254 U. S. BUREAU OF FISHERIES. 



not only ate them fresh but also dried large quantities for winter use 

 for themselves and their do^s. 



Owing to the inaccessibility of the Siberian coast, due mainly to 

 th* lack of transportation facilities for many years and the decided 

 objection of the Russian Government to travelers roaming over the 

 country, partly because of the presence of political and criminal 

 convicts and partly because of a fear that they might learn too 

 much of its resources, there has been but little written, especially 

 with regard to its fishery resources, about this remote section of the 

 Russian Empire, and what little has been published is usually filled 

 with inaccuracies, due, doubtless, in many mstances to the fact that 

 the writer generally had to o;et most of his information at second and 

 third hand and was also unfamiliar with fishery subjects. 



Most of the data given below were obtained directly from persons 

 hving in wSiberia or Japan, most of whom are engaged in the fishing 

 industry of Siberia, or from Americans who have on various occa- 

 sions visited the country in order to view its fishing possibilities at 



first hand. 



SPECIES OF SALMON. 



All five species of salmon are to be found along the Siberian coast, 

 and the schools appear to run about the same as they do on the 

 American side. Although we have very little authentic data relating 

 to their movements, these are doubtless similar to the runs on the 

 Alaska coast, where climatic and other conditions are very similar. 

 Nearly all streams from the Arctic Ocean to north China seem to have 

 runs of one or more species. The steelhead does not appear to be an 

 inhabitant of the Asian coast. 



The fishing carried on by the Russians has usually been along the 

 rivers of the mainland, principally in the Amur and on Sakhalin 

 Island. 



From very early times Japanese fishermen have frequented the 

 Siberian coast and Sakhalin Island (the southern portion of which 

 they at one time owned, exchanging it to Russia for the Kurile 

 Islandsin 1875 and again acquiring itin 1905, as a result of the Russian- 

 Japanese war), being drawn here; mainly by the rich stores of salmon 

 which could be secured easily and quickly, and were so necessary 

 to eke out the vast quantity needed to supply such a fish-eating 

 nation as Japan. 



FISHING DISTRICTS. 



The Priamur fishing district is subdivided into several districts as 

 follows : 



Nikolaevsk district. — This district comprises the whole lower part 

 of the Amur River from the village Zimmormanovka down to the 

 mouth of the river, about 300 miles; the River Amgun, 200 miles; 

 the Amur estuary, about 150 miles on the mainland and about 130 

 miles on the coast of Sakhalin Island, and about 865 miles of the coast 

 line on the southwestern shore of the Okhotsk Sea. In 1913 there 

 were 139 fishing stations operated in this district, and this number 

 has been materially increased since. Humpbacks and chums were 

 the principal species of salmon taken. 



Sakhalin district. — The Sakhalin district includes the entire coast 

 line of Sakhalin island with the exception of that facing the Amur 

 estuarj, which belongs to the Nikolaevsk district. It is the smallest 



