Fishery bulletin of the Fish and Wildlife Service - NOAA

306 FISHERY BULLETIN OF THE FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE
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FIGURE 3.—Commercial production of whitefisb in Lake Michigan, 1890-1939. Short dashes, State of Wisconsin waters; long dashes, State of
Michigan waters; solid line, entire lake.
The general level of the yield was lower over the period, 1911-1926, than in 1889
and 1891-1908; the 1911-1926 average was only 1,361,000 pounds. The catch was
between 1 and 1% million pounds in 10 of the 16 years. Four years (1916, 1917,
1918, and 1926) had productions of more than iy 2 million pounds (more than 2 million
pounds in 1917 and 1918) and two years (1920 and 1921) had yields of less than
a million pounds.
An increase in production that got under way as early as 1924 and proceeded
slowly in the years, 1924-1926, became sufficiently rapid in 1927 to raise the catch
above 2 million pounds. The catch continued to increase rapidly until a maximum
of 4,813,000 pounds was reached in 1930. The subsequent decline did not carry
the take of whitefish below 2 million pounds until 1934. The average yield for the
7 years, 1927-1933, was 3,386,000 pounds. This average was greater than the largest
yield reported for any single year earlier than 1929 with the exception of 1889 and
possibly of some other years prior to 1891—years for which accurate statistics are
lacking.
The average production of whitefish in the most recent period, 1934-1939, was
1,191,000 pounds. The yield exceeded 1^ million pounds in only one year (1934),
and in two years (1936 and 1939) it was not far above the lowest catch recorded for
any previous year (806,000 pounds in 1920).
The history of the production of whitefish in the State of Michigan waters of
Lake Michigan may be summarized as follows. The catch fluctuated about a level of
somewhat more than 2У 3 million pounds during the earliest period (1889 and 1891-
1908) for which reliable statistics are available; the annual yields tended to be below
average and to decrease in the earlier years and to be above average and to increase
in the later years of this period. The level of production was relatively low in the
years, 1911-1926, with the catch exceeding 1% million pounds in only 4 of the 16
years. The grand average of 1,909,000 pounds covering both periods (1889-1926) may
perhaps be accepted as the normal yield in these Michigan waters. The years, 1927-
1939, constituted a period of wide fluctuations in production that resembled the variations
that took place in the State of Michigan waters of Lake Huron at about the