Report of the commissioner for 1875-1876.

  • United States Fish Commission
Date:
[1878]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Report of the commissioner for 1875-1876. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    this mode of fishing the eels were found to be very destructive, half of the catch, as thrown into the boats, frequently consisting of heads and back-bones of shad from which the tlesli had been stripped by the eels. The catch of fish in the Susquehanna by the seines and nets, although much greater than that in the Potomac, was still vastly less than in former years. Mr. Milner learned from residents of Havre de Grace that in May of 1837, at a single haul of a thousand-fathom seine, 1,350,000 herring were taken (representing 2,700 barrels), and many thou- sands of shad. The Connecticut River station.—This station was established on the 3d of July, Mr. Milner placing Dr. A. D. Hagar in special charge of the pro- duction of the fish. The first eggs were taken on the date mentioned ; but the number was greatly lessened by the unprecedented warmth of the water, this registering 83° on the 3d of July and reaching 80° by the 20th of the mouth, a temperature at which the eggs of the shad failed to develop, being, apparently, killed even in the ovary of the pa- rent. A heavy rain about the 24th raised the river and reduced the temperature to 76°. Soon the hauling was again begun and continued until the 5th of August. The total yield was 1,958,000 young fish, of which over three-fourths were returned to the Connecticut. Distant shipments were made to the Alabama, the Sacramento, and the Mississippi Rivers. The entire season’s work at the three stations resulted in the introduc- tion into suitable waters of 5,877,500 shad. The details of distribution, places of deposit, &c., will be found in the accompanying tables. The California Salmon. Columbia River station in 1875.—The abundance of salmon of several species in the Columbia River has long attracted astonishment and admiration, the fish entering that river in such enormous numbers every year as to make the possibility of its exhaustion appear entirely im- probable. It is only within comparatively a few years that any attempt has been made to utilize them on a large scale, this being done by salt- ing and pickling in barrels, and subsequently by putting them up in cans as fresh fish. This latter industry, as being more profitable, is now the leading one, and the disproportion between the canned and pickled fish increases every year. The belief in the inexhaustibility of the salmon in the Columbia re- ceived a severe shock when it was found that the actual catch during a given year was appreciably less than the preceding. This was at first supposed to be accidental; but when the decrease was found to con- tinue, the canners took the alarm and, fully aware of the danger, memorialized Congress for some legislation that should restrict the unlimited taking of the fish and be accompanied, if possible, by some provision for artificial propagation. The memorial was referred to the
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