250 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 



the entire product was sold in foreign countries, and there is still a large 

 export trade with England, Australia, and other countries. Reference 

 is made to the table of exports from San Francisco for a statement of 

 the destination of the canned salmon sent from that port. Much the 

 largest part of the canned salmon exported from Astoria is consigned 

 to England. The shipments are made exclusively in sailing vessels, 

 which clear from Astoria deeply laden with no other merchandise than 

 canned salmon. 



The following is a statement of the shipment by months from 1887 to 

 September, 1892, inclusive : 



Tear and month. 



1887 -July 



August 



1888— August 



September . 

 1889— May 



July 



August 



September. 



Noveuiber . 

 1890— March 



November . 

 1891— May 



Juno 



July 



August 



1892— February.. 



March 



June 



Augu.st 



September . 



Destination. 



England . 



do... 



do... 



do... 



do... 



do... 



do... 



do... 



do... 



do... 



do... 



do... 



do... 



do... 



do... 



Chile .... 



do... 



England . 



do ... 



do... 



Cases. 



Net weight 

 of fish. 



41, 582 

 78, 750 

 61,226 

 12, 869 



8,650 

 23, 475 

 74, Oil 

 20, 334 



8,124 



7,000 



20, 701 



700 



1,200 

 47, 015 

 35, 263 



3,000 



500 



300 



27, 107 



46, 972 



Pounds. 



1,995,930 



3, 781), 000 



2, 938, 848 



617,712 



415, 200 



1, 126, 800 



3, 553, 488 



976, 032 



389, 952 



336, 000 



993, 642 



33, 600 



57, 600 



2, 256, 720 



1, 692, 624 



144, 000 



24, 000 



16, 800 



1, 320, 336 



2, 254, 656 



Value. 



$218, 285 



466, 631 



436, 824 



-90, 856 



59, 785 



161, 125 



501, 838 



124, 824 



44, 864 



35, 000 



102, 285 



4,200 



7,450 



217, 997 



183, 724 



1,140 



2,200 



2,450 



160, 651 



264, 518 



THE STURGEON FISHERY. 



For many years the fishermen of the OoluDibia Eiver gave scarcely 

 any attention to any fish caught in their nets except salmon. Stur- 

 geon were very plentiful and were caught incidentally in the salmon 

 nets in considerable quantities. A few were saved and sent to the 

 Portland market, and during the winter months some were also shipped 

 by steamer in a round or undressed state to San Francisco, but as a 

 rule the sturgeon was looked upon as a nuisance and in most cases 

 was knocked in the head and set adrift in the river. This practice 

 prevailed up to a comparatively recent date. 



In 1888 an eastern firm established experimental fishing-camps at 

 several points on the river with a view to determine the abundance 

 and location of the sturgeon, and, by shipping a few carloads of frozen 

 sturgeon, to demonstrate the feasibility of creating a market in the 

 East. The undertaking proved a success from the outset, and the 

 industry soon attracted other firms from the East, so that in 1892 there 

 were four firms interested in the business. The catch increased from 

 960,705 pmmds in 1889 to 3,000,757 pounds in 1892. The fishery has 

 been of great importance to the fishermen in that it does not interfere 

 in any way with their regular salmon operations, but is prosecuted 

 after the close of the salmon season, and in 1892 added over 141,000 to 

 their income. 



