ANNUAL REPORT 



OF THE 



SUPERINTENDENT OF INLAND FISHERIES 



Hon. James J. Fox, Deputy Commissioner: 



Sir. — I respectfully submit herewith the report of the Bureau 

 of Inland Fisheries for the fiscal year ending September 30, 1914, 

 showing receipts from licensed nets of $14,986.14, which would 

 have shown substantial increase from Seneca and Cayuga Lakes 

 and other waters had not permission to use nets therein been with- 

 drawn. These waters in former years gave a revenue amounting 

 approximately to $1,400 with the use of gill, fyke and trap nets. 



The calendar year of 1913 shows that the total number of 

 pounds of fish taken was 5,574,062 with a valuation of $267,- 

 106.46. The following table gives the wonderful increase from 

 1903-1913 in the catch of herring, whitefish and lake trout and 

 the decrease in the catch of the shad: 



1903 1913 



(Cisco) herring 1,574,617 3,247,413 



Whitefish 49,421 376,158 



Lake trout 3,229 33,094 



Shad 392,110 87,115 



We attribute the increase of the herring (cisco), whitefish and 

 lake trout to the liberal stocking of our waters from nine hatch- 

 eries under the supervision of the Conservation Commission, and 

 the decrease of the shad to the pollution of the Hudson and Dela- 

 ware rivers and to the miles of nets along the Jersey shore and 

 the nets used below Verplanck's Point in the Hudson river in the 

 State of Eew York; also the taking of the fingerling shad for 

 minnows, which greatly adds to said decrease. Nets used below 

 Verplanck's Point are not required to be licensed and said nets 

 are not prohibited from being used between sunset on Friday and 

 sunrise Monday morning, which prevents a great number of the 



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