A total of 1,303 whitefish were marked with spaghetti streamer tags in Wisconsin waters off Lake Superior in November of 1959, 1960, and 1961 and June-July 1960. The fish tagged in June-July 1960 were mostly undersized (less than 17 inches long) whereas those captured on the spawning grounds and tagged in November 1959-61 were almost all legal size. Of the 374 recoveries (28.7 percent), nearly all were made during the first 2 years after tagging. The earliest returns were from fish which were among the largest when tagged. Over one-half of the recoveries were made within 5 miles of the tagging site; the greatest distance traveled by an individual was 25 miles. The fish tagged in June-July 1960 grew 1.6 inches the first season and 1.2 the second. Of 27 whitefish recaptured within 6 months from the November 1959-61 group, 17 (63 percent) had lost length (range from decrease 0.1 to 1.4 inches). Whitefish of the June-July group recaptured during the second growing season after tagging gave an exploitation rate of 22.6 percent. First-year returns from the November 1959-61 tagging gave an exploitation rate of 20.5 percent. The true exploitation rate probably is higher since no allowance has been made for tagging mortality, loss of tags, or unreported recaptures.
