PACIFIC SALMON FISHERIES. 7 



Five species of salmon (Oncorhynchus) are found in the waters 

 of the north Pacific, ranging northward from ^fonterey Bay on 

 the American coast and Japan on the Asiatic, the extreme northern 

 distribution of certain of the species liaving not yet been accurately 

 determined. The five species are: (1) Oncorhynchus tschawytscha, 

 quinnat, tyee, chinook, spring, or king salmon; (2) Oncorhynchus 

 nerJca, blueback, red, sukkegh, or sockeye salmon; (3) Oncorhynchus 

 kisutch, silver, coho, or white salmon; (4) Oncorhynchus Jceta, dog, 

 keta, or chum salmon; and (5) Oncorhynchus gorhuscha, humpback or 

 pink salmon. 



CHINOOK, QUINNAT, OR KING SALMON. 



The largest, best known, and most valuable of these is the chinook 

 or kin^ salmon {0. tfichau'i/tscha). It is found throughout the region 

 from tne Ventura River, Calif., to Norton Sound, Alaska, and on the 

 Asiatic coast as far south as northern China. As knowledge extends, 

 it will probably be recorded in the Arctic. 



In the spring the body is silvery, the back, dorsal fin, and caudal 

 fin having more or less of round black spots, and the sides of the 

 head havmg a peculiar tin-colored metallic luster. In the fall the 

 color is, in some places, black or dirty red. The fish has an average 

 weight of about 22 pounds, but individuals weighing 70 to over 100 

 pounds are occasionally taken. One was caught near Klawak, 

 Alaska, in 1009, which weighed 101 pounds without the head. The 

 Yukon River is supposed to produce the finest examples, although 

 this supposition is not based on very reliable observations. The 

 southeast Alaska fish average as high as 23 pounds in certain sea- 

 sons, followed by an average of about 22 pounds in the Columbia 

 River and about 16 pounds in the wSacrameiito. 



In most places the llesh is of a deep salmon red, but in certain 

 places, notably southeast Alaska, Bristol Bay, Puget Sound, and 

 British Columbia, many of the fish, the proportion being sometimes 

 as much as one-third of the catch, have white flesh. A few examples 

 have been taken with one side of the body red and the other white, 

 while some are found with mottled flesh. No reasonable explanation 

 of this phenomenon has yet been given. 



In its southern range the quinnat strikes in at Monterey Bay in 

 sufficient numbers to justify commercial fishing about the middle of 

 April, where it is seen feeding upon the inshore moving schools of 

 herring and sardines, continuing until in August. There are two 

 runs of spawning fish in the Sacramento, the first or "spring run" 

 beginning in April and continuing throughout May and June, these 

 fish sj)awning mainly in the cold tributaries of the Sacramento, such 

 as the McCloud and Fall Rivers. The second or "fall run" occurs 

 in iVugust, Septemi>er, and October, and these fish spawn in the 

 riffles in the main river between Tehama and Redding, also (Mitering 

 the tri})Utaries in that vicinity. The two runs merge into each other. 

 It is also claimed that there is a third run which comes in December. 



In former years the San Joaquin and the American and Feather 

 River-s of the vSacramento system had large runs of salmon, but ex- 

 cessive fishing and the operation of various mining and irrigation 

 projec^ts have practically (leph^ted them. 



'Hie Kel an<l Mad Rivers of northern California have only a late 

 or fall run, while the Klamath River has both a spring and a fall 



