152 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 



weeks of winter with fyke-net fishing under the ice. This class of men 

 do much of their fishing, especially that for crayfish, in the broad 

 marshes which flank the mouth of the Milwaukee Kiver for several miles. 

 Apart from the crayfish, the river fisheries have ceased to be productive 

 as the water has become so polluted that very few fish now enter it. 

 With one exception the gill-net fishermen have their shanties on an 

 island in Milwaukee Harbor. 



Decreased abundance and size of fish. — In the early days of the Mil- 

 waukee fisheries the catch was half whitefish, except in autumn. There 

 has always been considerable fluctuation in the abundance of this spe- 

 cies. In 1870 the whitefish were growing scarce rapidly, and those taken 

 were of small size. In 1874 almost none were taken by the steamer 

 fishermen, but in 1881 they constituted for two or three months of the 

 year from one-third to one-half of the catch. The fishermen think that 

 the severe storm which took place in that year drove them over from 

 the eastern side of the lake. Since then they have been very scarce 

 again, and in 1885 less than 6 per cent, of the entire catch was white- 

 fish. It is supposed that the reef has considerable influence in prevent- 

 ing the whitefish from coming in shore. The water between the reef 

 and the shore is nowhere deeper than 10 fathoms. There has been 

 some change in the yield of trout in the last few years. In 1885 this 

 species comprised nearly three-quarters of the entire yield of the fish- 

 eries. In 1871 the steamer fishermen set their nets around the reef, 

 and if in any instance a net was placed on the reef the trout taken 

 were large ones, weighing 8 to 15 pounds. As late as 1875 no trout 

 weighed less than 6 pounds. Of late years the fishing has been wholly 

 on the reef, but only greatly reduced quantities of fish have been ob- 

 tained, and these have been of small size, averaging only about 3 

 pounds each, and those of 6 to 10 pounds have been only occasionally 

 taken. Sturgeon were formerly abundant, but during the decade from 

 1875 to 1885 have been very scarce. In 1884 the entire fleet of gill-net 

 and set-line fishermen obtained only five of this species averaging 50 

 pounds apiece. Herring are more numerous than any other species, 

 but are not usually saved. 



In consequence of the growing scarcity of the more important spe^ 

 cies there has been a considerable decrease in the general productive- 

 ness of the fisheries, and the fishermen were unanimous in their com- 

 plaint that the season of 1885 was one of the poorest ever known, some 

 of them not being able to stock enough to pay expenses. 



Disposition of products. — Over 80 per cent, of the fish caught by the 

 steamer and set-line fishermen are packed in ice and shipped by the 

 fishermen themselves to Chicago, usually by rail. The charges to the 

 railway station at Chicago amount to 20 cents a box, and are paid by the 

 buyer. They net the fishermen 7 or 8 cents a pound in winter, but in 

 summer sometimes are as low as 3 or 4 cents, so that the average for 

 the year would be only about 5J cents. The whitefish bring 7 cents a 



