FISHERIES OF LAKE ONTARIO. 
191 
to prevent noxious odors. In some sections the town authorities have been obliged 
to come to the aid of the inhabitants and have the fish disposed of at public expense. 
This was the case in Wilson, New York, where, in 1891, about $300 was expended in 
ridding the shores of the town of decaying fish. In a small slip, about 30 feet wide, at 
Sacketts Harbor, New York, in June, 1891, three wagon loads of dead alewives were 
hauled off the shore in one day. This was after a strong blow from the north. At the 
same place, on August 15, 1891, several thousand were seen on a small point that 
enters into the formation of the harbor. They were all dry, and not putrefying; and 
were of small size and exceedingly thin. 
The contamination of the water adjacent to large bodies of dead fish on the bottom 
must exert a harmful influence on the presence and abundance of desirable food-fish. 
The absence of whitefish and trout from the American shores is by many fishermen 
attributed entirely to this cause. 
In attempting to account for the death of the alewives it should be stated at the 
outset that no scientific investigation of the subject has ever been made, although it 
would seem to be a most inviting field for research. The question is of no little eco- 
nomic importance from several points of view, and it seems somewhat remarkable that 
during the two decades in which the fish have been dying in such enormous numbers 
no systematic study of the conditions of their life and death has been undertaken. 
Among the causes which have been suggested as leading to the death of the ale- 
wives, the following may be mentioned : 
(1) Fungous disease.— Fishermen living at various places on the lake have at 
times noticed moldy spots on many dead fish that have been washed ashore. Some 
alewives still alive have also been seen suffering with this condition. The fungus has 
been observed to be usually on an ulcerated or abraded area. 
A correspondent of the Rochester Post-Express, writing on this subject in the 
issue of that paper for October 28, 1891, says that as soon as the ice moyes out of the 
lake in spring the fish approach the shores and the mouths of rivers, and that at this 
time they are healthy and fat. He continues as follows : 
But as soon as the water grows warm the fish are attacked by a white fungoid parasite, which 
soon covers large spots on the fish, looking like short, fine, white hair or fur. Sometimes it will 
envelop the whole fish, hut more frequently only a spot on a fish will appear, from the size of a speck 
to that of a quarter of a dollar or larger. The consequence of this attack is seen in the establishment 
of curious ulcers, which soon destroy the fish. This white pilose parasite (whether animal or vegetable) 
is carried by these fish into the bays and impregnates the water so that it is almost impossible to 
confine minnows for bait in such localities. Not being in possession of a good microscope I have not 
attempted to investigate the nature of the parasite I mention, but it is certain that it is the slayer of 
millions of alewives. 
This gentleman speaks from personal observation and his remarks are entitled to 
consideration. The villous parasite which he mentions is quite common on fish kept 
in captivity and has recently appeared among the trout at the Caledonia hatchery of 
the New York fish commission. It is probable that the fungous growth attacks fish 
whose general vitality is lowered by other causes, and it is not definitely known that 
it ever appears on perfectly healthy fish or on an unabraded surface. 
(2) Deficient food. — Hon. Marshall McDonald, IT. S. Commissioner of Fish and 
Fisheries, whose great familiarity with the clupeoids is well known, thinks that insuffi- 
cient food may play an important part in the mortality observed among the alewives 
in Lake Ontario. The fish multiply rapidly, a single female laying as many as 60,000 
