yearlings containing food at the various times were as follows: 8:30 a.m., 47 percent; 12:00 noon, 68 percent; 3:30 p.m., 54 percent; 10:00 p. m. 9 percent; indicating that during the study period the yellow perch fed mostly during the morning. The same was true of yearling yellow perch, but to a lesser degree. Most all young-of-the-year yellow perch had full stomachs in all collections. No definite changes were noted in the sheepshead stomachs. Nylon gill nets of several mesh sizes were set southeast of Kelly's Island in 61⁄2 fathoms, southwest of the Detroit River Light in 3 fathoms, and just north of the Monroe entrance channel in 3 fathoms. All nets were "canned" so that their float lines were 6 feet below the surface. The catch off Kelly's Island was largely gizzard shad (61 weighing 50 pounds with 300 feet of 2-inch mesh). Three Trout-Perch (Percopsis omiscumaycas) yellow pike (walleyes) and little else were taken off the Detroit River Light. The set off Monroe, which contained 600 feet each of 2- and 3-inch mesh, caught 80 perch, 17 yellow pike (walleyes), 31 carp, 22 gizzard shad, and a few sheepshead, alewives, goldfish, and channel catfish. Shore-seining operations were carried out in one area near Sandusky, Ohio, and two areas near Monroe, Mich. Catches consisted mostly of young of the year of several species. The water in Lake Erie continued to cool very slowly. Surfage temperatures ranged from 18.4° 21.3 C. (65.1-70.3 F.). There was no thermal stratification at any location visited. Cruise 10: Trawling at the regular stations in western Lake Erie was continued during the September 30-October 13, 1958, cruise. Four of the areas. designated as "index stations" were fished with trawls by the U. S. Bureau of Commercial Fisheries research vessels Cisco and Musky, and a 16-foot boat equipped with outboard motor, the latter confined to very shallow water. These areas, which are southwest of the Detroit River Light, southeast of the Toledo Harbor Light, east of Cedar Point, Ohio, and east of South Bass Island, have been worked in the same manner by the three boats twice previously this year. They will be worked systematically in future years in an attempt to gain enough information to follow annual fluctuations in fish stocks. Trawl catches contained fewer adult sheepshead and young-of-the-year white bass and more adult smelt than similar catches made during the previous cruise. Apparently, the sheepshead and white bass have dispersed rather widely into the deeper portions of the lake. The smelt have begun to move westward into the cooling water of the western basin but not yet in large numbers. The most abundant species were yellow perch, emerald shiner, spottail shiner, trout-perch, and young-ofthe-year sheepshead and alewife. Gizzard shad, smelt fry, white suckers, carp, goldfish, silver chub, channel catfish, brown bullhead, yellow pike (walleye), logperch, black crappie fry, and white crappie fry were less common. Single northern redhorse, stonecat, sauger, and rock bass fry were also captured. Experimental nylon gill nets were set in 3 fathoms of water southwest of the Detroit River Light and 2 fathoms north of the Monroe entrance channel. The nets were "canned" so that their float lines were six feet below the surface. The catch was predominately yellow perch in the net off Monroe, 254 being taken in one 300-foot section of 2inch mesh. In the set near the Detroit River Light the catch was largely young-of-the-year gizzard shad, taken mostly in the 2-inch mesh. Eleven walleyes (yellow pike) were taken in the two sets. The water in western Lake Erie had cooled appreciably since the previous cruise, with the coldest recorded around river mouths. The temperature range was 13.0-18.6 C. (55.4-68.5 F.). No thermal stratification was observed. WESTERN LAKE SUPERIOR HERRING AND GENERAL FISHERY SURVEY CONTINUED (M/V Siscowet Cruise 6): The fishery and environmental study of Western Lake Superior was continued in the Apostle Island area by the U. S. Bureau of Commercial Fisheries research vessel Siscowet during cruise 6 (September 15-24, 1958). Six stations were visited during the cruise: (1) southeast of Michigan Island, (2) northwest of Madeline Island, (3) northwest of Sand Island, (4) south of Sand Island, (5) southeast of Madeline Island, and (6) northwest of Michigan Island. Sweeps were made with a special fish-magnifying fathometer at each station in an attempt to locate schools of lake herring. When a school of fish appeared on the fathometer, a gill net was set obliquely from the surface to the bottom. Bull nets 300 by 20 feet with 23- and 22inch mesh were used. Plankton samples were col lected at each station and trawling was done where possible. Catches in trawl hauls were generally muddlers, ninespine sticklebacks, and young-of-the-year smelt. One 15-minute tow northwest of Sand Island in 30 fathoms took 94 chubs. Extensive trawling with the outboard-motorboat rig was conducted just south of Sand Island, where the water is extremely shallow (3-13 feet), and it was hoped that young-of-the-year lake herring or possibly whitefish could be captured. Results were negative--a few muddlers and johnny darters made up the entire catch. No lake herring were taken with the trawl during cruise 6. Lake herring were taken in abundance with the bull nets southeast of Michigan Island and south U.S. BUREAU OF COMMERCIAL FISHERIES PROGRAM IN FULL SWING: It is estimated that an average of over onethird million pounds of fishery products a day is produced under the continuous inspection of Government fishery inspectors supplied by the U. S. Bureau of Commercial Fisheries. The inspection staff is combining the grading and inspection