Fluctuations in the fisheries of State of Michigan waters of Green Bay

Green Bay, traditionally a major center of production, has assumed in recent years a position of overwhelming dominance in the commercial fisheries of the State of Michigan waters of Lake Michigan. Within the 4-year period 1945-1948 the commercial take in State of Michigan waters of Green Bay increased from 3,317,000 pounds in 1945 to 7,909,000 pounds in 1948, and it was 7,782,000 poinds in 1949. At the same time the percentage contribution of Green Bay to the State total for Lake Michigan rose each year, increasing from 36.5 in 1945 to 65.4 in 1949. The tremendous upswing in commercial production in Green Bay can be attributed to the abnormally high abundance of three important species--the lake whitefish (Coregonus clupeaformis), the lake herring or shallowwater cisco (Coregonus [=Leucichthys] artedii), and the walleye or yellow pikeperch (Stizostedion v. vitreum)--and to a marked rise in fishing intensity.