FISHERIES OF THE GREAT LAKES IN 1885. 227 



VI.— THE FISHERIES OF LAKE ST. CLAIR AND OF THE ST. 

 CLAIR AND DETROIT RIVERS. 



81. GENERAL REVIEW. 



Method of treatment.— Although not one of the " Great Lakes," it is 

 deemed advisable, on account of the isolated position of Lake St. Clair, 

 to treat of it separately, together with its two rivers, rather than regard 

 it as an adjunct of either Lake Huron or Lake Erie. 



Physical character of Lake St. Clair. — The lake is 30 miles long and 



24 miles wide at its broadest part, the mean width being about 12 miles; 

 it thus has an area of 3G0 square miles. The average depth is 20 feet. 

 The flats in the northern part are traversed by a very deep canal lined 

 with dikes, the work of the national government. 



Fisheries of Lake St. Clair. — The fisheries are carried on with pound- 

 nets, fyke nets, haul-seines, and set lines. The total output is larger 

 than that of either the St. Clair River or Detroit River, the great bulk 

 of the catch being herring, perch, and suckers. 



Description of the St. Clair River. — The St. Clair River connects Lakes 

 Huron and St. Clair and forms a portion of the boundary line between 

 the state of Michigan and the province of Ontario. It pursues a nearly 

 straight course north and south throughout the 44 miles of its length. 

 The average width is about a mile, and its waters are deep enough to 

 permit the passage of the large steamers which ply on the lakes. 



The largest town on the river is Port Huron, a fish market of con- 

 siderable importance, to which much of the catch of the river and neigh- 

 boring lake shores is sent. 



Fisheries of the St. Clair River. — The fisheries of the river are of re- 

 mote origin, but have never been so extensively prosecuted as the facili- 

 ties would warrant. A few giil-nets are now fished, but the bulk of the 

 catch is taken with haul-seines. The yield consists largely of herring, 

 pike, and pickerel, herring being particularly abundant. Whitefish are 

 very scarce; the catch of this species is much smaller than in either the 

 lake or the Detroit River. 



Physical characteristics of the Detroit River. — This is a broad stream, 



25 miles in length, by means of which the overflow waters of the upper 

 members of the great lake system find their way from Lake St. Clair 

 to Lake Erie. It flows southward, forming a portion of the interna- 

 tional boundary. Numerous islands occur in its course, of which Grosse 

 lale, a short distance above its inouth ? is much the largest. Twenty 



