merits were taken in the Bear-Sandy River fishing grounds. Quoting from the 

 report (page )^) "The red salmon bound in 1922 for Bristol Bay assuredly 

 did not school close inshore until after they had passed the Sandy River 



It 



I 



As information was desired on the depth at which the salmon were 

 travelingj the lead had been made three "strips", of 100 meshes each, deep, 

 i<,e. a total depth of 300 five-inch meshes. It was found that at least 9^ 

 percent of the fish were caught in the uppermost strip, many of the fish 

 being caught in the top fathom of web. As extreme difficulty was encountered 

 in taking the net aboard due to its great depth and as the lower two strips 

 of the net were catching very few fish, the net was rehung during the season 

 and made only one strip deep. 



One fact of special interest in the gill net and lead catches was 

 that over 90 percent of the fish gilled in this gear were traveling in 

 an easterly direction regardless of the direction of the wind or tide and 

 regardless of the distance offshore. While offhand this seems only natural 

 in view of the fact that the majority, if not all, of the fish were enroute 

 to Bristol Bay rivers, it does raise the interesting question as to how a 

 fish in the upper region of twenty to thirty fathoms of water and as much 

 as seventy-five miles from the nearest land can "Icnow" in what direction 

 it is traveling. 



Summary of 1939 operations 



1. During the course of the 1939 season's operations salmon could be 

 caught at any point along the l50-mile section line between Gape Seniavin 

 and Cape Nev.'enham. 



2. Salmon were more abundant in the southern half of the section 

 line than they were in the northern half. 



3o The Bristol Bay salmon populations do not follow close along 

 shore in thi.s area. They utilize the iull extent of the Bay entrance but 

 were most abundant in the southern 60 or 80 miles of the entrance. 



Uo The salmon were most abundant in the surface waters, practically 

 all of them being in the upper six fathoms of water. 



5o Salmon can be caught between Cape Seniavin and Cape Newenham by 

 means of purse seines or gill nets despite the fact that the water is 

 perfectly clsar in this area. Fishing with gill nets vfould undoubtedly 

 be far more efficient if carried on at night as is done by the fishermen 

 around Bella Bella, British Columbia, and in certain other areas where 

 drift gill nets are employed in clear water for the capture of salmon. 



6. In the area under discussion, the salmon are not schooled, at 

 least in large aggregations, hence purse seining is not a practical method 

 of catching them. 



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