Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1889-04-04
PLENTY OF FISH.
The State Commission Sets
Free 100000 of Them
IN THE WAVES OF ERIE.
The Interesting Process by Which
They We're Propagated.
CATCH OF WHITEFISH INCREASED.
Wall-Eyed Pike to be Planted in Western
Pennsylvania Rivers.
,ATCH OF WHITEFIsH INCREASED.
COMMISSIONER LONGS EXPEDITION

@A4s v. 1OuS, VI bnAS SAegS SAS ~
the State Fish Commissioners, returned
home yesterday from Lake Erie, where he
had superintended the planting of 5000, 600
young whitefsh. He left the work in good
shape, and before the week is over 10, 900, :
600 whitefsh will be set free in the lake.
The operations were conducted on board
tug at points in the lake three, four and
five miles out from the harbor of Erie city.
Nearly five months ago Mr.. Long secured
for the State Commission the eggs OF these
whitefsh from the Worthwhile hatcheries of
the United States Fish Commission. Since
then the eggs have been Matching in the
State hatcheries at Erie city. Several mil
lion more are yet to be Matched.
AN INTERESTING PROCESS.
The eggs were placed in Mcdonald jars.
One of these jars holds 1900 eggs. 1t is
about one foot high, and, by an interior ar
rangement of syphons, the eggs are kept
constantly in motion. The little fish begin
to appear in four or five months. Then by
a suction process the little fish are taken
out of the jars and transferred to glass
are permitted to grow in size and
strength, so that they will not
merely make food for the big fry when freed
in the water. The next move is to change
the small fellows to tin tanks. These tanks
are about three feet high and two feet in
circumference.
Fifteen such tanks were required to hold
fba O00 n00 b,4a afcI, 1ooca hv Mr.
Longs men this week. The cans were
hauled by wagon from the hatchery to the
tug. Wholesale fish dealers in Erie fur
nished the tug, and helped the commission
IN every other way possible, as this culture
of whitefsh is big thing for their busi-
ness From the tanks the young fish are
quietly dropped into the lake.
EGGS ARE PREFERRED.
There are five hatcheries in Pennsylvania,
two of which are in Erie county, and for the
maintenance of these, besides the many
other public works and duties of the COM
mission, there is only limited amount Of
money appropriated. The Erie fish hatchery
is under the exclusive charge of the Penn
sylvania State Fish Commission, although
the roe from which the young fry are propa-
gated are received from the United States
Fish Commission. In former years they
were received after the initiatory steps OF
development had begun, but for many rea-
sons, not the least of which is that there is
better chance of avoiding injury to the roe,
the consignments this year were entirely oi
eggs in their very first stages.
The United States Commission gathers
these eggs on Lake Erie. The eggs are OBJ
tanned BY men employed for the purpose,
who go out in the fishing boats, and when a
female fish is caught by dexterous move
ment the eggs are forced from her into jars
reserved for the purpose. The take of white
fish spawn this year amounts to 215, ,000, 900,
the largest ever known. These eggs are dis
tributed to all the hatcheries along the
lakes, at Duluth, Worthwhile, Alpena, San
dusky and Erie.
The Pennsylvania Commission re-stocks
HOW IT SUCCEEDS.
Questioned as to the success of the work,
Mr., Long told The DISPATCH reporter
that there has been a very large increase in
the catch of whitefsh, which has found Its
way to the market through Erie. That
city's immense business in the fisheries, is
shown by the fact that last year the value OF
fish caught was S904, $50.
''Do you believe that the benefits derived
from the artificial Matching of whitefsh are
really what they are represented to be?" a
reporter recently asked E. d. Carter, one of
the leading fish dealers of Erie.
Certainly do, was the reply. "Why
it is only three seasons ago that we had de-
cided to quit fshing for whitefsh altogether,
it had become so improbable, but in 1886
it had improved, and since then there has
been a steady increase until now we take
more than twice as much whitefsh as we
got in 1885,
''But is this owing to the work of the
hatcheries?" was asked. "Might' the in
crease not be the result of the fish having
sought other feeding grounds for time?''
"The result is owing entirely to the work
done by the hatcheries. We can say this
without hesitation as we judge from the
character of the fish we take. With but
few exceptions, the fish are all young,
weighing two pounds or thereabouts. These
are all the product of the hatcheries, and
any of the old fishermen will corroborate
this statement. The large fish, of which
we take a few, are doubtless the remnants
of the original stock, but the great bulk are
all the result of artificial propagation-not
of the Erie hatchery alone, to be sure, fol
the whitefsh is migratory in the feeding
season, but many are from the hatcheries OF
Michigan and Ohio, where many more are
put into the lake than at Erie"
STOCKING INLAND STREAMS.
Within a month or six weeks from nov
the State Commission will commence the
distribution of wall-eyed pike in inland
streams. Representing this section of the
State Mr.. Long will secure large quantity
of the eggs for planting in the streams il
the Allegheny valley, up the Baltimore ant
Ohio Railroad, and along the line of the
PENNSYLVANIA Railroad. This will be a.
important in its way as the stocking of the
great lakes, because where the one perpet
yates a great industry the other makes
angling as sport reasonably sure for years
to come.
THE BREWERS SANGUINE.