26 U. S. BUREAU OF FISHERIES 



COLUMBIA RI\^R SALMON FISHERIES 



Investigations of biological and physical conditions affecting the 

 Columbia River fisheries were continued during 1937 by J. A. Craig 

 and A. J. Suomela. Counts of salmon and steelhead migrating over 

 Hock Island Dam in the Columbia River and into the tributary 

 Okanogan and Wenatchee Rivers Avere formerly part of this investi- 

 gation. In 1937, however, this work was taken over by the U. S. 

 Bureau of Reclamation and the Washington State Fisheries Depart- 

 ment, under the project concerned with the protection of migratory 

 fish at Grand Coulee Dam. The collection, tabulation, and analysis 

 of catch records of the commercial fisheries in the Columbia River 

 was continued to provide data on the an]iual and seasonal indices 

 of abundance of fish populations in the river system. During the 

 year a report on the history and development of the Columbia River 

 fisheries, including salmon, sturgeon, shad, and smelt, was submitted 

 for publication. 



Tagging. — A tagging experiment was conducted for the purpose 

 of obtaining data concerning the spring, summer, and fall runs of 

 chinook salmon wdiicli pass through the commercial fishery from 

 May to September, inclusive. The results of such experiments pro- 

 vide data on the minimum distances which the fish travel upstream 

 to spawn, the proportion of the runs which return to hatcheries, the 

 proportion caught by the commercial fishery above the point of tag- 

 ging and the speed of migration of the runs after entering the river. 



In 1936, a total of 1,059 fall chinooks were tagged and liberated 

 between August 16 and September 2. Tagging this season consisted 

 of 21 experiments from May 17 to September 1, inclusive, in which 

 1,565 chinooks Avere tagged. Tavo of these experiments Avere con- 

 tiucted at a location 1% miles aboA-e the mouth of the riA^er and the 

 remaining 19 at a location 5% miles al)ove the mouth of the river. 

 The runs of salmon Avere extremely light during the spring and 

 summer and only a feAv fish were secured for tagging. 



RecoA^eries of the tagged fish amounted to 381 or 21.3 percent of 

 the total tagged. A feAv recoveries Avere taken betAveen the mouth of 

 the river and the point of tagging, but none outside the mouth. A 

 total of 38 tags, or 2.43 percent, Avere recovered at hatcheries on the 

 Columbia River system. One fish bearing a tag was recaptured in 

 the Toutle River, a tributary of the CoAvlitz River. Two tags Avere 

 observed on fall chinook salmon in the Chinook River but they could 

 not be recovered. The remainder of the tagged fish Avere caught in 

 the main Columbia River. Tagged salmon Avere recovered up the 

 riA^er as far as Celilo Falls, 190 miles from the point of tagging. 



The results of the experiments in 1937 are now being analyzed. 

 These data, together Avith the data of the 1936 experiments, Avill 

 be incorporated in a report to be submitted for publication in the 

 near future. 



Stream surveys. — ^\Yith the exception of surveys conducted on por- 

 tions of four of the major tributaries of the Willamette River sys- 

 tem in the State of Oregon, Columbia River stream survey activities 

 in 1937 Avere again confined to the State of Washington. 



In north central Washington tributaries of the four major river 

 systems, the Okanogan, the MethoAv, the Entiat, and the Wenatchee, 

 have been surveyed. Fifty minor streams were also examined. In 



