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EARL N. KARI 

 ocean-going, coastal, and intra-Sound traffic, is an 

 important water use. The scenic beauty of the Sound area 

 is well known and it provides an attractive setting for 

 homes, summer cottages, and the recreational activities. 

 It is an outstanding tourist attraction. 



One of its most important uses, however, 

 in both economic and social terms, is the fishery it sup- 

 ports. Waters of Puget Sound are naturally rich and 

 productive and provide a valuable commercial and sport 

 fisheries resource. The resource includes not only a wide 

 variety of fish and shellfish harvested in the fisheries, 

 but also the numerous lesser food chain organisms neces- 

 sary to sustain these fisheries. From 1950 to 1963, the 

 average annual commercial harvest of fish and shellfish 

 was about 90 million pounds, and the average annual 

 wholesale value in recent years has been more than ten 

 million dollars. An estimated 300,000 sport fishermen 

 use Puget Sound waters and tributaries annually, and, 

 of course, crabs and clams are taken by many recreationists. 



The waters of the Sound can also bene- 

 ficially serve to assimilate the residual wastes from 

 cities and industries to the extent that such discharges 

 do not interfere with other uses. However, the inten- 

 sively developed and rapidly growing areas of Puget Sound 



