196 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 



salmon. The bulk of the catch consists of flounders, rockfish, smelt, 

 and sturgeon, and nearly the entire yield is sent fresh to San Francisco. 

 The shipments of fresh fish during each of the four years ending- 1892 

 were as follows : 



SAN FRANCISCO COUNTY AND VICINITY. 



By far the most extensive fisheries of California are located at San 

 Francisco, which has the distiuction of being the most important fish- 

 ing center on the Pacific Coast of North America. Besides maintaining 

 valuable fisheries, the city is the principal market for the product of 

 nearly every county in the State and is in very close relation with the 

 adjacent counties of Contra Costa, Solano, Sonoma, and Marin. 



The branches which give prominence to this region are the general 

 market fisheries of San Francisco Bay and tributaries and of the 

 adjacent ocean, the cod fishery, the whale fishery, the fur-seal and sea- 

 otter fishery, the oyster industry, and the Chinese fisheries. These 

 have been so fully described in the previous report that it is only nec- 

 essary at this time to record their extent and the few changes which 

 have ensued. 



PHYSICAL FEATURES OF SAN FKANCISCO BAY AND TRIBUTARIES. 



A large part' of the salt-water and fresh-water fish received in San 

 Francisco is taken in San Francisco Bay and its tributary bays and 

 streams. Tliis inland water area is of large extent and well adapted to 

 the support of a large amount and variety of animal life. The quantity 

 of fishery products annually withdrawn from these waters is enormous, 

 but it is doubtful if the full resources are utilized or apijreciated. 



In a general way the dimensions of San Francisco Bay and tlie 

 smaller bays connected therewith may be stated as follows: From 

 the southern end of San Francisco Bay, bordering on Santa Clara 

 County, to San Francisco is a distance of 25 miles, the width of the bay 

 being from 2 to 10 miles. Between San Francisco and the entrance 

 of San Pablo Bay the distance is 11 miles j San Pablo Bay is 10 miles 

 long and from 8 to 10 miles wide. Karquines Strait, which connects 

 San Pablo Bay with Suisun Bay, is 8 miles long and ^ to 1 mile wide. 

 Suisun Bay is 16 miles long and from ^ to 6 miles wide. The total 

 length of these connected waters is about 70 miles. 



At the northern end of Suisun Bay, in Solano County, the two largest 

 rivers in the State have their outlets. A peculiar feature of these 

 rivers, probably not found elsewhere in the United States, is the rela- 

 tion existing between their respective sources and outlets. The San 



