[fraser] 



PACIFIC SALMON 



171 



Spring Salmon 



In 1916, scales were taken from 1412 spring salmon, but as in the 

 previous year a large proportion of these salmon were immature, 

 since spring salmon of all ages are caught in the waters of the strait of 

 Georgia, hence from this lot no estimate can be made of the relative 

 proportion of those spawning at different ages. The ripe and the un- 

 ripe fish come into the cannery and no attempt has been made to 

 procure a record of the number of each. Several of the two-year 

 males were mature, but no mature females at that age were noticed. 

 Both males and females were found mature at three years, but the 

 proportion was small. The majority of the four and five year fish were 

 mature. There were no six year fish among the number. 



The term "grilse" which in a previous paper was applied to sal- 

 mon maturing at an early age is in common use for young Pacific 

 salmon whether they are mature or not. Since European ichthyolo- 

 gists now restrict the use of this term to Atlantic salmon that spend two 

 years in fresh water and come back in the fourth year to spawn, it 

 would save confusion if in connection with the Pacific salmon it were 

 discarded entirely as there is no exact parallel in any of the species. 



Graph 2. — Spring — sea type. 2ncl year growth. 



