Manitoba has a large fishery production harvested both by commercial fishermen and by anglers. This fishery, yielding annually on an average over 32,000,000 pounds of all species of fish, is made possible by the 26,789 square miles of lakes and streams which are within the province. Many factors in the past have resulted in the different types of Manitoba lakes. Lake fisheries have been influenced to some extent by these factors. In recent years the development of commercial fishing, the efficiency of which increases year by year, has been of principal significance in the fisheries. Therefore, laws to regulate fishing in a manner to permit maximum sustained annual catch, and policies to improve existing fisheries where possible, have been the object of fishery management in Manitoba.