18 U. S. BUREAU OF FISHERIES. 



These observations would tend to confirm the belief which has been 

 steadily growing in fav(M' for some years that the salmon either spend 

 the greater part of their life in the bays, straits, and sounds, or else in 

 regions adjacent to the coast line. 



The reason they had not been found in this region earlier is doubt- 

 less due to tlic fact that during the fall, winter, and spring months the 

 weather on the north Pacific coast is such that fishing operations can 

 not be carried on along the open coast, while.in summer the fishermen 

 are all busy on the spawming runs and have no time to devote to fish 

 not yet arrived at maturity, which are probably feeding along the 

 coast as usual. 



FISHING GROUNDS AND HISTORY OF THE FISHERIES." 



WASHINGTON. 



Puget Sound. — Strictly speaking, the name Puget Sound should be 

 restricted to that long, narrow arm extending south from the Strait 

 of Juan de Fuca, but a practice has developed, and is now common 

 among fishermen and others, of designating all the great water area 

 in the State of Washington comprismg Puget Sound proper, Strait 

 of Juan de Fuca, Canal de Haro, Kosario Strait, the Gulf of Georgia, 

 and the smaller straits, bays, and sounds, as Puget Sound, and this 

 practice, for the sake of convenience, has been followed in this report. 



This great indentation in the coast, with its numerous islands and 

 many fine harbors, has greatly aided the development of this portion 

 of Washington and has been specially favorable to the prosecution 

 of the salmon and other fisheries. Numerous rivers and creeks enter 

 the Sound, the more important of these being on the eastern shore 

 and comprising the Nooksack, Skagit, Stillaguamish, Snohomish, 

 Duwamisn, Puyallup, and Nisqually. On the southern and western 

 shores the tributary streams are nearly all small, the more important 

 being the Skokomish, Quilcene, Dungeness, and Elwha. 



As on other bodies of water on the Pacific coast frequented by 

 salmon, the Indians were fishing for them when the first whites 

 visited the country. The natives at this time, and for many years 

 after, used reef nets and hooks and lines in the salt water, and spears, 

 dip nets, and weirs in the rivers. Traders first reached the head- 

 waters of the Fraser River and gradually worked down the same 

 until they reached the sea. 



For many years this region was comparatively isolated from the 

 rest of the world, and the completion of transcontinental raihoads 

 has not completely changed this, owing to its distance from large 

 consuming centers. As a result of this isolation, it was necessary 

 for many years to resort to methods of preparation which would 

 insure the preservation of the product for indefinite periods. Salting 

 naturally came first, followed by canning, while the shipping of 

 fresh salmon has been steadily growing in importance as transporta- 

 tion facilities increased. 



Tlie Northwest Co., a large fur-trading organization, about the 

 beginning of last century first introduced the salting process and 



a For some of the regions the historical data are fragmentary and can not be considered as other than 

 historical notes. It is noped that some one will write a history of the industry before all of the pioneers 

 have passed away. 



