Fishery bulletin of the Fish and Wildlife Service - NOAA

PART I
PRODUCTION OF WHITEFISH IN LAKES HURON
AND MICHIGAN, 1879-1939
LAKE HURON
Because of defects in the data on the catch of whitefish in the United States (State
of Michigan) waters of Lake Huron in certain of the earlier years, the graphical representation
(fig. 2) of the production history of the lake (table 1) begins with the year
ï в > о íeis ï s о о t s о s ï s ï о ï f ï s ï i г o i i г s i s j o ï > ) s
r c t к
Vans* 2.—Commercial production of whitefish in Lake Huron, 1889-1939. Lower solid line, Ontario waters of Huron proper; short dashes North
Channel and Georgian Bay; long dashes. State of Michigan waters; upper solid line, entire lake.
1889. 6 It is true that data are available for Ontario waters of Lake Huron for years
prior to 1889. However, it is with the course of production in the State of Michigan
waters that the present study is most concerned.
Despite the known inclusion of the catch of Menominee whitefish or pilots* in the
data for 1879, 1885, and 1890, the recorded production of whitefish in the State of
Michigan waters of Lake Huron exceeded 2 million pounds in only 2 of the 4 earliest
years for which records are available (1879 and 1889) and was less than V/ z million
pounds in 1885 and 1890 (only slightly above a million in the latter year).
The production of whitefish in the State of Michigan waters of Lake Huron was
well over 2 million pounds in 1889, the first year for which acceptable data are available.
In 1891, the second year for which presumably usable statistics are available,
this yield was somewhat above \Vz million pounds. The next several years saw an
irregular but distinct downward trend. The average production for the years, 1889
1 See appendix A for a listing of the sources of the statistical data of table 1 and statements concerning their limitations in certain years Also
see appendix D for the 1940-1942 records.
• Although there can be no certainty concerning the production of Menominee whitefish in the early years of the fishery, it is not believed that
1939, and frequently was less than 50,000 pounds.
302