PROPAGATION AND DISTRIBUTION OF FOOD FISHES, 1926 347 



Through the carelessness of two of the station employees, the water supply 

 was shut off from some of the hatching throughs, during the night of February 

 3, and 1,100,000 fry were lost. 



A portion of the stock of 338,000 steelhead-salmon fry and fingerlings on 

 hand at the opening of the fiscal year was distributed to applicants, and the 

 remainder was liberated in local public waters. Because of an unusually low 

 river level, the collection of steelhead eggs, during the spring of 1926, was 

 the smallest in the past several years, the total amounting to only 62,000. 

 These were taken between March 5 and April 28. 



Ozette (Wash.) substation. — A counting weir has been maintained in the 

 Ozette River for the past two years, primarily for the purpose of determining 

 to what extent sockeye salmon run into Ozette Lake. Operations at the weir 

 having demonstrated that sockeye, silver, and steelhead salmon enter the lake 

 in sufficient numbers to warrant the establishment of a hatchery, the next 

 essential step was to ascertain as to the possibility of holding brood sockeye 

 salmon from the time they run into the lake, late in May, until they are in 

 spawning condition in October. With this end in view a survey of the Ozette 

 watershed was made, and two locations apparently well suited to penning 

 operations were selected, one on Ozette River, and one in Umbrella Creek. 



The Ozette River inclosure, constructed on the site of the former counting 

 weir, is of sufficient size to impound more than 1,000 fish. The Umbrella 

 Creek inclosure was formed by building two racks about 300 feet apart, with a 

 holding capacity for 5,000 fish. 



In the early part of June, about 1,300 fish were placed in the Ozette River 

 inclosure, but with the rising water temperature, late in that month, fungus 

 began developing fin the fish to such an extent that it became necessary to 

 liberate them in the lake. It is intended to confine all fish caught after July 1 

 in the Umbrella Creek inclosure. 



Sultan (Wash.) .substation. — Elwell Creek, upon which this substation de- 

 pends for its supplies of chinook and humpback salmon eggs, was virtually 

 dry during most of the spawning season and remained in that condition until 

 late October, when the humpback run was over and only a few partly spawned- 

 out chinook salmon were available. By means of a gaff hook a sufficient 

 number of these partially spent fish were taken near the mouth of the creek 

 to yield 99,000 eggs. Silver-salmon eggs were collected at this point from 

 October 25 to January 5, the total for the season amounting to 1,383,000. On 

 January 5 Elwell Creek rose to the highest stage ever recorded, overflowing 

 its banks and washing out a channel that finally undermined the east shore 

 crib of the rack and completely destroyed it. This brought the silver-salmon 

 work to an end, and as the trap could not be repaired in time for the steelhead- 

 salmon run no eggs of that species were collected. 



Quinault (Wash.) Station 



[Marcus S. Meyek, Superintendent] 



The daily count of sockeye salmon passing through the weir into the upper 

 Quinault River was in progress during the first 10 days in July. The total 

 count for the season, which began on March 19, amounted to 19,395, or about 

 117,000 less than the count of the previous year. In view of a recent decision 

 by the Federal Court at Tacoma, Wash., giving the local Indians the privilege 

 of fishing at any point on the Quinault Reservation, the bureau considered 

 it advisable to discontinue counting operations with the close of the season. 



Fish-cultural operations at this station are concerned principally with the 

 propagation of the sockeye salmon. During the spawning season, which ex- 

 tended from November 2 to December 16, 2.000,000 eggs were collected in the 

 upper Quinault River. 5,770,000 in Big Creek, 630,000 in Merriman Creek, and 

 S0.000 in Falls Creek, the aggregate of 8,480,080 being only about two-thirds 

 of the total number secured last year. With the exception of 175,000 eyed 

 eggs (shipped to other stations of the bureau) and the 800,000 fingerlings on 

 hand at the end of June, all of the young fish resulting from the collections 

 were liberated in Quinault River and its tributaries, as were also the 5.000,000 

 fingerlings on hand at the beginning of the year. The eggs taken in Big Creek 

 in past years have been conveyed to the hatchery by canoe. During the past 

 season all collections from this source were transported by means of the 

 station truck, thereby obviating the necessity of daily transporting the canoe to 

 the creek. 



