56 Conservation Department 



















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P/;ofo by C. K 



Sibley 



Soft shell turtle (Arayda spinifer), enemy of shallow water fish 



turtle. I have repeatedly captured water snakes (Natrix sipedon) 

 with, fish in their jaws which they were carrying to land with the 

 object of swallowing; the victim entire. I have taken this snake 

 with a ten-inch brook trout in its jaws which was a fully active, 

 healthy fish; with a burbot 8 inches in length which must have 

 been obtained in rather deep water ; with a bullhead which weighed 

 at least a pound ; and with numerous other small fishes. I believe 

 the water snake should be destroyed by all sportsmen whenever 

 they have an opportunity. We consider loon, grebes and mergan- 

 sers also as enemies of our lake fish. I have taken nine good sized 

 chubs from the gullet of a single red-breasted merganser and have 

 found a dozen minnows in the gullet of a loon. The loons and 

 grebes, however, feed mostly on minnows which are of minor im- 

 portance and the mergansers do not get into deep enough water 

 to be a serious menace to young trout and whitefish. They do, 

 however, diminish the food supply of our larger fishes. 



(8) Competition of undesirable fish for the food supply and 

 breeding grounds unquestionably has considerable importance. If 

 the shallows are invaded by bowfins or carp their immediate vicin- 

 ity is avoided by bullheads or sunfish as a breeding spot and if bur- 

 bots exist in such larger numbers that they destroy cisco and other 

 fish which the trout need, the trout must decline in numbers. This 

 question of competition works in the case of all our fishes and it 

 is desirable to discourage as far as possible the useless species so 

 that the better varieties may flourish. 



(9) The condition of the water as to its temperature, oxygen 



