32 REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONER OF FISHERIES. 



salmon occurred at this point, but because of high water the egg col- 

 lections were not large, aggregating only 405,000. Another unfavor- 

 able feature was the necessity of transferring male fish from the 

 Quilcene station, as the run in the Duckabush River appeared to be 

 largely made up of females. 



At the Quilcene station the numbers of all species of salmon reach- 

 ing the racks were small, and as a consequence the egg collections 

 were not as large as last season. This section of Hoods Canal is sub- 

 jected each year to active fishing by purse seines, and the high prices 

 of recent years have been an added incentive to such operations. 

 While the law prohibits the use of seines within a certain specified dis- 

 tance of the mouths of all salmon streams, a large number of spawn- 

 ing fish are taken directly in the mouths of certain streams entering 

 the canal, to the detriment of the Bureau's work and the future sup- 

 ply. The eggs taken at Quilcene station during the year were 

 2,200,000 chum, 1,130,000 silver, and 460,000 steelhead. In addition, 

 2,402,000 chum-salmon eggs were transferred from the Brinnon col- 

 lecting station. At Sultan, where the year's work in fish culture com- 

 pares favorably with that of other years, there were taken 3,167,000 

 silver, 185,000 chinook, and 92,000 steelhead eggs. Practically all of 

 the silver salmon were taken during the period between November 1 

 and December 15, when commercial fishing is restricted at the mouth 

 of the Snohomish River, and but few eggs were secured after the be- 

 ginning of commercial operations. 



The collection of sockeye-salmon eggs at the Quinault station — 

 8,035,000 — exceeded the take of the preceding year by over 60 per 

 cent. During October this station was supplied with 7,000,000 sock- 

 eye eggs from the Afognak station. This shipment was made with 

 two objects in view, namely, to relieve the crowded condition of the 

 Afognak station, where more eggs had been taken than could be 

 cared for locally, and to maintain the sockeye salmon in Quinault 

 Lake, this lake and Baker Lake being the only places in the L^nited 

 States outside of Alaska where important spawning grounds of the 

 sockeye salmon exist. When the first eggs were taken, on October 

 28, and up to November 14, spawning operations were rendered diffi- 

 cult by the low water, but on November 15 a rise of more than 13 

 feet occurred in Quinault Lake, overflowing the racks in all streams 

 and permitting many salmon to escape. Fishing was resumed 

 on November 19 and continued until December 16, when there was 

 a second rise, followed by the escape of many more spawning fish. 

 In connection with the sockeye operations, 750,000 silver-salmon 

 eggs were taken. Notwithstanding that the run of this species ap- 

 peared to be in excess of last season's run, the egg collection was 

 much smaller, this being one consequence of the prevailing floods. 

 It is a characteristic of the silver salmon to enter spawning streams 

 in the largest numbers in times of high water, and many fish passed 

 the retaining racks while they were submerged. Chinook-salmon 

 eggs to the number of 40,000 were secured. During December the 

 station experienced a period of the coldest weather ever recorded in 

 that region, the thermometer registering for a time just above the 

 zero mark. This occasioned the loss of a number of sockeye-salmon 

 fry in the rearing ponds and necessitated the immediate liberation 

 of others in the lake. 



