420 U. S. BUREAU OF FISHERIES 



proving that the adult fish would return to the stream in which they 

 had passed their early existence, no matter where the eggs were taken. 



This plan could not be carried out at Anderson Lake, as the young 

 fish resulting from the eggs, which were sent there, were not strong 

 enough to survive the experiment. They w^ere therefore liberated 

 without marking. Those hatched at Quinault Lake were marked, 

 however, and liberated in the summer of 1916. Doctor Gilbert has 

 strong hopes that upon the return of the marked fish important 

 data relating to the life history of the species will be obtained. 



During February, March, and April, 1916, some 50,000 yearling 

 sockeyes, which had been reared at the Bonneville hatchery of the 

 Oregon Fish and Game Commission from eggs obtained from the Yes 

 Bay (Alaska) hatchery of the United States Bureau of Fisheiies, were 

 marked by the removal of the adipose and both ventral fins, and the 

 fish then liberated in Tanner Creek, a tributary of the Columbia. The 

 fish were in an apparently healthy condition when liberated. In 

 order to make sure that they suffered no ill effects from the marking 

 a few were held until the wounds had healed perfectly, and these 

 were not affected adversely. 



During the summer of 1918 a number of marked fish were reported 

 to have returned and been caught. 



During the same period close watch was kept on the Quinault 

 River for the return of marked sockeyes from that marking experi- 

 ment but none were observed so far as known. 



OCEAN HOME OF THE SALMON 



All sorts of conjectures have been hazarded as to the ocean home of 

 the salmon after the young fish have gone to sea and disappeared ap- 

 parently from the ken of man. Many have conjured up visions of the 

 vast schools of aduU salmon surging along the coast hundreds of miles 

 seeking for some suitable river in which to spawn, explaining in this 

 wdse the variations in the seasonal runs in different sections. Others 

 think the fish go out into the greater depths of the ocean and there 

 hide from man until the spawning instinct leads them back to the 

 coast and thence to the stream in which they were born or planted. 



Discoveries of recent years have cpiite altered this uncertainty, and 

 we now are reasonably certain that the vast majority of the salmon 

 are comparatively near our coast line, while others stay in the bays, 

 straits, and sounds virtually all the time when not in the rivers. 



Some years ago it was first noticed that king salmon would take the 

 hook while in salt and brackish waters. At first only the anglers were 

 interested in this fact, but as the demand for king salmon for mild 

 curing became more insistent the commercial fishermen, attracted by 

 the high prices paid, began to devote some attention to the fish dur- 

 ing the early spring months, and soon trolling became a recognized 

 branch of the industry. It was first taken up on a considerable scale 

 in southeast Alaska in 1905.* As the demand for the fish increased, 

 the fishermen extended operations until almost all of southeast Alaska 

 waters were being fished. The length of the fishing season was also 

 increased until now only the severe weather of winter prevents them 

 from fishing. However, the halibut trawls occasionally come up dur- 

 ing the season with king salmon on them, showing that they are still 

 on the ground. 



* Report on the Fisheries of Alaska. By John N. Cobb. Bureau of Fisheries Document No. 618, pp. 

 19-21. Washington, 1907. ^^ 



