Bureau of Fisheries Makes Report 
Extracts of Special Interest From Annual Publication of Commissioner of Fisheries For Fiscal Year—Trout 
Propagation—Furs From Alaska—Shad and Herring—Salmon—State Co-operation 
STATE CO-OPERATION. 
With the increasing activity in all branches of 
the fisheries there exists increasing need for ac¬ 
tive co-operative endeavor on the part of the 
states to make more effective the work of arti¬ 
ficial propagation as carried on under Federal 
and state auspices. There can be no question 
that a large amount of such work is now ren¬ 
dered entirely futile by the lack of co-operation 
or the total indifference of the states. 
It may well be questioned whether the bureau 
is justified in spending money in behalf of the 
artificial propagation of certain fishes in certain 
waters when there is every reason to believe that 
the expenditures are for the most part utterly 
wasted. The situation demands the attention of 
Congress and the adoption of a definite policy to 
meet the case. The question arises whether the 
Federal Government should not insist, as a con¬ 
dition of continued Government aid in behalf 
of the state fisheries, on an amount of protec¬ 
tion for the fishes cultivated that common sense 
shows to be necessary for the maintenance of the 
supply. The alternative course would seem to be 
the assumption of Federal jurisdiction over mi¬ 
gratory fishes and fishes in interstate waters. 
PROPAGATION OF THE TROUTS AND POND FISHES. 
At the trout stations of the bureau the work 
in general was similar to that of preceding years. 
The supply of brook-trout eggs derived from 
brood fish carried in ponds and collected from 
wild stock was supplemented by the purchase of 
eggs from commercial dealers, this course having 
proved more economical for some stations than 
the collection of eggs from waters available for 
the purpose. The total output of fry and finger- 
ling trout exceeded that of last year. 
In the Yellowstone National Park the provis¬ 
ion of additional facilities, the establishment of 
new field stations, and the extension of opera¬ 
tions over a wider territory permitted the collec¬ 
tion of approximately 29,000,000 black-spotted 
trout eggs, more than the number secured in that 
field in any previous year. The fish-cultural 
possibilities of Yellowstone Lake and tributary 
streams are practically unlimited and plans will 
be made another year to increase still further the 
output of black-spotted trout from this field, 
which at the present time is the bureau’s only 
source of supply for eggs of Salmo lewisi, one 
of the most important species of trout. 
A new branch of fish culture undertaken in 
connection with the work of the St. Johnsbury 
station was the propagation of steelhead trout 
in streams tributary to Lake Memphremagog. 
By means of a trap installed in the Willoughby 
River, brood fish were intercepted and penned in 
a spring-fed stream entering the river just above 
the trap. From the experience gained it is be¬ 
lieved this will prove a valuable source for egg 
collections of that species. It was noted that 
the eggs and fry were much smaller than those 
of the steelhead trout of the Pacific coast, resem¬ 
bling more closely the eggs and fry of the domes¬ 
ticated rainbow trout. 
In connection with the acclimatization of the 
steelhead trout in the Great Lakes region, refer¬ 
ence to which has been made in previous reports, 
the following information from a Wisconsin cor¬ 
respondent is of interest: 
About 1906 several pound-net fishermen in the vicinity 
of Sheboygan and Port Washington, Wis., caught from 
100 to 300 steelhead trout, averaging about 1 pound in 
weight, most of them being returned to the water. With¬ 
in the next few years these fish increased in numbers 
and in size, and at the present time they form an im¬ 
portant item in the shipments of all pound-net fisher¬ 
men on Lake Michigan. In 1912 figures obtained from 
fishermen between Port Washington and Sheboygan 
showed the catch for that year to be in the neighbor¬ 
hood of 7,000 and 8,000 pounds, and the catch for 1913 
promises to be heavier. The largest specimens taken in 
the vicinity weighed 22 pounds, but the average weight 
is 7 pounds. Compared with the lake trout the steel- 
heads have less entrails, are more game, and are found 
nearer the shore. Many have been caught going up¬ 
stream. About two-thirds of those caught are spawners, 
some of them being so weak at spawning time as to be 
easily caught, giving the impression that they die after 
spawning. Most of the fish are taken in pound nets and 
trap nets, in from i to 12 fathoms of water. They are 
not as good “leaders” as lake trout, and will often gill 
themselves in the nets, or jump high into the air in an 
effort to escape. The meat of the steelhead resembles 
very much that of the Pacific coast salmon, except that 
it is not quite so red. The market price is the same as 
for the lake trout. Its food consists of lake chubs and 
lake herring, of which there is such an abundant supply 
as to be no hindrance to the future increase of these fish. 
The experience with the Scotch sea trout at 
the Craig Brook, Me., station has demonstrated 
that the species is worthy of extended efforts to 
propagate and disseminate it. These fish have 
succeeded excellently in the fresh water of the 
station and have been found to be almost immune 
to attacks of the troublesome thyroid disease. 
In the spring of 1913 a very promising field 
for the collection of grayling and rainbow trout 
eggs was opened in Madison Valley, Mont., and 
operated as an auxiliary of the Bozeman station. 
If the conditions for the propagation of grayling 
in this field prove as favorable as the prospects 
now indicate, it is the intention to abandon the 
old grayling station at Red Rock, Mont., which, 
owing to its almost inaccessible location, is very 
expensive to operate. 
Taken as a whole, the work at the pond sta¬ 
tions during the year was satisfactory, the in¬ 
crease in the output of the black basses, sun- 
fishes, and 'catfishes being due to the adoption 
of improved methods, and a more comprehensive 
knowledge of the factors governing the success¬ 
ful propagation of these fishes. 
RESCUE OF FOOD FISHES FROM OVERFLOWED WATERS. 
This is regarded as one of the most important 
and immediately effective branches of the bu¬ 
reau’s work in the conservation of fishery re¬ 
sources, as it means the saving of hundreds of 
thousands of valuable food fishes which would 
otherwise be lost. 
On the Mississippi and Illinois rivers there 
was varying success in the different fields. Pro¬ 
tracted drought and consequent low-water stages 
interfered with the work on the upper and lower 
Mississippi river, but operations were conducted 
under more favorable auspices on the Illinois 
river, and nearly half a million black bass, crap- 
pie, sunfish, catfish, and other river species were 
rescued from the sloughs and bayous which had 
been cut off from the main river ,and utilized 
for stocking inland lakes and streams. In addi¬ 
tion to this output many thousands of fish taken 
from waters where they would ultimately have 
perished from drought or cold were liberated in 
the main river. 
COMMERCIAL FISHES OF THE GREAT LAKES. 
The extensive and long-continued operations of 
the bureau in the Great Lakes are addressed to 
the lake trout, whitefish, cisco or lake herring, 
and pike perch. In addition to the stations be¬ 
longing to the Government, several hatcheries, 
abandoned by the State of Michigan for a num¬ 
ber of years because of the discontinuance of 
work of this character, were leased by the bu¬ 
reau and operated with temporary personnel. 
The most important fish-cultural work of the 
Duluth, Minn., station—the maintenance of the 
lake trout fisheries of Lake Superior was 
slightly interfered with by storms occurring at 
the height of the spawning season, which not 
only reduced the egg collection considerably be¬ 
low what had been anticipated, but also impaired 
to some extent the quality of the eggs secured. 
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