FISHERY INDUSTRIES OF THE UNITED STATES, 1930 111 



catch of fish in Lakes Pepin and Keokuk, and that part of the Mis- 

 sissippi River between these two lakes. 



In addition to the general catch statistics, the collection and (or) 

 publication of statistics on special subjects was continued during 1930, 

 as follows: The landings of fish by American fishing vessels at the 

 ports of Boston and Gloucester, Mass., Portland, Me., and Seattle, 

 Wash.; landings of halibut at North Pacific coast ports (published 

 monthly, and annual bulletins summarizing these landings for the 

 year); catch of mackerel in the North Atlantic fishery; cold-storage 

 holdings of frozen and cured fish and amount of fish frozen, which 

 are furnished by the Bureau of Agricultural Economics (published 

 monthly); production, consumption, and holdings of marine-animal 

 oils of the United States and Alaska (published quarterly by the 

 Bureau of the Census) ; production of manufactured fishery products 

 and by-products of the United States and Alaska during 1930; the 

 catch of shad in the Potomac and Hudson Rivers and the catch of 

 alewives in the Potomac River during 1930; transactions on the sponge 

 exchange at Tarpon Springs, Fla., during 1930; volume of fishery- 

 products handled at the municipal fish wharf and market, Washing- 

 ton, D. C, during 1930; and the volume of United States imports 

 and exports of fishery products during 1930, furnished by the Bureau 

 of Foreign and Domestic Commerce. 



CATCH ANALYSIS— COLUMBIA RIVER CHINOOK SALMON FISHERY 



The analysis of the Chinook salmon catch records of individual 

 fishermen on the Columbia River, which is being conducted to deter- 

 mine the catch per constant unit of effort and gear during the years 

 from 1909 to 1930, inclusive, was carried on as outlined in last year's 

 report of the Division of Fishery Industries, ''Fishery Industries of 

 the United States, 1929" by R. H. Fiedler, Appendix XIV to the 

 Report of the United States Commissioner of Fisheries for 1930, pp. 

 705-1068, Bureau of Fisheries Document No. 1095. The purpose of 

 this investigation is to determine a satisfactory index of relative 

 abundance and fluctuations in number of the population of Chinook 

 salmon spawning in the Columbia River. 



During the summer of 1930 data were collected consisting of addi- 

 tional records of catches made in the lower river near Astoria from 

 1909 to 1930, inclusive; records of fish wheel catches from the terri- 

 tory near Warrendale; and information regarding types of gear and 

 boats that have been used in this fishery during the period of time 

 covered by this analysis. The catch records secured from the lower 

 portion of the river indicate that the previous data collected at 

 Astoria constitute an adequate sample of the daily boat catches of 

 that region. From these combined groups of records a reliable index 

 of abundance should be obtained, which will indicate fluctuations in 

 numbers of the total spawning population of each year and of the 

 biologically distinct portions or "runs" of the various years. 



The records of the daily catches of the fish wheels at Warrendale, 

 represent a very valuable addition to our records. They provide an 

 index of abundance of the salmon at the point farthest up the river 

 where commercial fishing of any great importance is carried on. It 

 is possible that upon analysis they may yield a reliable record of 

 relative escapement of salmon from the gear in the lower river. 



