THE FISH AND THE FISHERIES 



Research of the Biological Laboratory focuses on two 

 main groups of fish • — Pacific salmon and groundfish. The 

 fisheries for these groups have changed as technology has 

 advanced and as the stocks have been subjected to increased 

 fishing pressure. Man's modification of the salmon's fresh- 

 water environment has resulted in additional problems to 

 be solved to maintain the salmon runs. 



PACIFIC SALMON 



The Pacific salmon (genus Oncorhynchus) are found in 

 temperate and arctic waters of the North Pacific Ocean 

 along the North American and Asiatic coasts. North Amer- 

 ica has five species: Chinook (Oncorhijnchus tshaivytscha) , 

 chum (O. keta), coho (0. kisutch), pink (0. gorhicscha), 

 and sockeye (0. nerka). Asia has a sixth species, the masu 

 or cherry salmon (O. masu), found only in limited numbers. 

 Most Pacific salmon have an anadromous life history; that 

 is, they are born in fresh water, migrate to sea to grow and 

 mature, and return to fresh water to spawn. The adults 

 die after spawning. 



Four nations — Canada, Japan, the United States, and 

 the U.S.S.R. — have extensive salmon fisheries. Of the 

 average annual catch of 200 million fish, Japan takes 34 

 percent, the U.S.S.R. 29 percent, the United States 26 per- 

 cent, and Canada 11 percent. The predominance of par- 

 ticular species in the catches of each country varies; the 

 species i-n order of total catch are pink, chum, sockeye, coho, 

 and Chinook. 



From the time the first salmon cannery was set up on 

 a barge at Sacramento, Calif., in 1864, the salmon industry 

 of the western United States has developed to become a vital 

 part of our fishery economy. Salmon is the second most 

 valuable seafood canned in the United States. 



U.S. fishermen take their silver harvest from coastal 

 waters of the Pacific Northwest and Alaska. The mighty 

 Columbia River, draining two-thirds of the Pacific North- 

 west, is the largest single source of chinook salmon in the 

 world. Troll fisheries as far north as southeastern Alaska 

 and as far south as northern California take chinook salmon 

 born in the Columbia River and its tributaries. More sockeye 

 salmon are caught in Alaska than anywhere else in the world 

 — more than half originate in Bristol Bay rivers. Because 

 the sockeye has the highest dollar value, the Bristol Bay 

 fishery is the most important to the salmon industry of the 

 United States. 



Most salmon fishing was done in coastal waters until 

 1952 when Japan began high-seas fishing with mothership 

 fleets in the North Pacific. Starting with 3 motherships 

 and 57 catcher boats, the fleets expanded to 11 motherships 

 and 369 catcher boats. Each day, 369 catcher boats can 

 set enough nets to reach almost from Seattle to Tokyo. 



Research has shown that the Japanese fleets take both 

 North American and Asian salmon. Because the fleets 

 harvest stocks of Bristol Bay sockeye salmon, which are 

 caught inshore by U.S. fishermen, the management of the 

 valuable fishery is a complex international problem. 



COASTAL GROUNDFISH 



The Continental Shelf of the northeastern Pacific Ocean 

 is an area where groundfish are fished intensively in depths 

 of 90 to 1,800 feet. Three kinds of fish — the flatfishes, 

 rockfishes, and roundfishes — account for most of the land- 

 ings by the United States and Canada, averaging some 140 

 million pounds annually. The flatfishes (flounders and 

 soles) head the list in poundage and value; the rockfishes 

 (ocean perch) and roundfishes (cod, hake, sablefish) are 

 next in importance. 



2 — 



