170 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 



Pound-net fishery. — The pound-net fishery is the most important one 

 at Michigan City. In it are engaged thirty-four men with twenty - 

 six nets, divided among seven firms. Gill-nets and set-lines are also 

 fished by the pound men. The pound-nets are set in water from 20 to 

 GO feet in depth, have leaders from 1,000 to 1,300 feet long, the mesh of 

 the leaders being from 6 to 8 inches, that of the bowl from 3 to 4 inches ; 

 they cost from $200 to $800 each. 



Other fisheries. — Gill-nets are used for whitefish, trout, herring, and 

 perch throughout the year when there is no ice.- Set-lines are fished in 

 the fall, chiefly for sturgeon and perch. 



Fishing grounds. — round-nets are set east and west of Michigan City 

 to a distance of 5 or 6 miles. The gill-net fishermen set their nets from 

 2 to 20 miles from the shore. Owing to the fact that the fish do not come 

 so close into shore as formerly, the fine seining grounds in this vicinity 

 have been abandoned for a number of years. This has also necessitated 

 the use of longer leaders in the pound-net fishery. 



Disposition of catch. — Nearly all the fish landed in this section are 

 shipped by the fishermen to market in a fresh condition. The few that 

 are salted are intended for home consumption. About three-fourths of 

 the yield go to Chicago, and about one-fourth to the inland towns of 

 Indiana. 



Statistics. — There were in this section, in 1885, 41 professional and 24 

 semi-professional fishermen, and 1 preparator, upon whom about 175 

 persons were dependent. The fishing apparatus and property consisted 

 of 4 fishing-steamers, valued at $8,500; 41 boats, valued at $3,105; 799 

 whitefish, trout, herring, and perch gill-nets, 259,950 feet long, valued 

 at $4,817 ; 29 pound-nets, valued at $17,600; 3 seines, 1,980 feet long, 

 valued at $210 ; 250,000 feet of set-lines, with 30,000 hooks, valued at 

 $317 ; and miscellaneous apparatus, shore property, and working capi- 

 tal, valued at $13,975 ; the total capital invested in the fisheries was 

 $48,524. 



The yield of the fisheries comprised 175,161 pounds of sturgeon, 5,500 

 pounds of herring, 134,890 pounds of whitefish, 34,215 pounds of trout, 

 93,740 pounds of perch, 4,330 pounds of suckers, and 560 pounds of eels. 

 To these figures should be added the following quantities of salt and 

 smoked fish : Sturgeon, 1,700 pounds smoked ; herring, 2,000 pounds 

 salted; and whitefish, 2,000 pounds salted, of which 1,300 were No, 

 1, and 700 pounds No. 2. The total value of these products was 

 $17,673. 



Secondary products. — The secondary and manufactured products were 

 8,600 pounds of caviare and 780 gallons of oil, valued at $1,172. 



The caviare was all made by one firm at Michigan City and sold for 

 10 cents a pound. One man buys refuse fish of all kinds and makes oil 

 therefrom ; the scrap is not utilized. The market for the oil is Chi- 

 cago, where 40 cents a gallon was obtained for it in 1885. 



