200 EEPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 



Fox Island group. — "North Fox Island, about 8 or 10 miles southwest 

 of the nearest headland of Beaver Island, and South Fox, 4 miles 

 farther on, are of some importance from a fishery standpoint, and the 

 latter has some good farms and a few permanent residents. 



Manitou Island group. — North Mauitou Island lies 18 miles southwest 

 of South Fox Island. South Manitou is 5 miles farther to the south- 

 west. The population of this group is about 700, of whom the majority 

 are Germans, Danes, Swedes, and Norwegians, with very few Ameri- 

 cans. The soil is suitable for farming, which, with a little fishing, is 

 the principal industry of the people. 



Fishing season. — The fishing begins on the islands, as soon as the ice 

 opens in April and continues until December, with the exception of 

 September, when, owing to the scarcity of fish and the abundance of 

 " moss n in the water, the nets are taken out and put in order for the 

 fall fishing, which begins in October. 



Apparatus, wages, etc. — The two forms of apparatus in most general 

 use are gill-nets and pound-nets. The older fishermen generally own 

 the apparatus, while the younger men are paid from $25 to $35 a month 

 for assisting them. Many semi-professional fishermen, however, who 

 farm during the greater part of the year, own and fish their own nets. 



Shipments. — For many years no fresh fish were shipped, the entire 

 catch being salted and sold to the dealers and to traders who visited 

 the islands to barter with the fishermen. Since 1882 or 1883 a few tons 

 of fresh fish have been shipped annually from the more northern islands 

 by one of the larger firms, and in 1884 a collecting steamer from Manis- 

 tique bought a few for shipment to Chicago. The business was small, 

 however, and the total quautity of fresh fish sold that season did not 

 exceed 20 tons. In 1885 the fishermen of the Manitou Islands began 

 selling fresh fish to Petoskey. In the spring of 1885, a company was es- 

 tablished on these islands, with steamers and pound-nets for catch- 

 ing fish, and sail-boats for buying additional quantities from the fisher- 

 men. The 'fish trade at the islands is extensive. During 1885 be- 

 tween one and two millions of pounds were shipped, these being mostly 

 fresh trout, whitefish, sturgeon, and herring, with ten or twelve per 

 cent, of salt trout and whitefish. In 1881, according to the statement 

 of Mr. John Day, there were at least 12,000 half-barrels of fish salted 

 and shipped from the island, but in 1884 the quantity did not exceed 

 10,000 packages. Ninety per cent, of these were marketed in Chicago, 

 the remainder were shipped to Buffalo. 



Statistics. — In 1885, 187 men were engaged in fishing, with 30 addi- 

 tional persons employed on shore in mending nets and icing and pack- 

 ing fish. Fifty-two pound-nets, valued at $23,550, 3,894 gill-nets, worth 

 $27,814, and 4 seines were fished from the islands , these, with the other 

 capital dependent on the fisheries, had a value of $127,376. There 

 were 578,100 pounds of fresh fish, valued at $17,132, and 090,575 pounds 

 of salt fish, worth $43,278, taken by the fishermen of the islands, in^ 



