218 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 



Crushed ice is placed ou the bottom of the car and a row of fish side by 

 side is laid upon it, then another layer of crushed ice and so on, the 

 layers of ice and fish alternating until the car is filled. In this way 

 fresh fish can be sent in perfect condition for hundreds or thousands of 

 miles. 



Alpena having no railroad connections, all the fish are shipped by 

 steam-boat. During the season of navigation there is a line of steamers 

 running to Bay City and Detroit. A few years ago whitefish and trout 

 were the only species marketable, and sturgeon were generally thrown 

 into the offal pile, while herring were considered a nuisance on account 

 of the extra work required to clear the pound-nets of them. The prin- 

 cipal demand is still for the whitefish and trout, but sturgeon, bass, 

 pickerel, herring, and suckers all sell readily now, some of them bring- 

 ing good prices. The amount of fish shipped in 1883 is reported to have 

 been 1,932,000 pounds, of which 262,000 pounds were brought from the 

 Duck Islands, Ontario. The quantity for 1884 is estimated at 2,200,000 

 pounds. 



Statistics. — The total number of fishermen in 1885 was 54, nearly all 

 Americans or Canadians, of whom 12 were engaged in the pound-net 

 fishery only, 20 in the gill-net fishery only, and 22 divided their atten- 

 tion between the two. The amount of capital invested was $20,745 in 

 the pound-net fishery and $18,984 in the gill-net fishery. The product 

 amounted to 1,800,430 pounds, worth $54,951, of which 355,150 pounds 

 were whitefish and 1,250,180 pounds were trout; the remainder was 

 made up of 145,000 pounds of herring and 56,100 pounds of other fish. 

 Of these, 18,100 pounds of whitefish, 46,700 pounds of trout, and 

 104,000 pounds of herring were salted, the total salted products having 

 a value of $4,931. All the rest were sold fresh. 



Pound-net fishery. — Since the introduction of the pound-net in 1885 

 this apparatus has been used continuously in different portionsof Alpena 

 County. In 1859 it was introduced at Scarecrow Island, where it has 

 been used extensively ever since, there being 5 pound-nets there in 1885. 

 On the south side of North Point the first pound-net was set in 1859 

 by a man who brought it from Sandusky, Ohio, and since that time 

 there have been from 1 to 9 nets here, the latter number being operated 

 in 1885. A little to the westward, on the north side of Thunder Bay, 

 pound-nets have been set annually since 1867, the number varying from 

 2 at the outset to 9 in 1885. The first pound-net at Partridge Point 

 was in 1862, and there were 3 nets there in 1885. At Round Island 

 there was no fishing prior to 1883, when there were 3 nets set, 

 which, meeting with fair success, were followed by 8 in 1884 and 12 

 in 1885. Finally, Nine-Mile Point had 3 nets, which were first set in 

 1884. 



The nets range in depth from 24 to 46 feet, and the pots are from 30 

 to 35 feet square. The size of mesh has decreased of late years. The sizes 

 now in use are 1J, 2, 2£, and 3 inches. The smaller sizes do not permit 



