104 



THE MIGRATION AND CONSERVATION OF SALMON 



Dr. Huntsman. You might have the 

 combined influence acting outside and then 

 the separate influence, each affecting its 

 own fish. 



Mr. Cowie. Salmon coming in from the 

 sea towards the rivers must have something 

 attracting them to certain rivers. For in- 

 stance we know that two years ago a large 

 number of sockeye going to the Fraser 

 came round the north end of Vancouver 

 Island. Why did they not go to Rivers In- 

 let which was not far away instead of 

 going through the Narrows between Van- 

 couver Island and the mainland to the 

 Fraser River? There could be no mistake 

 owing to the size of the fish. 



Dr. Rich. I think I know the assumption 

 that has been made. It was that the fish 

 that came round the north end of Van- 

 couver Island were presumably headed for 

 a certain tributary or a set of tributaries 

 of the Fraser and that they always came 

 round there. 



Dr. Huntsman. It is necessary to get 

 sufficient facts to show that the bulk of the 

 fish from a river get well away from river 

 influence and go back. There is no scien- 

 tific proof that that is the case. 



Dr. Rich. If you can prove, and I think 

 it is possible for you to do so, that fish go 

 back to the home stream, then you must 

 take that fact into consideration. 



Dr. Huntsman. We need to mark the 

 fish in the river and then trace their move- 

 ments. 



Dr. Powers. I have heard it said that 

 purse-seiners fish more on the east side of 

 San Juan Islands when the wind prevails 

 from the west, and when the wind prevails 

 from the east the purse-seiners fish on the 

 west side of the islands. With westerly 

 winds the Fraser River water is blown 

 more around the south end of the islands, 

 and with easterly winds the Fraser River 

 water is blown around the north end of the 

 islands. During easterly winds I have ob- 

 served muddy Fraser River water just off 

 Friday Harbor, and when the water was 

 tested it was found to be less brackish. 



Conservation 

 Dr. Belding. At the present time there 



is no statistical proof of a general decrease 

 in the salmon catch because of cyclic and 

 other fluctuations and because of marked 

 local variations. On the whole statistics do 

 not indicate a very great decline. 



The question naturally arises as to 

 whether increased efficiency in methods of 

 catching is masking a real decline. Statis- 

 tics should be based on the methods of 

 catching, number of nets, boats operated, 

 etc. We must have more detailed records 

 for Quebec, New Brunswick and Nova 

 Scotia before we can determine the nature 

 and extent of a decline. On the other hand, 

 there is evidence of a decline in certain 

 rivers and sections, particularly in the up- 

 per tributaries of the St. Lawrence River. 

 Therefore, we must consider that there has 

 been a decrease, but it is evidently a de- 

 crease that can not be measured in terms 

 of general statistics. Certain rivers have 

 shown a decrease, but others have not. 



As long as the requisite number of sal- 

 mon spawn in the rivers, the supply will be 

 maintained. When the number falls below 

 that point a decline will set in. As far as 

 the Miramichi drift-net fishery is con- 

 cerned, it certainly has a marked local ef- 

 fect upon the salmon stock of the Miramichi 

 River and a less extensive effect upon that 

 of the Bay of Chaleur. 



Tagging experiments indicate that the 

 region near Port-aux-Basques is a crucial 

 point for the salmon of the Gulf of St. 

 Lawrence. There is potential danger if 

 the drift-net fishery at Port-aux-Basques 

 should increase to an appreciable extent. 

 The use of boats equipped with freezers 

 provides ample means for increasing this 

 fishery. Any marked increase in the Port- 

 aux-Basques drift-net fishery will affect ad- 

 versely the salinon fisheries of Quebec and 

 New Brunswick. The problem is to deter- 

 mine if the commercial fishery is reducing 

 the number of salmon below the minimum 

 necessary for the perpetuation of the 

 salmon stock. 



On the other hand the conservation of the 

 salmon in the river by protecting the 

 spawning salmon, by increasing the avail- 

 able spawning grounds and by protecting 

 the small parr so as to yield a greater pro- 



