Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-12-31
FISH AND FISHERIES
Annual Report of the United
States Commissioner.
SHAD ARE ON THE DECLINE
General Work, However, Shows a De-
cided Increase.
NEW SPECIES INTRODUCED
Report in Prospect on the Pollution
of the Potomac and It's Effect
on Fish Life.
SHAD ARE ON THE DECLINE
v SPECIES INTRODUCED
NEW

The work of the fish commission for the
past year is reviewed in the report of Com
missioner Bowers presented to the secre-
tary of the Department of Commerce and
Labor today. In the course of his report
Commissioner Bowers says:
In total results the fish-cultural work OF
the bureau in 1906 surpassed all previous
records. The decline in the catch Of shad in
the rivers has continued, and consequently
the take Of eggs of one of the fishes for
merly most conspicuous in the annual dis
tributons was less this year than ever De
fore, but the exceptional numbers f~the
salmons, of lake, rainbow and steelhead
trouts, of yellow perch and white perch,
of flatfish and Holsters, with an average
product of cod, whitef1sh and pike perch,
much more than offset the decreases. The
species distributed numbered thirty-six, in
Guiding the lobster.
ENCOURAGING results of the enorts OF the
government to maintain the fish supply ny
artificial means appear in reports from
fishermen and fish culturists in all parts OF
the country. Although it Is difficult TO
establish definitely the extent to which the
hatcheries have affected the condition of
the commercial fisheries of the coastal
waters and the Great Lakes, the renewed
productiveness of old and abandoned hsn-
entirely new areas are strongly indicative;
Unusual numbers of cod are reported ell
along the coast, and surprising catches
have been made on inshore grounds. In
spite of the growing scarcity of adult
Holsters and the ruthless destruction OF
young and eggs during the last ten years,
fishermen of the New England coast have
been finding in their traps many more
young Holsters than formerly; fiatfish are
much more numerous, especially small fiat
fish in the shallow waters along shore; and
exceptional catches of whitefish were MADE
this year in Lake Ontario and Lake Erie,
which fishing firms operating there at
tribute wholly to the planting of arti-
ficially Matched fry. The stocking of
smaller lakes and interior streams pro-
duces determinate and obvious results.
Conspicuous instances are the present
abundance of black spotted trout in a lake
in Yellowstone Park where formerly no
fish were found; the size and quantity of
trout caught by anglers in waters stocked
from the Wytheville station; the phenome
nal numbers of crappie and catfish taken
and marketed from certain reservoirs in
Texas, many of which are artificial. and
the transformation of insignificant lakes in
that state into valuable fishing preserves.
Work Of the Year.
The fish-cultural work Of the past year
was conducted in thirty-one states and
territories. Three stations dealt with cod,
fatfish and Holsters; twelve with Atlantic
and landlocked salmons, shad, striped bass,
| white perch and yellow perch; sixteen with
whitefsh, lake herring, lake trout and pike
perch; twelve with Pacific salmons, and
| twenty-nine with rainbow trout, black
spotted trout, brook trout, grayling, black
bass, crappie, sunfish and various minor
species. The output consisted Of 397, $50, 725
fortified eggs, 1876 6S1 63S fry, and T.
596, 246 yearlings, fingerlings and adults, or
an aggregate of 1881, s34,60 fish and eggs.
1icfr ih1lfin nf f1,n 2ch hot a11l
collected involved the, paid transportation
of the six cars of the bureau over 50, 3OS
miles and free transportation over II 900
miles, a total of SO, 1868 miles The fifty-five
messengers Travelled 2176s6 paid miles and
los, 1871 free miles, or 326, 443 miles in all.
More concrete representation Of the opera
tionS of the car and messenger service Is
the fact that fish were distributed in every
state and territory of tne United States.
OF the 397 556, 725 fertilized eggs In the
output for the past year, 3S9, $40 were
| sent to state fish hatcheries, to be Matched
and planted under state supervision.
With the approval of the fishery authorf-
ties of Ontario the bureau has continued
to collect eggs In the Canadian waters Of
Lake Erie and Lake Superior. Barly in
June a special plant of 900 young lake
trout was made on the Canadian side. The
! whitef1sh, lake herring, lake trout, pike
perch and other fishes previously planted in
the international lakes have been beneficial
to Canadian and American fishermen alike
In compliance with requests received
through diplomatic channels, 635 $50 SAL
mon and trout eggs were donated to the
government of Argentina, for which gov
eminent the bureau also acted as agent in
the purchase and shipment of co. coo brook
trout eggs. The results Of previous plants
In Argentine waters have been most salts
factory
New Water Animals.
The Introduction into United States
waters Of a number Of new water animals
Is now under consideration by the bureau
and will necessitate the invoking Of assist
ance and cooperation from foreign gov
ernments. The early passage Of this legis-
lation is therefore greatly desired.
Notwithstanding many difficulties involved
in the construction of the salmon hatchery
| in Alaska, which was undertaken in 1905 in
accordance with an act of March of that
year, the work progressed sufficiently to
| make possible the taking of eggs that sea-
son. Besides hatchery building with ca
| pacity for 25,OOO,OO0 eggs, there have been
erected living quarters and Office for the
| employees, messhouse, a storehouse and
| landing piers. Only about one-half of the
| special appropriation for the establishment
| of this station has been used and work
| upon second station will be undertaken at
| an early date.
The United States bureau of insular af-
| fairs exhibited at the ST. Louis exposition
] a large and important collection of fishes OF
the Philippine Islands which was later
| turned over to the bureau of fisheries The
| collection was made at various places in
| the islands under the general direction Of
| the Philippine government and was exhib-
| tied at st. Louis for the purpose Of calling
| attention to the rich fish fauna and the
great number of useful fishes found in
| Philippine waters. recently completed
| study of the collection, soon to be publish
| ed, shows it to number more than $500
| specimens and represent 296 species, of
| which % SPECIES and genera prove to be