Coregonid Fishes of the Great Lakes
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Issue Date
1929
Authors
Koelz, Walter
Subject
Lake Huron ; Lake Michigan ; Lake Superior ; Lake Erie ; Lake Ontario ; Lake Nipigon
Abstract
Wherever they occur, the coregonids, like the salmonids, are important food
fishes; but probably nowhere else do they attain so much importance in the fisheries
as in the region of the Great Lakes. In view of the great importance of these fisheries
it is desirable, from a purely economic point of view, to determine what forms are
found in the various lakes of the region and to obtain full knowledge of the natural
history of these forms and of the conditions under which they live. Without such
knowledge any legislative or fish-cultural steps designed to conserve the fisheries
concerned must be unintelligent in character and their success must be a matter of
chance. The present investigation had as its object the determination of the forms
of coregonid fishes that occur in these lakes and the collection of data on their natural
history. In addition to its economic significance, the problem is one of scientific
interest. It concerns not merely the ecology of the Great Lakes species but it involves
also the ultimate consideration of their origin and evolution and of their relationships
with one another and with the coregonids of Asia and Europe, as well as with those
of other parts of America.
Description
from Bulletin of the Bureau of Fisheries, Vol. XLIII, 1927, Part II