before the beginning of the season. They should be tarred annually, 

 but in some cases the fishermen think this is not necessary, and it is 

 therefore omitted. At occasional intervals one net at a time is taken 

 out and washed, and theu replaced in the water. Some of the nets are 

 fished by the owners or on shares, but the men who fish Booth's nets 

 receive regular wages of |30 per month. 



In spring the principal species taken are those comprised under the 

 term of coarse fish— that is to say, pike, pickerel, dories, and perch, with 

 a very few bass. In the fall the catch is very much mixed. Both dories 

 (i. e. y pike and pickerel) and sturgeon are more numerous than in Big 

 Bay de Noquet. This is especially true of the former, as the sturgeon 

 are abundant at the extreme head of the Big Bay. 



The following table shows the catch of ten pound-nets in 1S84. This 

 may be taken as a fair average of the pound-net fisheries of the region: 



Mouth. 



Whitefiau. 



Trout. 



Dories. 



Sturgeon. 



Herring. 



Perch. 



Total. 



Mav 



Pounds. 

 2, 182 



ti, im 



9,080 

 12, 572 



4, 345 

 23, 195 



7,985 



1,905 



67, 297 



Pounds. 

 492 

 700 



rounds. 

 4,077 

 5, 065 

 5, 209 

 4, 735 

 3, 275 

 8,205 

 290 



Pounds. 

 2, 466 

 4,209 

 1,016 

 815 

 1, 030 

 1,785 



Pounds. 

 1,055 

 180 

 300 



Pounds. 



Pounds. 

 10,272 



t J 



June 





16, 187 



July 



September 



October 



400 



16, 005 





18, 122 



150 



4,870 



18,420 



17,617 





8,800 







38, 055 









26, 695 



December 









19, 522 















Total 



1,192 



30, 856 



11,321 



42, 592 



400 



153, 658 



The monthly stock of eight pound-nets near Peninsula Point, in 1884, 

 was as follows : 



May $283.44 



June 333.04 



July 4G.49 



September 1 to October 14 343.06 



October 14 to 31 408.69 



November 1 to 22 102.84 



Total 1,517.56 



In addition to the above, which represents only the fresh fish taken, 

 40,000 pounds of herring from the eight pounds were salted. 



Raul- seine fishery. — Nine haul-seines are fished in the region under 

 consideration. Three men constitute a crew. The fishing is limited to 

 the spring, reaching its height during the six weeks from May 4 to June 

 10. Formerly there was a profitable seine fishery in the fall, but it has 

 been entirely discontinued. Seining has never been carried on to any 

 considerable extent in summer. The fifteen Masonville seine -fishermen 

 engage in entirely different work at other seasons of the year, but four 

 seines are fished on shares by the pound and gill-net fishermen. The 



