FISHERIES OF THE GREAT LAKES IN 1885. 



275 



whom depend chiefly upon this for a livelihood. The catch is princi- 

 pally bine pike, saugers, and herring. 



One large fyke-net was set in the lake, near Cleveland, during the fall of 

 1385, as an experiment. It is the first one ever set in this part of the lake. 



There is no fishing of any kind in summer. 



Fish trade of Cleveland, past and present. — Before there were any rail- 

 roads in this region Cleveland was an important receiving and distrib- 

 uting depot for the fishery products of the Detroit River and the upper 

 lakes. Shipments were made by laud and consisted entirely of salted fish. 



At the present time the importance of the city as a fish market is 

 rapidly growing. A prominent dealer is of the opinion that the quan- 

 tity handled in 1885 was three times as great as in 1880. 



There are three dealers at Cleveland who buy directly from the fish- 

 ermen and handle great quantities of fish brought from the opposite 

 Canadian shore — the north shore of the lake — and from the upper lakes. 

 Two of them have large freezers, and one has an extensive canning es- 

 tablishment, the only one on Lake Erie. The owners of the cannery 

 refused to give any information regarding their products, and the figures 

 relating to it are therefore estimates based upon such information on 

 the subject as could be obtained from other sources, and probably vary 

 somewhat from the actual facts. The prepared product of this establish- 

 ment is chiefly herring, sold under the brand of "canned salmon." This 

 firm owns a collecting steamer, which makes three trips per week to 

 Canadian ports during the fall months for herring and other products 

 of the Canadian fisheries. 



There are seven small establishments in Cleveland where herring and 

 sturgeon are smoked, chiefly for the city trade. A great many of the 

 sturgeon come from Canadian waters. A score of people find employ- 

 ment in this business, and about $4,000 are invested in it. 



The following table shows the quantity and value of fishery products 

 handled by the Cleveland dealers in 1885. The greater part of the 

 whitefish and trout were from Lakes Superior and Huron, but the rest 

 of the fish were from Lake Erie. 



Wholesale fish trade of Cleveland in 1885. 







Species. 



Fresh. 



Frozen. 



Salted. 



Canned.* 



Smoked. * 

 Pounds. 



Total. 



Value at 

 prices re- 

 ceived by 

 dealers. 



Bass 



Pounds. 

 10, 000 



970, 000 

 62, 000 

 13, 000 



790, 000 

 48, 000 

 66, 000 

 53, 000 



111, 000 

 36, 000 



Pounds. 



Pounds. 



Pounds. 



Pounds. 



10, 000 



1,700,000 



62, 000 



15,000 



2, 555, 000 



52, 000 



77, 000 



57, OuO 



156, 000 



150, 000 



4,200 



342, 000 



359, 000 



$620 



39, 200 



2 500 





300, 000 



430, 000 







Catfish and bullheads 







Grass pike and muskellunge 



2,000 

 310, 000 



4,000 

 11, 000 



4,000 

 45, 000 

 14, 000 









700 



Herring 



1, 275, 000 



100, 000 



80, 000 



47 400 



Mullets, lawyers, and other fish. 



500 



Perch 









835 



Pickerel (i. e., wall-eyed pike) ... 









3, 140 



Saugers 









3 200 



Sturgeon flesh 







100, 000 



8 850 



Sturgeon caviare 



4,200 

 135, 000 

 120, 000 





500 



Trout 



180, 000 

 195, 000 



27, 000 

 44, 000 







36, 450 

 21 220 



Whitefish 















Total 



2, 534, 000 



761,000 



1,964,200 



100, ooo 



180, 000 



5, 539, 200 



165 115 







* Estimated. 



