PROGRESS IN BIOLOGICAL INQUIRIES, 1938 Al 
On July 22 and 24 the Forest Service, Bureau of Fisheries, and 
C. C. C. personnel cooperated on an experimental trout planting 
program through the use of aeroplanes. Rainbow trout averaging 
10 inches in length were flown from Sashin Lake, back of Little Port 
Walter, to Blue Lake near Sitka. Other plantings were flown to a 
number of lakes south of Red Bluff on Baranof Island. The C. C. C. 
camp completed its program at Little Port Walter by the first of 
September and was moved to Port Alexander, 
The cooperative observer’s meteorological records were continued 
during 1938 at Little Port Walter. Through these records it is 
possible to measure the climatic changes that have a direct effect 
on the salmon’s fresh-water environment. An anemometer and a 
psychrometer were installed as additional equipment to measure 
wind and humidity which indirectly play a part in the salmon’s life 
cycle. A total of 264.53 inches of rain fell during 1938 at Little 
Port Walter, which is an average of 22.04 inches per month. Rain 
was recorded on 261 days. The highest air temperature was 71° 
F., and the lowest was 13° F., with a yearly mean average of 43.08° 
F. Fifty-five clear days, 58 partly cloudy, and 252 cloudy days 
were recorded at the station during 1938. 
ALASKA SALMON STATISTICS 
Collection, tabulation, and analysis of the daily catch records from 
the various types of fishing gear operated by the salmon fishery in 
Alaska were continued in 1938 by Elizabeth Vaughan. All avail- 
able catch records have been collected, and the files will be kept 
up to date in the future. 
Analysis of these data consists mainly in determining average 
daily catches for each type of gear throughout each fishing season by 
districts. Indices of abundance and seasonal time of appearance of 
the salmon runs are determined from these daily averages. Dur- 
ing the past year, the trap-catch records for 1937 in both Prince Wil- 
lam Sound and Southeastern Alaska were analyzed and added to 
the previous compilations. This information, as in the past, was 
used as a basis for recommending changes in the fishing regulations 
in Alaska in order to provide for the conservation of the salmon re- 
sources. During the past year the gill-net records from the Bristol 
Bay area have been compiled for all years for which data are 
available. 
From practically all parts of Alaska, fishermen and cannerymen 
have reported that pink salmon were very late in appearing during 
the 1938 season. It was felt that this phenomenon was unusual in 
all areas except Southeastern Alaska, where it was claimed the 
runs have been steadily getting later. Because of this belief, the 
industry demanded a revision of the fishing regulations. The sta- 
tistics of the fishery, as collected and analyzed by this investigation, 
permitted an explanation of this phenomenon and a defense of the 
present regulations, which were embodied in a series of articles for 
publication in a commercial fishery journal. 
The explanation of the change in the time of appearance of the 
Southeastern Alaska pink-salmon runs was made on the basis of 
the correlation between the abundance of the salmon, their average 
size, and the time of their appearance in the season. 
