El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1912-11-26
White Fish Make Fine Fry
Gold Fish Are Being Placed in BiV-
ers to Destroy Mosquitoes.
BY Frederic J. HaskIn =
rASHINGTON D. G, Nov

! WI The Great Lakes and interior
rivers materially add to the
! food fish supply of the nation their
] products of fresh water fish which are
/ in growing demand. No more delicate
and appetizing fish is to be secured
/ than the white fish Of the Great Lakes
/ and the efforts now being made to in
J crease their production are adding
/ thousands OF dollars in value to the an
! nual income OF the fishermen who
| work in these waters There are a
/ number of different kinds of white fish
! In fact, there is a nOticeabl difference
/ to be found in the species from each OF
| the Great Lakes. They migrate during
1 the breeding season so that the spawn
may be deposited IN SnallOWer water
/ but, during about eight months IN the
/ year, the fisherman knowing their area
/ is pretty certain of the best LOCALITY
J to cast his net. Usually the white fish
! are comparatively small ranging from
| three to five pounds.
| While white fish is regarded as the
/ most important of the Great Lake IlSn-
! ing products, the bass, sturgeon perch,
herring, carp, buffalo fish and several
! others give variety to the supply which
| is sent to the inland markets each day
/ The fishing begins in the spring As soon
I as the water is sufficiently free from
/ ice and continues until heavy Ice IS
/ formed in the winter. The season.
! therefore, varies in length.
: Fishing on Lake Superior.
| On Lake Superior, the fishing indus
/ try employs about 1900 men, about
| two thirds Of whom are employed upon
/ the boats in catching fish and the bal
! ance in handling it for the markets
/ The equipment includes small DO1ts,
| gasoline launches, fishing and trans
/ porting vessels. and different kinds OF q
nets. During the fishing season, most
of the fishermen and their families
J camp on some of the small islands near
! the fishing grounds. These ISLANDS are
! not connected with the mainland by
/ cable, so that their only communication
I is by steamer OF small boats Inere
are no stores or pOstOfflces at these
! fishing villages, but the steamers visit
! them regularly carrying mail ana sup
plies. At the end Of october, the Ilsh-
| ermen move their families home 10 pre-
| pare for the next season and the Islands
/ are practically deserted.
/ The fisheries of Lake Michigan are
! divided among the states of Illinois,
/ Wisconsin, Michigan and Indiana, and
| last year their products apprOXmated
] 50 600. 900 in value. About 5000 persons
] were employed altogether, about halL
/ Of whom were engaged in the shore
/ or boat fisheries, about 6OO upon the
| large vessels and the balance as SnOre-
men The fishery trade of this lake IS
l divided between Chicago ana Green
! Bay, Wisconsin, and consists Of fresh
| sailed and smoked products. Lobsters
and crawfish are an important item
among the fish of this locality and oys-
/ tiers and clans are also secured in large
I quantities.
The most valuable fish taken from
| Lake Huron are trout and wall eyed
pike Lake Huron trout are OF &C
knOWledged high quality and range
| from five to eight pounds IN weight
/ The greater part Of the fish handed
I by wholesale dealers along the lake IS
| caught upon waters within the Amer
| lean boundaries, but considerable
amount of sturgeon and caviar hanuIed
I comes from the Canadian waters
A number of fisheries along Lake st
VT 2 17a Not a.
! ers supply valuable food fish. Inc
/ fisheries of Lake Erie, Lake ontario
1 and of the Niagara and St Lawrence
! rivers practically produce the same
varieties of fish as those OF the other
lakes. The largest investment IN the
lake fisheries upon the part OF any
one state is made by limos, emery
, because of the extensive wholesale 1ish
commerce centering at Chicago MEM
gan produces the largest yield OF Ilsh-
Stocking Inland Rivers.
The stocking of the inland rivers
with fish has now reached a stage OF
practical value. In the MISSISSIPPI
( river the buffalo fish have been intro
duced in sufficient quantities TO make
a notable addition to the catch during
the past five years In number OF
the states, trout are being introduced
in considerable quantities py olIIerehg
agencies The Pennsylvania rallrodQ
has undertaken the responsibility OF
introducing trout to three oil the larger
streams of that state to replace those
Complaints have been coming in from
different states about fish dying IN
the smaller lakes and streams The
cause has been traced to vegetable
poisoning partially due to the extreme
hot weather which destroyed the low
form of vegetation known as algae'
which grows in fresh water MOST OF
this was near the shore so that the
fish which were IN deeper water es-
capped Some of the best 1shnS
grounds have suffered most severely.
In parts of Pennsylvania, chemicals
which were put in the water to de-
stroy the "algae" have also destroyed
the fish. A reservoir at midtown was
noted for its thousands Of sunfish, but
not one was found alive after the intro
duction Of the chemicals, although no
effect was noticed upon the bass ana
a number Of the other larger Ilsn- II
was thought that the destruction OF
the algae would tend to promote the
growth of fish. but it has proved det-
rimental in a number of ways one OF
the most important being the destruc-
ton of the spawning places OF all
classes of fish
The stocking of small streams and
rivers with gold fish has been recon-
mended as an effective measure To-
wards the destruction Of mosquitoes
The experiment has been tried so sue
cessfully in Massachusetts and also in
Australia that the Illinois Central rail-
road has announced that 1t VIII put the
idea into practice IN certain seGIOIs
OF Illinois. Every SJaSnanl poor du-
jacent to the property of this railroad
is to be stocked with gold fish The
preliminary campaign has been en-
trusted to DR.. G. G. DOwdall the chief
surgeon of the road. He said recently:
All minnOws eat the larvae of the
MOSQUITO, but no minnOw, excepting
the gold fish, is able to survive IN
sfagnant water. While it has not been
thought of seriously before, We believe
that by stocking the pools all along our
line with these fish we shall be able IN
a short time to entirely do away with
the malarial and other disease breeding I
mosquitoes"
Tomorrow-The Fish Industry in