ALASKA FISHERY AND FUR-SEAL, INDUSTRIES, 1025 103 



1 king mistakenly tagged for a coho). Warden A. J. Suomela was in 

 charge of the work, which continued from June 23 to August 22. 

 Latest reports indicate that 4,722 salmon were recaptured, the tags 

 having been returned for the reward of 50 cents offered for tags 

 accompanied by information as to time and place of recapture. 

 Analyses of the data are contained in another report. 2 



In the Port Moller district, off the mouths of the Bear and Sandy 

 Rivers, 2,000 red salmon were tagged by Assistant Agent L. G. 

 Wingard on July 1, 4, and 5. Of these, 949 were recaptured, all in 

 the immediate vicinity except one reported taken at Naknek in 



Kvichak Bay. 



SALMON LIFE-HISTORY STUDIES 



In 1925, Dr. C. H. Gilbert, of Stanford University, again visited 

 Alaska in connection with the studies of the life history of the Pacific 

 salmons, which he has carried on for a number of years.^ He gave 

 particular attention to the runs of red salmon in the Karluk and 

 Chignik Rivers, and visited salmon canneries on the Alaska Penin- 

 sula in July. 



Whenever conditions at Karluk would permit, scales were collected 

 daily from 100 or more specimens, and from them the ages of the fish 

 and the length of time that they remained in fresh water before pro- 

 ceeding to sea were determined. At Chignik similar collections were 

 made two or three times a week, and the run was analyzed on the 

 basis of this material. All scales taken at Karluk and Chignik in 

 previous seasons have been examined and the results tabulated. 

 Thus the foundation for further investigations of the runs in these 

 two streams has been laid, investigations in which it will be possible 

 to work with the records of escapements of known proportions. 

 This is particularly true of the investigations to be conducted on the 

 predominant year class at Karluk in 1926 and succeeding seasons. • 



OBSERVATIONS ON THE ESCAPEMENT OF SALMON 



In accordance with the intent of Congress, as expressed in the act 

 of June 6, 1924, that not less than 50 per cent of the salmon be allowed 

 to escape to the spawning grounds, special attention was given to 

 collecting data on the escapement in all districts. Special surveys 

 were made, and all employees were instructed to report the conditions 

 found in the localities where they were stationed. 



Southeastern Alaska. — In the opinion of the guards stationed at all 

 of the more important streams in southeastern Alaska, the escape- 

 ment was adequate. Reports from persons in various localities in 

 southeastern Alaska, including hunters, sport fishermen, and others, 

 indicated that the escapements of spawning salmon were the best they 

 had witnessed in years and reminded thenKof old times. In some 

 places, where the catch was light as a result of restrictions placed 

 on operations, or because certain areas had been closed to fishing, the 

 runs (especially of humpbacks and chums) were good and the escape- 

 ment was correspondingly large. 



A special item on the escape of salmon in Anan Creek is to be 

 found elsewhere in this report. Agent Dennis Winn and Warden 

 M. J. O'Connor visited Chilkat and Chilkoot Lakes on July 31 and 



' Salmon-tagging Experiments in Alaska, 1924 and 1925, by Willis H. Rich. Bulletin, IT. S. Bureau of 

 Fisheries, Vol. XLII, 1926, Document No. 1005, pp. 109-14G. Washington. 



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