Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1907-01-12
FISH AND THE FISHERIES
Commissioner Bowers Makes His
Annual Report.
ALL FORMER RECORDS BROKEN
Work Of Past Year is Reviewed il
Report to the Secretary of Com
merce and Labor.

the past year lis reviewed in the report
of Commissioner Bowers presented to
the secretary of the department of
commerce and labor. In the course of
his report Commissioner Bowers says:
In total results the fish-eultural work
OF the bureau in 1906 surpasses all pre-
vious records, The decline In the catch
OF shad in the rivers has continued,
and consequently the take of eggs OF
one of the fishes formerly most con
spicuous in the annual distributions
was less this year than ever before,
but the exceptional numbers of the
salmons, of lake, rainbow and steel
head trouts, of yellow perch ami white
perch, of fiatfish and Holsters. with an
average product of cod. whiteish and
pike perch, much more than Offset the
decreases. The species distributed
numbered thirty-six, including the lob.
ster
Encouraging results of the efforts OF
supply by artificial means appear in
reports from fishermen and fish cul-
turists in all parts of the country. AL.
though it is difficult to establish def
initely the extent to which the hatch
cries have affected the condition of
the commercial fisheries of the coastal
hA I hn NO
newed productiveness of old and aban-
doned fishing grounds aud the abun-
dance of fish on entirely new areas are
strongly indicative. Unusual number
of cod are reported all 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 for
merry: fiatfish are much more nuner.
Gus, especially small fiatfish in the
shallow waters along shore; aud ex.
ceptional catches of Whitefish we're
made this year in Lake Ontario and
Lake Erie, which fishing firms operat.
ing there attribute wholly to the plant.
ing of artifcially Matched fry. The
stocking of the smaller lakes and
streams produces Discriminate and oh.
vious 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 .tocked
from the Wytheville station; the phe.
nomenal number Of craPpie and catfish
taken and marketed from certain res
ervoirs in Texas, many OF which are
artificial, and the transformation Of
insignificant lakes ia that state into
valuable fishing preserves.
The fish-cultural work of the past
year was conducted in thirty-one
states and territories. Three stations
dealt with cod fatfsh and Holsters;
twelve with Atlantic and landlocked
salmons. shad striped bass. white
perch and yellow perch; sixteen with
whitefish, lake herring, lake trout
and pike perch; twelve with Pacific
salmons and twenty-nine with rainbow
trout, blackspotted trout. brook trout.
Cravings, black bass, crappie, sunfish
and various minor species. The out.
put consisted of 3s7.556,725 fertiIized
eggs, 1926 .63s fry, and 7596,24e
yearlings. fir 5erlings and adults. or an
aggregate o 1884 ,s34,6 fish and
eggs
The distribution of the fish hatch
ed and collected involved the paid
transportation Of the six cars of the
bureau over s2,30s miles and free
transportation over II 900 miles, to
tai Of 93,36S miles The fifty-five mes
sengers travelled 217,6S6 paid miles,
l0s.757 free miles or 326.443 miles in
all. More concrete representation OF
the operations of the car and messen-
ger ser ice is the fact that fish were
distributed in every state and territory
of the United States.
OF the 3s7.556,725 fortified eggs in
the on NJ for the past year Ss9 ,Os3,845
were at to state fish hatcheries, to
be hate led and planted under state SUI
pervision.
With the approval Of the fishery au-
thoritils OF Ontario the bureau has
contin ed to collect eggs in the Can
adiar saters of Lake Erie and Lake
super IT. Early in June a special
plant Of 10000 young lake trout was
made on the Canadian side The white
fish. lake herring. lake trout. pike |
perch and other fishes previously !
planted in the international lakes have
been beneficial to Canadian and Ameri-
q Il