BITEEAU OF FISHEEIES III 



added to the number of technical workers and the facilities for 

 technological research employed b}' the industry. In fact, it is be- 

 lieved that the strong economic position of the industry to-day is 

 due in large measure to this development. 



NORTHEBN PACIFIC HALIBUT CONVENTION 



This convention, ratified on October 21, 1924, is of special interest 

 (1) in that it is the first convention entered into by Canada as a 

 nation and (2) it is the first effective treaty having for its object the 

 conservation of an endangered high-seas fishery. As such it may be 

 expected to serve as a precedent for international cooperative control 

 of sea fisheries where such is needed. 



The Pacific halibut fishery originated in 1888, soon after railway 

 communication was established between the east and west coasts 

 of the United States, near Cape Flattery at the entrance to Juan de 

 Fuca Strait. It expanded rapidly and by 1910 had reached grounds 

 off Cape Ommaney, Baranof Island, 600 miles to the north. Subse- 

 quent expansion extended coastwise a length of 1,800 miles. The 

 annual catch exceeds 50,000,000 pounds, or about 60 per cent of world 

 production, for which the fishermen receive about $7,000,000. It 

 is, therefore, one of the most important fisheries in North American 

 waters. 



Formerlj?^ as many fish were taken from the 600-mile stretch as 

 are procured now from the entire 1,800 miles. The catch on the 

 older grounds south of Cape Ommaney decreased from more than 

 50,000,000 pounds in 1910 to about 21,000,000 pounds in 1926, and 

 much greater effort was exerted to make the smaller catch. The 

 present level of production of the whole fishery has been maintained 

 b}^ extending operations to new areas as the catch on the older 

 grounds has decreased and by increasing the intensity of fishing 

 effort. The use of two and one-half times the quantity of gear 

 formerly emploj^ed on the older banks now yields a catch only about 

 40 per cent as great as formerly. Where in 1906 the catch per unit 

 of fishing gear was nearly 300 pounds, in 1926 it was below 50 

 pounds; that is, it now takes six units of gear to catch as many fish 

 as one unit caught in 1906. The new banks to the westward show 

 the same trend, the catch having fallen from 160 pounds per unit 

 of gear in 1923 to 100 pounds in 1926 and was still lower in 1927, 

 while at the same time the number of second-grade fish increased. 



The fishery is in a very serious condition and the banks can not 

 long withstand the intensity of fishing to which they are subjected. 

 In a report to the two interested governments, the International 

 Fisheries Commission proposes certain measures of conservation not 

 provided for in the original convention as the minimum requirements 

 necessary to preserve this important fishery. 



LOSSES OF FISH IN IRRIGATION DITCHES 



In March, 1895, Dr. C. H. Gilbert called to the attention of the 

 Oregon Fish and Game Commission the loss of many thousands of 

 young fish that passed into the irrigated fields along Wallowa Lake 

 and tributaries and recommended legislation requiring screening 



