134- REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 



tlie Nusliiig'iik. Lieut. (Juiinnaiulei- TaiiiitT, V. S. Navy, avIio made the 

 inspection, found tliat a double trap was being built upon the AVood. 

 River, about 20 miles above its jiiontli and 40 miles from theNushagak 

 cannery. The Wood Eiver at this point is a swift-running stream of 

 clear, cold water, between 700 and 800 feet wide and 10 to 14feetdeei). 

 Oi)erations had not i>ro.ur<'ssed sufiiciently to indicate the character 

 and extent of the work, but the itlans contemplated an opening in mid- 

 stream 100 feet wide, flanked on eacli side by a traj) 40 feet square, 

 with wings extending from thelatter to the shores. The report of Lieut. 

 Commander Tanner was submitted to tlie Secretary of the Trcasuiy, 

 who decided that the proposed traps were obstructions to the ascent 

 of salmon within the meaning of the laM', and that their erecti<ui was 

 therefore illegal. 



Although the salmon-canning industry ot Alaska is of very recent 

 origin, the amount of capital invested in it is nearly $4,000,000, while 

 the output in 1881) was valued at about $3,000,000, which is greatly in 

 excess of the value of the yield of seal skins on the Pribilof Islands before 

 the reduction was made in the number of seals that are allowed to be 

 killed annually. That the salmon industry in that legion is capable of 

 very much greater develoi)ment is unquestionable, as the resources 

 have been tapped at only a comparatively few places, but, unless the 

 fishery is carefully guarded, sooner or later there will be repeated in 

 Alaska the same unfortunate condition of affairs which has obtained in 

 every country where salmon have been abundant. The salmon sj)end 

 most of their time at sea. The spawning instinct leads them into fresh 

 waters, which furnisli the necessary conditions for the hatching of the 

 eggs and the development of the young during a portion of their exist- 

 ence. The different species vary more or less in the date and duration 

 of the spawning season and in their spawning habits. Some enter by 

 preference the smaller streams, and others the larger rivers. Some 

 never return to the sea, dying soon after having accomplished their 

 reju'oductive functions, while others may survive to return again in a 

 subsequent season. This habit of running up the rivers makes them 

 fall an easy prey to the fishermen, especially if the river be small or 

 shallow, or be restricted near its mouth. It is evident that if a river 

 channel be closed against their ascent no spaAvning can be accom- 

 plished in it, and from what is known of their habits it is also i^rob- 

 able that the fish will not seek another river the same season. They 

 remain below the obstruction, unable to make progress, but still guided 

 by the common inqnilse to arrive at the spawning-grounds. Smaller 

 barriers and large nets, of one character or another, accomi)lish the 

 same result, although on a lesser scale, as they are generally arranged 

 to retard whatever fish are not captured. 



The fishing season is, to be sure, restricted in its duration, and in 

 this fact the fishermen find an excuse for resorting to their wholesale 



