The Hope pioneer. [volume] (Hope, N.D.) 1882-1964, 1910-04-21
LAKE ERIE HERRING
More Than 1000 Tons Of Little
Fish Taken In One Day.
Supply Of Whltefish, Choicest Deni-
zen Of Great Lakes, Has Fallen
Far Short Of Demand-Stur
geon Also Scarce.

VAuOAkON W SAS VAN A4ASS0O l
this place their marketing CENTER"
said an upstate man familiar with
the many phases of the lake fisheries,
1T Is reported that more than 1000
tons Of herring alone were taken.
That is by far the largest catch in the :
history of fishing on Lake Erie. and
big catches have been the rule so far
this season in that part Of the lake.
On the other hand. scarcely any her
ring are being caught in the lake
further east.
The eastern water fishermen don't
worry. They know Lake Erie herring,
and while they were hauling them in
by the thousands of tons during April
and May and getting a good many all
through the summer months, their
brethren up Sandusky way were not
worth while putting in their nets.
When fall comes, though, the fisher
men of Erie and Buffalo know enough
to take their nets out, and then the
Sandusky fishermen begin to put
theirs in.
"The reason for this is that in the
fall the herring move away from the
eastern waters for the spawning
grounds around Bass island and fur.
ther west.
1.-THE herring Of Lake Erie, by the
way, Is the standard Of quality for
(all the other lakes. It is finer and
better than any Of the others, being
the only n that has anything like
the whiteflsh flavor, lake herring be-
Ing supposed to be a lesser whitefish.
The lake herring is a wonderful
variety of the piscatorial family. In
spite Of the thousands and thousands
OF tons Of them that are netted in
Lake Erie every year they seem to
be as numerous as ever. This is un.
!doubtedly due to the persistent ef-
forts Of the fish commissioners
through their %hatcheries on the lake
to supplement the natural herring
propagation.
"A situation similar to the behring's
change of habit prevails with white.
Ensh In Lake Erie. The most profitable
months for whitefish netting in the
deep waters of the eastern part of the
lake are July and August, and the
Fishermen in the shallower western
waters don't have a chance at them
until the late fall. The whitefsh is
the choice denizen of the lakes.
"As in the case of the herring, Lake
Erie whitefsh sets the standard Of
quality in its kind elsewhere. There
are many kinds of whitefsh, and while
the choicest one is the cleaning silver
sided one of Lake Erie, the main
source of supply is now from the in
terror lakes of the Canadian north.
west, the Lake Erie supply having
long ago fallen short of ever the local
demand.
IF a whitefsh from the lake and
one from the Lake of the Woods were
placed side by side the ordinary OBJ.
server would scarcely believe they
were OF the same family. The white
nsh Of the Canadian water is almost
black In comparison with the Lake
Erie fish. A whitefsh from Lake Win.
pipeg is almost red.
In none of the great lakes do the
conditions for the fish seem to be so
favorable as they are in Lake Erie.
Thls Is due In great measure, so fish
~cultur1sts think, to the variations in
depth which are peculiar in that lake.
The western end is shallow and thus
provides vast and favorable areas for
spawning grounds. The deep water
or the eastern end is an almost bound.
Less retreat for the half-grown young.
And yet there are no lake trout n
Lake Erie, at least none worth men,
Uonlng. Once In awhile a small catch
or these fine fish will be made in the
deep waters in the vicinity OF Erie.
but none is ver taken west of that
place. Neither are the lake trout in
% lakes. The market sup
ply Of lake trout comes from Lake
Superior. Lake Michigan, Lake Huron
and Georgian bay.
The blue pike is a fish of much
commercial Importance to Lake Erie.
and 1t Is found in no other waters
except Lake Ontario. These fish
seek the Canadian shore in the early
summer months and do not return to
ltheir old haunts in American water I'M
u the nerce November gales lash the
lakes. The sturgeon, once dwelling
IN myriads in the shallow waters par
Eticularly those tributary to sanduskv
likewise seek the Canadian shore in
summer after depositing their SHAWN
and return to their old feeding
grounds soon after the first sou'wester
There are not many of them left now
to either go or return. Only a few
years ago they were regarded az q
good sale at rs cents apiece. Their
the caviare seekers opened the ewes
1t the Sandusky fishermen and II was
mot long before they were selling more
than 100000 pounds of sturgeon dur
Ing a season. and tons and o n of
roe were exported from sanduskv
alone. Instead Of sturgeon going bee!
ging at rs cents a hundredweight thev
were in demand at ten cents a Mound
for the meat, so cents a pound for the
froe and n dollar a pound for fha
bladder. But indiscriminate slaughter
for years on the very spawning beds
themselves has made of Lake Erie
"A