experience of the Agricultural Marketing Service (A. M. S.) and the commercial fisheries experience of the Bureau of Commercial Fisheries. When the latter Bureau assumed responsibility for the fishery inspection services on July 1 of this year, it took over several experienced agricultural fishery plant inspectors. Furthermore, the A. M. S. officials have been quite helpful with advice and suggestions based on their years of grading and inspecting food products. The Bureau of Commercial Fisheries inspection service now has 20 inspectors and 2 field supervisors; another supervisor is to be added in the near future. Sixteen seafood processing plants are now operating under the continuous inspection of Bureau personnel. Essentially all of the production of these plants can now bear the certification that it was "produced under continuous government inspection" and sat- In addition to the 16 plants having continuous inspection, another 15 or 20 firms have on one or more occasions employed the Government inspectors to inspect and grade specific lots of fishery products. Although the packages in these lots can not be imprinted with a "U. S. Grade" shield or with a continuously inspected" shield, they can indicate that they have been lot-graded and certificates covering the inspection and grading results can be supplied buyers and sellers. Maine Sardines STUDY INDICATES SALES EXCEED IMPORTED BY A WIDE MARGIN: Sardines canned in Maine are currently outselling imported brands by a ratio of 8 cans to 2 and the California type by 8 cans to 1 in the United States market, according to sur SARDINES vey data released by the Maine Sardine Council on October 17, 1958. The survey was made by a national research organization employed by the Council. The survey also revealed that Maine has 68 percent of the market in can volume as compared with 21 percent for imported packs and 11 percent for the California sardine. The Maine industry's sales had been showing a steady gain for the past 12 months and much of this was attributed to the mandatory State-grading program which went into effect at the start of the present season. Voluntary grading had been in operation for the previous three years and this has also been a major factor. The grading program is under the direction of the Maine State Department of Agriculture and is designed to improve the over-all quality and merchandising of the State's sardine pack Marketing EDIBLE FISHERY PRODUCTS PROSPECTS WINTER 1958-SPRING 1959: United States civilian per capita consumption of fishery products from now to midspring 1959 is expected to be a little above the year-earlier rate. The prospective increase will be in the canned items; use of the fresh and frozen products will likely differ little. Retail prices of fishery products may be close to those of a year earlier, though some easing in prices of canned fish could occur because of heavier supplies. Prospects are for somewhat more edible fishery products to be available from fall to spring this season than last. Supplies of frozen fishery products in the continental United States are expected to be about the same as a year earlier, but those of the fresh products will be seasonally low until the new catch season begins next spring. More canned fishery products than a year ago will be available in the next several months because of the larger packs of salmon, tuna, and sardines. Output of canned tuna may set a record this year. The pack of California sardines (pilchards) may be the largest in several years, but that of Maine sardines is smaller than in 1957. As usual, imports will supplement domestic production of canned fishery products, though maybe not to the extent that they did in the past year. Exports of fishery products during the next several months may be somewhat greater than a year ago. Canned salmon and California sardines are the major items among the fishery products we usually export, and our supplies of these two items will be larger in the months ahead. The United Kingdom recently removed restrictions on imports of canned salmon from the United States and Canada. The restrictions had been imposed in the late 1940's to conserve dollar resources. This analysis appeared in a report prepared by the Agricultural Marketing Service, U. S. Department of Agriculture, in cooperation with the Bureau of Commercial Fisheries, U. S. Department of the Interior, and published in the former agency's November 5, 1958, release of The National Food Situation (NFS-86). North Atlantic Fisheries and Gear Research EXPLORATORY TRAWLING FOR COMMERCIAL QUANTITIES OF SAND LAUNCE CONTINUED (M/V Delaware Cruise 58-6): In order to find out about the commercial potential of sand launce (sand eel), the second in a series of cruises off the New England coast was made October 22-30, 1958, by the exploratory fishing vessel Delaware of the U. S. Bureau of Commercial Fisheries. The commercial potential for industrial fishing on this species in the New England area is unknown at the present time, though an extensive fishery exists for this species in the North Sea. Experimental trawling was conducted in cooperation with local fishermen in the Point Judith, R. I., area. Coordinated trawling between the Delaware and a commercial trawler was done, each vessel being equipped with a 100-foot Holland sand launce trawl of a type identical to that now being used in Europe. Note: See Commercial Fisheries Review, August 1958 p. 39. North Atlantic Herring Research AIR-BUBBLE CURTAIN DIRECTS SARDINES INTO SEINE SUCCESSFULLY: Promising seine catches of sardines (herring), were made by commercial fishermen in Casco Bay, Me., with the aid of the compressed air-bubble curtain