HISTORY OF SALMON FISHERIES 15 



the Bering Sea, and (2) the United States argument that there is a 

 close association between the halibut stocks in the eastern Bering Sea 

 and Area 3A^, and that the Japanese should continue to abstain from 

 fishing in the Bering Sea. It is our view that this apparent incon- 

 sistency disappears with a proper understanding of the abstention 

 principle. This is discussed more fully under "Qualifications for 

 Abstention." 



HISTORY OF THE NORTHEASTERN PACIFIC 

 SALMON FISHERIES 



The history of Pacific Coast salmon fisheries is covered by Rich 

 and Ball (1928), Craig and Hacker (1940), G. H. Clark (1929), 

 INPFC (1962), and others and will be reviewed here only briefly. 



Intensive salmon fishing began in the United States with the in- 

 auguration of canning in 1864 on the Sacramento River, in 1866 on 

 the Columbia River and in British Columbia, in 1877 on Puget 

 Sound, and in 1878 in Alaska. The Columbia River fishery devel- 

 oped more rapidly than did those in other districts, and reached its 

 peak catch in 1883, when the production was entirely chinook 

 salmon. Fisheries regulations were first imposed in 1866 on the Co- 

 lumbia River when the size of traps was restricted. Regulation of the 

 salmon fisheries in California was begun by the California legislature 

 in 1872, and closed seasons were first imposed on the Columbia River 

 by the Territory of Washington in 1877, and then by the state of 

 Oregon in 1878. 



Until Alaska became a state in 1959, the federal government regti- 

 lated the fisheries and ^vas the principal governmental organization 

 concerned with commercial fisheries research in the territory. The 

 first regulation of salmon fishing in Alaska was undertaken under an 

 act passed by the United States Congress in 1896, but detailed regu- 

 lation of the salmon fisheries in Alaska is always considered to have 

 begun in 1924 with the passage of an act by congress which required 

 the escapement for spa^vning of at least 50 per cent of those runs 

 ^vhich could be counted through ^veirs. This act determined the 

 pattern of fishery regulations in Alaska until the 1950's. Before this 

 time, appropriations for regulation w^ere too small to exercise any 



3 The regulatory areas used by IPHC are described in the Commission's reports. 



