114 The Salmon 
are seal-marked, showing that fish in prime condition are more 
inclined to run when the water and weather are suitable. More 
fish run during night than during the day. 
Tur MovEMENTS GF THE FISH IN THE SEA 
We have little knowledge of their movements from the time they 
visit the sea as smolts until they appear again along the coast, and are 
either caught in the stake-nets or immediately after appear in the 
river. Iam of opinion that every salmon or grilse on coming to our 
shores wishes to enter its own river, and would do so if it were not 
caught in these nets. A good deal of nonsensical talk has been 
indulged in, in arguing the advisability of catching all the fish in the 
sea and leaving the rivers unfished. The wiser plan, however, would 
be to remove all stake and bag nets from the sea and catch the 
fish in the rivers. They can be caught in the rivers at far less 
expense, and being caught by sweep-nets, are not so roughly handled, 
and are killed at once on being captured. They are thus in much 
better condition than those caught in stake-nets, although I know 
many people think differently. 
During the sitting of the recent Royal Commission, Lord Elgin 
was astonished to hear me say that the fish caught in our sweep- 
nets were better than those caught in our stake-nets in the sea. 
My explanation was, that it was the method of catching them that 
made the river ones superior to those caught in the sea. If they toss 
about in the stake-net until they die and are then rolled about by the 
waves, their scales are torn and rubbed off and their flesh becomes 
soft and flabby, and altogether they have the appearance of “‘cadged” 
fish. One can easily see this if the two kinds be compared on 
a fishmonger’s slab. The sea-caught ones lie as flat as a flounder ; 
whereas the river-caught ones are stiff and rigid and do not lie flat. 
J am of opinion that the increased number of stake and bag nets 
on the coast is not only curtailing the supply of fish, but is actually 
ruining some of our West Coast rivers which used to swarm with 