developed by the U. S. Bureau of Commercial Fisheries North Atlantic Herring Research Station at Boothbay Harbor. Tests were first conducted on the air-bubble curtain in the late summer and fall of 1957. During September 1958 commercial fishermen and Bureau personnel operated cooperatively to demonstrate that the air-bubble curtain can be employed to direct sardines from deep water into areas accessible to seine gear. Catches of 1,000 and 3,000 bushels were made when the air curtain was set in conjunction with a seine. The curtain of air bubbles extended from the shore to the middle of the channel, and diverted fish into the seine that would otherwise have been inaccessible to any kind of net. Later the offshore end of the air curtain was towed ashore sweeping in fish remaining between it and the shoreline. Maine sardines this year have not been readily available for capture by standard procedures. Through use of the air-bubble curtain, at an estimated total installation cost of $4,000 per vessel, one operator stated he could recover this entire cost (ex-vessel price of sardines about $1 a bushel) in one set of his seine. Note: Also see Commercial Fisheries Review for December 1957 pp. 28-29 and January 1958 pp. 40-41. HERRING LARVAE SOUGHT IN GULF OF MAINE-GEORGES BANK AREA (M/V Delaware Cruise 58-5): The purpose of the cruise was to locate and measure the extent of spawning on the offshore spawning grounds of sea herring (Clupea harengus) and to sample the newly-hatched herring larvae. On October 14, 1958, the U. S. Bureau of Commercial Fisheries exploratory fishing vessel Delaware completed a 1,391-mile offshore plankton and oceanographic cruise in the Gulf of Maine-Georges Bank area. A total of 34 oblique one-meter plankton tows were made at designated stations, 408 drift bottles were released, 76 salinity samples were collected, and 156 bathythermograph casts were made during the nine-day cruise. Hardy plankton recorders were towed over the entire cruise line. Oregon THIRD EXPERIMENTAL PROJECT ESTABLISHED FOR REARING SALMON UNDER NATURAL CONDITIONS: Construction of an experimental natural "fish farm" for salmon on the east fork of the Millicoma River in Coos County was announced on October 3, 1958, jointly by the Oregon Fish Commission and one of the largest timber companies in the Pacific Northwest. It will be the third and largest such project in the State's efforts to supplement and establish fish runs in coastal streams. The half-mile long "oxbow" in the river was created when the timber company recently changed the original channel in re-locating a private logging road. The principle of fish farming is not new, having been practiced in Europe and the Orient for centuries. The experiment in Oregon is designed to compare relative merits of artificial feeding and raising of migratory fish in hatcheries with the asyet-unproven natural holding pond methods. The Commission Director explained that the 10acre pond will hold some 500,000 salmon fingerlings with supplemental feeding under natural conditions. When they are approximately one year of age, the fish will be released from the pond into the river to pursue their ocean-bound course. The experiments are designed to lower current costs of raising fish in hatcheries by placing fingerlings in impounded waters with a natural food supply. Three ponds leased for the consideration of one dollar from a plywood company by the Commission have been in operation for several years on the nearby south fork of the Coos River. At a cost of more than $5,000, the timber company installed culverts and other modifications in two earth fills to accommodate the holding pond. "In addition," the Director stated, "the company has voluntarily spent approximately $8,000 to modify the new channel bed as a fisheries protection measure." The pond will be stocked with silver salmon fry by the Commission Hatchery Division. "The timber companies have expressed a genuine interest in the improvement of our fisheries resource," the Director added. "There was no other reason for them to cooperate with the Commission in these projects." The company will lose an acre of tree-growing land on the east fork because of the rearing pond. Oysters STANDARDS OF IDENTITY RESEARCH PROGRAM INITIATED FOR SHUCKED OYSTERS: A Steering Committee--composed of a representative from each of the three cooperating organizations, Oyster Institute of North America, U. S. Food and Drug Administration, and U. S. Bureau of Commercial Fisheries--has made progress toward establishing the basis for a joint study for future standards of identity of shucked oysters. A number of meetings have been held to select a site for the work and a Director for the program. Efforts were made to formulate the aims of the investigations and to outline, where possible, specific projects. It was agreed that there will be three research workers. Each of the organizations will be responsible for the financing of one of the scientists. The laboratory work will be centered at the Virginia Fisheries Laboratory, Gloucester Point, Va. Excellent facilities are being made available there for these studies. This is almost an ideal location for the research work. There are many oyster plants within a radius of 25 miles and there are oyster beds in the York River close by the laboratory. Studies of washing, blowing, etc., will be made in plants in various parts of the Chesapeake Bay. Packers will be asked to make available space in their plants from time to time. Also oysters will be requested to be used in the studies. The industry has agreed to supply plant space for tests, and oysters on which the tests can be made both in the plant and in the laboratory. |