REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONER OF FISHERIES VII 



<'()iii})leto(l. The woi-k of analyzing.'- the (hita lias been undertaken l)y 

 a number of specialists, incliiVlinir two of the bureau's scientific staff. 

 This investi<rati<)n of Chesapeake I'ay forms an inte<rral i)art in the 

 ii'eneral ])ro<^Tam foi" a survey of the entire coast and Avill ])rovide 

 infoi'nuition of the <rreatest value in the care of the imi)ortant oyster 

 ami fishery resoui'ces of (his body of watei". 



i'AClFIC COAST FISITKS 



The investijration of the salmon of the Cohnnbia Kiver has been 

 continued. A report has been completed dealing" "vvith the decree of 

 maturity of the chinook salmon taken by trollinir and purse seinin<r 

 off the mouth of the Columbia River and in Montei-ey Bay and 

 other points alonjj: the northern coast of California. The results of 

 this i n vest i<iat ion show that this fishery is unduly destructive, since 

 a lariiv i)ercenta<ze of the fish taken are small and inmiature, })ro- 

 diicinj^- an inferior product. 



A series of extensive experiments was inaii<2:urated on the Colum- 

 bia River a number of years a^o in which youn<2: salmon, on libera- 

 tion fi'om the hatcheries, wei'e marked by the removal of various fins. 

 The ])rinuirv object of these exi)eriments has been to test the relative 

 and absolute efficiency of various hatchery procedures in carin<r for 

 and jjlantino- the youn^- fish. In the eij^ht years durin<r which these 

 ex|)eriments have been runninjj: nearly a million fish have been 

 marked, and hundreds have been retaken as adult fish upon their 

 return to the river after a sojourn of fi"oni one to four years in the 

 sea. Durin<r the past year aj^proximately 500 marked adult fish 

 were rej^orted. These resulted from four experiments started in 

 li)t20 and 1921. Four new nuirkin<r exj:>eriments were be<riin, in two 

 of which chinook salmon wi're marked and in the other two Alaska 

 sockeyes that had been transplanted to the Columbia River. In this 

 experimental work the bureau has received the active su})port and 

 cooperation of the Oregon Fish Commission. 



As for a number of years past, special attention has been directed 

 to the study of the salmon fisheries of Alaska. These fisheries, 

 ]-epresentin«r about 90 jier cent in value of Alaska fishery products, 

 to<jrether with the salmon fisheries of the west coast, constitute our 

 most valuable atjuatic resource, and since their administration is 

 vested in the I)e])artment of Connnerce it is imperative that adeijuate 

 information be availal>le (m which to base i'e<rulations. The efficient 

 aid of Dr. C. H. (rilbert. of Stanford University. California, has 

 been available for this Avork, and his intimate ac(juaintance Avith the 

 salmon problems and with the life histories of these fish has been of 

 the <rreate.st value. 



It has been a matter of no little importance to determine the char- 

 acter of the mip,iations of i-ed salmon in the region of Bristol Bay 

 and the Alaska Peninsula. Durina" the season of 19-2;^, 10.000 salmon 

 weie tagt>ed near the exti'emity of the peninsula. This was a repeti- 

 tion on a lai'irer scale of the tag"iiin<»: exjx'rimeuts carried on during 

 1922 and c(jrroborated in every inqjortant res})ect the results ob- 

 tained the ])revious year. Much additional information was secured, 

 and it is likely that the oceanic mijirrations of the red salmon of 

 Alaska are now better known than those of any other important food 

 fish. 



13073—124 2 



