204 THE WEALTH OF THE SEA 



meat. The humpback or pink salmon, so-called be- 

 cause of the color of its flesh, is the smallest and most 

 numerous of the Alaskan salmon, averaging only 

 about four pounds in weight. The chum or dog sal- 

 mon is a medium-sized fish, averaging about nine 

 pounds in weight. Since its flesh turns nearly white 

 during the canning process, it is the least valuable 

 of the salmon. Some coho, silver, or medium red sal- 

 mon are also caught in Alaska. Western Alaska 

 produces about two thirds of the red or sockeye 

 salmon, whereas central and eastern Alaska is the 

 native habitat of the humpback and chum salmon. 

 The life history of the Pacific salmon is very in- 

 teresting. The female salmon deposits her eggs in 

 shallow streams usually a hundred miles or more 

 from the ocean. The smaller male salmon swim- 

 ming over the salmon-colored eggs fertilizes them, 

 and in about two months they hatch and swim and 

 feed together in schools in the streams. When they 

 are two to three inches in length, they gradually 

 find their way out to sea. Formerly the disappear- 

 ance of the salmon in the sea was a mystery, un- 

 solved by the leading ichthyologists. The extensive 

 fishing operations conducted along the Pacific coast, 

 however, have disclosed that the vast rhajority of the 

 salmon are comparatively near the coast, while others 

 stay in the bays, straits, and sounds virtually all the 

 time when not in the rivers. Some years ago it was 

 noticed that king-salmon would take a hook while 

 in salt and brackish waters. At first only sportsmen 

 were interested in this fishing, but, as the demand 

 for the giant king-sahnon increased, commercial 



