Biological Survey — Oswego Watershed 53 



We were unable to secure a quantitative determination of Mysis 

 and the crayfish. Only 12 specimens of Mysis were taken during 

 the summer in the Ekman, but 68 were taken in one haul of the 

 scoop at 45 meters in Owasco. The abundance of Pontoporeia 

 and Chironomus in deep water indicates a plentiful supply of food 

 for young; lake trout and whitefish. The caddisflies were mostly 

 Molcmna, Leptoccrus, Heliopsyche, Phryganea, Triaenodes, Mys- 

 tacides. The mayflies were Hexagenia, Heptagenia, Ephemera, 

 Caenis. With Chironomus are included about 1% of T any pus, 

 Palpomyia and Protenthes. With Sphaerium is less than 1% of 

 Pisidium. Large bivalves were poorly distributed. Snails were 

 principally Physa, Lymnea, Amnicola, Valvata, Goniooasis and 

 Planorbis. Hydracarina were fairly distributed in water from 1 

 to 75 feet, sometimes to 225 feet. 



Conditions Affecting Abundance of Finger Lakes Fishes. — 



(1) Overfishing is naturally considered the principal cause of 

 the scarcity of game fish and there can be no question that the 

 increased numbers of fishermen in these waters during the last 

 fifty years has had a very serious effect on the supply of all species 

 which are used as food. 



(2) Illegal fishing is talked about in the region very extensively 

 and we took great pains to obtain the most reliable information 

 available on this subject. There can be no hesitation in asserting 

 that illegal fishing with nets occurs to a considerable extent in every 

 one of the Finger lakes. Three rather recent instances of the most 

 flagrant violations of law will serve to illustrate the danger to our 

 fishing interests from this source. About two years ago nearly 

 300 trout were taken in a single haul with a large seine, late in 

 the season when the fish were in shallow water, probably on the 

 spawning bed. This was in a lake where the scarcity of trout is de- 

 plored by many good sportsmen. Last winter in another lake over 

 200 pounds of trout were taken at one haul in a net which was 

 let down through a long opening in the ice. In another lake where 

 sportsmen are calling for improvement in bass fishing nearly two 

 barrelfuls of bass were taken by fykes in three days. The people 

 who vouch for the truth of these stories would not appear in court 

 against the violators, but deplore the violation. In some of the 

 lakes this fishing is carried on by "pirates" for the purpose of 

 selling fish in the open market, but a more general practice is the 

 fishing by farmers and other residents of the lakeside in the fall, 

 winter or early spring to obtain fish for their own tables. It is a 

 quite general practice in most of the lakes to use fish traps of 

 wire netting to capture perch and other pan fish. Where spear- 

 ing is permitted, trout, bass and other game fish are taken by many 

 of the spearsmen when they feel it can be done without detection. 

 It is also true that a large proportion of the rainbow trout which 

 enter the tributary streams to spawn during the spring are taken 

 by the sucker spearsmen, oftentimes, of course, by mistake but as 

 we know from conclusive evidence, very often because the inhabi- 

 tants of the countryside feel that they are entitled to an occasional 



