PACIFIC SALMON FISHERIES 673 



were transferred to the Harrison Lake hatchery. Since that time 

 the Pitt Lake pLant has been enlarged and is now a regular station. 



In 1916 a subsidiary station was built by the Dominion on Cultus 

 Lake to accommodate the surplus eggs which could not be handled 

 in the Harrison and Pemberton hatcheries. 



In 1913, the year of the quadrennially big run of sockeye salmon 

 on the Fraser River, the contractors who were building the new 

 Canadian Northern Railway, in blasting their way along the banks 

 of the river, threw the rock and other debris into the stream until 

 in the narrow part of the canyon south of North Bend at Whites 

 Creek, Hells Gate, China Bar, and Scuzzy Rapids, all within a few 

 miles of each other, the debris formed great sloping banks extending 

 out into the stream at these points, and entirely changed the direction 

 of the currents, and, of course, the velocity of the water. At best the 

 salmon had a hard time getting through there, but the added obstruc- 

 tions rendered it practically impossible. 



At a rather late hour the authorities woke up to the menace this 

 work was to the run of salmon, and the dumping of debris into the 

 river in such a manner as to obstruct their ascent was stopped. 



How to clear the stream once more was now the problem, and this 

 was seriously compUcated by a slide of rock which took place in 

 Hells Gate in February, 1914, which narrowed the channel of the 

 stream considerably. 



In March, 1914, the Dominion Marine and Fisheries Department 

 contracted with a private concern to remove the obstructions, and 

 this was done from Scuzzy Rapids, China Bar, and Whites Creek 

 within a short period of time, but a couple of seasons' work were 

 required to clear up Hells Gate so as to permit of passage for the fish. 

 Some people claim that the fish still find it difficult to pass these 

 obstructions. 



Rivers Inlet. — A hatchery was established by the Dominion on 

 McTavish Creek, one of the tributaries of Owikano Lake, about 

 20 miles up Rivers Inlet, in 1905, and has been operated ever since. 



Skeena River.— In 1902 the Dominion established a hatchery on 

 Lakelse Lake, in the Skeena River Basin, about 65 miles up the 

 river from Port Essington. In 1919 a modern hatchery was com- 

 menced to replace the old one that was put out of commission by 

 floods in 1917. In 1907 another was constructed on Babine Lake, 

 the source of the Skeena River. 



Vancouver Island. — In 1902 S. A. Spencer, of the Alert Bay cannery 

 (now belonging to the British Columbia Packers Association), in 

 return for certain special fishery privileges granted by the Dominion, 

 established a hatchery on the Nimpkish River, which is located on 

 the northeast shore of Vancouver Island. The hatchery was burned 

 down in 1903, but was immediately rebuilt. Since its estabfishment 

 operations were carried on by the Dominion, but it has not been 

 operated since 1924. 



In 1910 the Dominion put three new" hatcheries into operation, 

 all on Vancouver Island. They were located on Anderson Lake, 

 Kennedy Lake, and Cowichan Lake, respectively. The two former 

 are used for sockeyes and the latter for king and coho sahnon and 

 steelhead and other varieties ol trout. 



In 1915-16 the Draney Fisheries (Ltd.), operated a hatchery on 

 a lake near by and hatched out 560,000 fry from eggs obtained from 

 Rivers Inlet. 



