Fishery bulletin of the Fish and Wildlife Service - NOAA

WHITEFISH FISHERY OF LAKES HURON AND MICHIGAN
WHITEFISH FISHERY OF LAKE HURON, 1940-1942
The downward trend in the production of whitefish in the State of Michigan waters
of Lake Huron which got under way in 1933, and in 1939 had carried the annual yield
to less than half the previously recorded minimum (555,000 pounds in 1900), continued
through 1940-1942 (table 52 of this appendix—for further data on production see also
table 1 of part I, tables 3, 4; 5, and 6 of part II, and appendix B). The production of
95,000 pounds in 1942 amounted to only 4 percent of the 1929-1939 average for Lake
Huron, 45 and was only 2 percent of the 1931 maximum yield. Aside from unimportant
increases in H-2, H-3, and H-6 in 1942 the trend was downward in all districts during
the 3-year period.
With the exception of H-l, where the production percentages ranged from 16 to 26,
the 1940-1942 yields of all districts amounted to only 7 percent (H-2 in 1940) or less of
the 1929-1939 mean. The 1942 production was nil in H-5, a district that yielded
1,676,000 pounds of whitefish in 1933.
H-l accounted for 65.2 to 83.5 percent of the total whitefish yield of the lake in
1940-1942. The only other district that yielded as much as 10 percent of the total in
a single.year was H-4 (1940 and 1941). The dominance of H-l in this limited fishery
was even more pronounced than in the early years, 1891-1908.
The progressive decline in production in the years, 1940-1942, can be attributed to
a continued general decrease in fishing intensity (tables 53 and 54:—-see tables 8 and
H-l
H-2
H-3
TABLE 53 —Annual fluctuations in the intensity of the fishery for whitefish in each district
of Lake Huron, 194Q-19J&
District
1940
54
28
(')
[Expressed аз percentages of the average 1929-1939 intensity in the district]
Intensity'as percentage of
mean for district
1941
48 7
0
1942
23 43
District
l
H-4
H-5
H-6
--
1 Inadequate data.
' No production. ,
1940
36
18
14
Intensity as percentage of
mean for district
TABLE 54.—Annual fluctuations in the intensity of the whitefish fishery for all six districts of Lake Huron
combined (third row from bottom of right half of table) and distribution of each year's intensity among the districts
H-I
H-2
[The average annual intensity for the entire lake, 1929-1939, is 100.0. In parentheses are the intensity values of the dcep-trap-net fishery.
The value of one unit is 1/1,100 of the total expected oatch of all districts, 1929-1939]
District or area
Northern Lake Huron (H-l and
H-2)
H-3
H-4
Central Lake Huron (H-3 and H-4)
1 Inadequate data.
' No production.
Intensity as percentage of .
mean for entire lake
1940
1 11.3
1 (5.1)
! - 7
í
\ (1.7)
1 13.0
1 (6.8)
ÕT
8.2
(7.2)
f 8.2
\ (7.2)
1941
8.1
(3.2)
0.5
(0.5)
8.6
(3.7J
~' ОГ
3.Î
(2.6)
3.1
(2.6)
1942
4.8
(1.5)
0.2
(0.2)
5.0
(1.7)
0.1
(0.0)
2.0
(1.8)
2.1
(1.8)
H-5
District or area
H-6 - - . ...
Southern Lake Huron (H-5 and
H-6)
Lake Huron (all 6 districts)
Percentage of intensity represented
1941
13 1
3
1942
9
)
2
( !
Intensity as percentage of
mean for entire lake
1940
1 3.6
I (3.6)
í 3.9
\ (3.8)
1 7.5
\ (7.4)
/ 28.7
t (21.4)
« In this appendix as in part II referenda to "Lake Huron," "Lake Michigan," "the entire lake," or "the lake" should be understood to mean
the State of Michigan waters only, unless otherwise specified
74.6
1941
0.1
(0.1)
0.8
(0.7)
0.9
(0.8)
12.6
(7.1)
56.3
389
1942
(=)
0.6
(0.5)
0.6
(0.5)
7.7
(4.0)
51.9