436 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 



Next in importance is the salmon fishery. Oar salmon belongs to the same genus 

 as the Pacific coast salmon. There are two principal species of salmon, namely, the 

 spring salmon (Oncorhynchus perryi) and the fall salmon [Oneorhynchm haberi). The 

 spring salmon ascend the waters for the purpose ot spawning iu the months of May and 

 Jane, and the fall salmon in the late fall months. The fall run is the more numerous 

 of the two, but inferior in flavor. 



The methods used in the capture of this fish are several, but the principal kinds 

 of nets used are the drag seines, traps, and gill nets in the seas, while only the drag 

 seines are used in the rivers. Some of the chief salmon rivers in the island can stili 

 compare with any salmon rivers in this country. The most important river for salmon 

 is Ishikari, emptying into Strogonof Bay, on the western coast. Curing in salt used 

 to be the only way of preparing salmon for the market, but about eight years ago the 

 Government employed Mr. Treat, of Eastport, Me., to introduce the method of canning; 

 the new industry is growing constantly, and some of the articles are now sent to France. 

 About three years ago a gentleman commenced a smoking business there, and this we 

 hope will soon become one of the principal industries in the salmon fisheries. 



Now, I will make a few remarks on the cod fisheries. The cod are most abundant 

 in the winter and early spring. The fishing-ground at present is limited more to the 

 inshore, being from 5 to 25 miles from the shore, and in water from 100 to 200 fathoms 

 deep. The gear used for capture is the trawl, exclusively, the construction of which 

 is on the same principle as the trawls used in the ]Sew England fisheries of this 

 country. The vessel used in this work is very small. It is an open, flat-bottomed 

 boat, about 36 feet in length, and is furnished with a single mast and one large, 

 clumsy rectangular sail. The most common method of treating the cod is to take oft 

 the head and bones and dry them very hard, like th e Norwegian stockfish. The second 

 way is to split and thoroughly cure them with salt. Still, some of the fish of the early 

 catch are just gutted, slightly cured, and sent away for more immediate consumption. 



Another important fishery is the iwashi (Glupea melanosticta), a kind of herring 

 that comes into the open sandy beach of the eastern coast in the months of June and 

 July. The schools are not so large as those or the spring herring, and are sometimes 

 mixed with " seven dots" (Etrumeus micropus) and also with the young of the spring 

 herring. The principal contrivance for the capture of this species is the drag seine. 

 The fish are all made into scrap and oil. 



Next, I will mention thetrepang fisheries. Trepangs, or sea-cucumbers, occur in 

 the sandy bottom of the se^, all along the coast, and are gathered by use of a dredge. 

 The fish caught are gutted and boiled in a decoction of mugglewolts. or artemesia, 

 and are then spread on a sort of cleat, with bamboo bottom, and dried for exportation 

 to the Chinese market. 



Another fish for the Chinese market, and of great importance, is the awabi. The 

 awabi is a, gigantic gasteropod, which is known on the Pacific coast of this country 

 as''abalone." It is speared from an open boat, just like the dories used by the New 

 England cod fishermen, in water from 2 to 4| fathoms deep. The fishermen formerly 

 used cod oil in order to look into the bottom of this deep water, but water glass is now 

 almost universally used for this purpose. About five years ago some adventurous 

 fisherman introduced the diving apparatus, but, in consequence of its injurious effect 

 upon the propagation of the shellfish, it was finally prohibited by legislation. The 

 fresh product of this fish is separated from the shell, cooked, slightly smoked and 

 dried, and then sent to the Chinese market. 



