PACIFIC SALMON FISHERIES 495 



of these fish, and only bought them because his regular fishermen 

 would have gone to other cannerymen with their full-sized fish had 

 he not taken the immature ones, it is probable that the cannerymen 

 who were not opposed to the practice received a greater proportion of 

 immature fish than he. 



An idea of the smallness of these immature salmon may be gained 

 when it is stated that the average weight of sexually mature chinook 

 salmon running into the Columbia River is about 22 pounds. 



These small chinooks are said to produce a very inferior quality of 

 canned goods, being rated as second and third grade. The meat is of 

 an ashy color, poor in fat content, and insipid in taste. 



Off the Strait of Juan de Fuca the same condition of affairs existed 

 as oft' the Columbia River, with the added complication that many 

 immature cohos were also captured. 



The immature feeding coho deteriorates when taken from the 

 water even more rapidly than does the immature feeding chinook. 

 Within 24 hours of being taken from the water the abdomens may be 

 broken open, the ribs protrude freely, and the flesh begins to deteri- 

 orate. It was early found that it was impossible, except through the 

 exercise of extraordinary precautions, to get these fish to the up- 

 sound canneries before it was too late, so that of recent years only 

 canneries situated adjacent to the banks were enabled to use them. 



The sale of young salmon in the fresh fish markets of Seattle and 

 other Puget Sound cities has been common for years. They are mar- 

 keted usually as ''salmon trout." On the Columbia River they 

 usually are called ''grayling." 



It is an economic crime to catch and kill these immature salmon, 

 as but little money is obtained for them, while if they were allow^ed 

 to attain maturity they would increase in weight, in the case of the 

 chinook nearly 1,000 per cent on the average and in the case of the 

 coho about 100 per cent in four or five months' tim.e. 



Another bad feature of trolling operations off the mouth of the 

 Columbia River is that troUers, because they operated outside the 

 3-mile limit, were exempted from the observance of the regular closed 

 season, operative in the river from August 25 to September 10. As a 

 result of this, fishing was carried on continuously throughout the run; 

 most of the gUl netters who had to stop fishing in the river put their 

 nets ashore and went outside and engaged in trolling, while canneries 

 on the river bought and canned all the fish brought in. In 1917 the 

 Washington Legislature enacted a law prohibiting possession within 

 the State during the closed season, except for personal use, of salmon 

 caught beyond the 3-mile limit outside the Columbia River. The 

 State court, on trial, held this to be unconstitutional as being an 

 interference with interstate and foreign commerce. 



Oregon also adopted the same law as Washington, and on trial this 

 was upheld as constitutional on October 3, 1919, by the Oregon 

 circuit court. However, the law will be of no value if valid in only 

 one State, as if enforced there the fishermen will sell their catches 

 in the other State. 



It is quite plain that the salmon runs entering the Columbia River 

 and the Strait of Juan de Fuca can not long continue to exist under 

 this terrific drain upon the immature and mature fish. In the latter 

 section the sockeyes an«[ humpbacks are rapidly being exterminated, 

 and it is probable that the chinooks and cohos, the especial victims in 

 this attack, will soon show signs of exhaustion, 



