The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1906-10-28
LAKE FISH IN PERIL
Food Varieties Suceumbing
to Attacks Of Carp.
WARFARE UNDER THE WATERS
Whiteash, the Splendid Fish of the
Great Lakes, In Danger Of EKter-
minati0n Through RaVages OF
Finny Enemies-GOvernme Asked
TO Place Bounty on Carp.

Detroit. Oct. 2l-As trappcrs and hunt
ers in olden days looked mournfulIy on
the advance Of a civilization that drove
their quarry from mountain and plain and
/ left the rolling prairie devoid of the
thunder of the hOofs of hundreds of buff
falo, so the hoaTy haired fishermen who
haunt the ports of the Great Lakes. like
the ghosts of a departed past, are watch
ing the rapid disappearance from the
waters that they have come TO love so
well of fish that once were common, but
now have become almost n luxury.
And II these old salts may be believed.
civilization is in great measure response
bic for the depopulation of the waters of
the Great Lakes of these much-sought
members OF the fnny tribe. They blame
L civilization that has sent hundreds of
steam boats laundering In and out river
and lake. that has crowded the shoals
with pile drivers and drcdges, that has
iUed the waters with the spawn of
foreign fish, whose only occupation has
become TO prey upon the spawn of other
fish that the palates Of the people de-
mand.
Are Becoming Depleted.
Unknown TO the average man. "a great
battle has been waging IN the waters
under the surface. The war has been be-
tween the strong and the weak, the fish
that civilization viii not cat and the FISH
that civilization demands According TO
the men whose lives and fortunes depend
upon the amount of fish they catch, the
weak arc losing out. and tho world is
facing "a famine In fresh water fish.
For relief fishermen and those who
deal in the catch look 20 the govern
ment There is growing sentiment that
the hatcheries should plant In the wa
tors Of the Great Lakes more spawn Of
fish that are in demand. But more i'm
portant than all. fishermen are crying out
that the destroyeTs must be destroyed.
Place "A bounty on the German carp they
say. Pay men fcr catching them and
freeing the rivers and lakes from their
death-dealiug habits.
Governments have placed q bounty on
such animals as destroy American song
birds Why not on % fisn that does moth
ing but destroy fish that every house
wife in the land demands This is the
argument they use
From a purely local standpoint it Is
the whitefsh that Is Ia peril Local fish
ermcD declare that We are In danger Of
soon seeing the day when the whitcfish
On the Detroit River viii be- "a thing Of the
past
WhiteRsh Catch Failing or
u is widely known that the whitedsh
of the Detroit River are the finest favored
OF that variety 10 the land. They are in
great demand over the entire continent.
In this river the catch Of whiJedsh has
decreased more than in any other local
its. Statistics show that forty years ago
the catch of Detroit River whitehsh aver
aged 100000 annually. In recent years
this magnificent showing has fallen TO
less than $1,000 Local fishermen and
others interested in the question say that
unless American and Canadian fisheries
propagate two billions Uf whiteliSh eggs
annually for the Detroit River. the white
FISH soon viii disappear entirely the
government cXpeuds money for salmon,
shad. and other fish Why shOuidnt IL
spend money for the propagation of
vhitefsh. a variety that is constantly in
demand?
The FISH peril is evidenced in no moro
g0rciblo way than by The increased price.
As the population increases the demand
for fish is increasing I'm far greater pro-
portion. local dealers declare. They even
go 50 far as TO say that there viii be 4
steady increase IN the price Of the better
kinds Of fish.
II is claimed that the German carp in
the Detroit River have entirely destroyed
the yellow perch. Salmon and trout are
rs plentiful as they were ten years agf.
They exc out an existence on herring
and whitefsh and for that reason. local
fishermen claim. they should not be pro-
tected
should Propagate Whitefish.
Il il set forth that whitefsh are the
best kind Of commercial dsh in the Great
Lakes. and for that reason they should be
propagated in the fisheries. In Lake
Huron over 100000 are caught annually,
and the same amount in Lake Erie To
overcome the catch Of 100000 fish. it IS
claimed that the fish hatcheries should
propagate two billions Of whitefish fry an
nually and Tibcrate them The catching of
100000 whitensh annually means the loss
of .. 100000 Of eggs yearly to these waters
alone.
There are not as many fish frozen as
in former years It is probable that -
Del. cent of the fish caught in the Lower
Lakes are frozen and stored. leaving 50
1 per cent that are sold fresh. 1t is thought
that the increased prices in beef. poultry.
and pork have had something to do with
this The demand for fish increased
greatly with the Chicago beef scandals
vividly portrayed in the columns of the
newspapers. The result was that fish
were sold fresh on the market. Lake
Michigan. Georgian Bay. Manitoba, ami
the lakes IN the Canadian Northwest