140 EEPORT OF THE COMMISSIONER OF FISHERIES. 



$400,000 in value. The number of pounds given, however, probably 

 includes the catch for that jeav landed at Vancouver, which was not 

 included in reports of the last canvass. In the same year 5,019,000 

 pounds of halibut were shipped from Vancouver to Boston, leaving 

 15,031,000 pounds to be disposed of at Seattle, Tacoma, and other 

 points on Puget Sound. Some remarkable catches have been reported 

 for 1903, the steamer JVetc England being said to have obtained a fare 

 of 145,000 pounds of halibut in one day's fishing, the greatest amount 

 ever taken in one day l\y a vessel carrying 12 dories. 



In 1903 the halibut fleet of Seattle numbered thirty-odd sailing ves- 

 sels, mostly schooners, and one steamer. The schooners are small, 

 ranging from 8 to 42 tons; the steamer Rainiei\ lost in November, 

 was 109 tons register. Besides this fleet there were two other 

 steamers, the Neio England and the Kingjishei\ 71 and 141 tons, 

 respectively, that sailed out of Vancouver, British Columbia, and as 

 these vessels are owned b}- the New England Fish Company, thc}^ 

 should be included in the American fleet. Their catch is landed at 

 Vancouver and shipped overland in bond to Boston, where it is 

 reshipped to various points in the West and to cities along the Atlan- 

 tic seaboard. 



Considerable investigation has been made at diflerent times by fish- 

 ing vessels with the o'DJect of discovering new halibut grounds, but 

 little has been learned in recent years to indicate the existence of 

 extensive banks offshore. The principal grounds lie, for tbe most 

 part, in waters belonging to British Columbia. Large fares have been 

 taken in Dixon Entrance, off' Cape Muzon and Cape Chacon, and 

 many trips have been secured farther north in the channels and baj^s 

 of southeast Alaska, but the largest catches have been made in waters 

 adjacent to the northern end of Queen Charlotte Islands and on 

 banks on the east side of Hecate Strait. During the winters for the 

 past ten j^ears a few small steamers and an occasional schooner have 

 been engaged in catching halibut in southeast Alaska and shipping 

 them to Puget Sound. It may be stated that the halibut grounds in 

 this region are not so large and prolific as those farther south. 



THE SAN FEAXCISCO WHALING FLEET. 



The fleet of whale vessels having headquarters at San Francisco, 

 Cal., in 1903 comprised 10 steamers, 6 barks, and 4 schooners, a total 

 of 20 vessels, of wdiich number 2 steamers and 4 barks were owned at 

 New Bedford, Mass. The number of whales captured during the year 

 was 169, of which 19 were bowhead, 5 right, and 145 sperm. These 

 w»ere all secured by 14 vessels, the remainder of the fleet being reported 

 without an}^ catch. The whale products landed at San Francisco con- 

 sisted of 59,750 pounds of whalebone, 20,601 gallons of wh<ile oil, and 



