296 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 



VIII.— THE FISHERIES OF LAKE ONTARIO. 



99. GENERAL REVIEW. 



Geographical description. — Lake Ontario, the smallest of the cbain of 

 Great Lakes, is 185 miles long, by an average of 40 wide. Its maxi- 

 mum depth is 123 fathoms about 12 miles north of Sodns Point. It 

 separates the State of New York from the Province of Quebec, the 

 American shores bordering it on the southeast from Niagara to the 

 entrance of the St. Lawrence River, a distance of 145 miles in a straight 

 line, or, by following the indentations of the coast, 265 miles. The Cana- 

 dian territory occupies the whole northern, western, and part of the 

 southern shores of the lake, a distance of 300 miles. 



Beginning at Niagara River, the shores of the lake consist of a bank 

 varying from 10 to 20 feet in height, increasing to from 30 to 40 feet 

 eastward of Old Orchard. At Charlotte they are again low, but be- 

 tween that point and Oswego they are similar to those of the western 

 end of the lake. East of Oswego, the region known as Mexico Bay is 

 low and sandy, and the broken coast of Jefferson County beyond Stony 

 Creek is also comparatively low. This last stretch is very irregular, 

 consisting of peninsulas and islands which are separated by bays of 

 considerable size. With this exception the southern contour of Lake 

 Ontario is very even, interrupted only by the bays west of Charlotte, 

 Irondequoit Bay west of Rochester, and Big Sodus Bay. 



The only river of importance, excepting the Niagara, is the Genesee, 

 the others being scarcely more than creeks, though some of them are 

 navigable for a few miles by small craft. 



The land in the vicinity of the lake is fertile, and for its entire 

 length it is cut up into small farms and orchards. The population is 

 composed largely of Americans, who raise chiefly wheat, barley, pota- 

 toes, and fruits. 



The principal cities, mentioned in order of their importance, are Os- 

 wego, Sackett's Harbor, and Charlotte. Most of the villages, instead 

 of being on the bauks of the lake, are located several miles inland, 

 either on or near the railroads which traverse the entire region. The 

 leading fishery centers are at or in the vicinity of*Cape Vincent, Chau- 

 mont Bay, Sackett's Harbor, Port Ontario, Oswego, Big Sodus and 

 Irondequoit Bays, Olcott, and Wilson. 



History and present condition of the fisheries. — Fishing has been car- 

 ried on to a certain extent from the earliest settlement of the region, 



