54 V. S. BUREAU OF FISHERIES. 



Going farther into the discussion of the locations of these markers, which 

 may in the wisdom of the bureau require further consideration, it may be said 

 that the Kuskoljwim is about 14 miles wide at the point where the prohibitive 

 line from marker to marker crosses the river. The river at this point is 

 rapidly widening into the ocean, and as the stream opens to the south, from 

 which prevailing storms blo^, it reduces the matter of fishing to open-sea 

 operations, with a high sea, due to storms, generally running. The Kuskokwim 

 fishermen and operators nearly all asked that fishing should be permitted 

 upriver as far as Helmick Point, which is 8 miles above the upper end of 

 Eek Island. At the very least they requested that the markers be placed not 

 higher than Quigiung and West Point, which would bring the prohibitive line 

 across the river just at the upper end or head of Eek Island. Notwitli- 

 standing the discussions that arose over the locations and the objections to the 

 sites of the markers, as far as observed or ascertained, there was no infraction 

 of the regulations. 



RUNS OF SALMON. 



Four salmon runs seasonally enter the Kuskokwim River, consisting of the 

 king, red, silver, and chum salmon runs. There is no humpback-salmon 

 run. It is commonly rejiorted that the run of silvers is the largest and the 

 chum salmon next, with the red salmon a close third. The run of kings is the 

 smallest in point of numbers, yet, owing to the size of the fish this run, weight 

 for weight, will likely equal the red-salmon run. 



The first run of the season is that of the kings, which commences about 

 June 10 and lasts hardly a month. While the kings are still in the river, 

 along about June 25, red salmon are found in scattering numbers and by July 

 1 the run is good. Two or three days after the first red salmon appear in the 

 river chum salmon commence showing up, these two species running almost 

 simultaneously. Both runs last about three weeks, with the peaks of the runs 

 passing between July 1 and 10, storms out on the ocean often either retard- 

 ing or accelerating the action of the runs. By the 1st of August silvers are 

 running and continue almost until the time of the freeze-up. 



Owing to the severe storms this season all the salmon runs were about 10 

 days ahead of time. This advance in time was not known along the river, and 

 by catching the fishermen unawares a third of the run got up river before gear 

 was in the water. The natives were particularly tardy in opening fishing. It 

 was the first open season on beaver and marten trapping in several years, and 

 they were still occupied with dressing and bartering their furs. 



By comparing and sifting information obtained from interviews with hun- 

 dreds of native fishermen and with every one of the white fishermen and check- 

 ing them with the writer's own observations a fair estimate of the volume of 

 the different salmon runs in the Kuskokwim River was arrived at. The red- 

 salmon run is about one-half of the red-salmon run in the Egegik River. Tlie 

 run of chums is fully as large as the run of chums in the Egegik. As for tlie 

 silver run it is doubtless as large as the run of silvers in any of the other 

 rivers flowing into Bering Sea. The general comment everywhere along the 

 Kuskokwim was that the silver run was always heavy, and many stories and 

 statements were constantly fortlicoming as to the strength of the run of this 

 fish. The king salmon run also would stand on about the same level as the 

 run of kings in the Egegik. 



As for good and poor years, considered from the standpoint of the salmon run, 

 not a great deal of information could be obtained. The general opinion among 

 the fishermen, both white and native, seemed to be that there were two good 

 years with large runs and two poor years with lean runs. 



Fishing on the Kuskokwim is carried on by fish wheels and set nets. The 

 fish wheel is not used at all on either the Nushagak or the Kvichak, which 

 are sister rivers in the Bering Sea country. Set-net operators, taking advan- 

 tage of the tides, can utilize nets of from 25 to 30 fathoms in length on all 

 the lower river where the tidal ebb and flow offers the advantage of rising 

 and falling waters. Above the tides eddies in the stream are utilized and 

 fair fishing locations found. Wheels are placed on exposed points where the 

 salmon crowd the meandering line of the stream in rounding the curve. 



NATURAL ENEMIES. 



As for natural enemies there are not as many gulls and terns in Kuskokwim 

 waters as on other salmon streams of Alaska. There are more seals and 

 belugas there ordinarily, if reports given by many different fishermen are cor- 



