40 DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVAL SERVICE 
7 GEORGE V, A. 1917 
plentiful. On April 10 the alevins were plentiful, and by April 14 a few of them 
had the yolk all absorbed. They gradually work down stream and even into the 
brackish water. By May 6 many of them were near the mouth of the stream, but 
I have never seen any of them out in the bay, or anything to indicate that they ever 
get out into the bay during the first year. Relatively, those in the creek at any one 
time vary much in length. On April 14 a catch of alevins and fry varied from 30 
to 39 mm. Of nineteen caught on June 29 there were the following lengths: 33, 36 
(2), 37, 39, 41, 42 (2), 43 (3), 44 (2), 54, 58, 60 (2). On November 19 there was 
wariation from 49 to 61; on March 7, from 52 to 67, with a single very small one 
only 42 mm. Some of them migrate to the sea as early as March, at which time they 
are a year hatched, but others linger in the fresh water much longer. I have seen 
none later than June 29, but on that date two were caught, 76 and 60 mm., and 
cthers were seen in the creek. None of them, however, remain throughout the whole 
second year. Evidence that this is true elsewhere will be referred to later, when the 
age question is considered more at length. 
During the first months after migration the yearlings are seldom observed; they 
are too small to be retained in the meshes of the gill-nets, seines, or traps, and too 
small also to be attracted by the spoon that is used in catching larger fish. They 
grow very rapidly, and in October an occasional one is caught with the hook and 
line. They are now 10 to 12 inches long, each weighing 12 to 14 ounces. They do 
not appear in sufficient numbers to attract attention until the spring, when they are 
just over two years old. In the latter half of April, the schizopods become so 
plentiful near the surface of the water at certain times of the day that large areas 
become noticeably pink. As the cohos have a decided preference for small crusta- 
ceans, they appear in great numbers to gorge themselves on these schizopods. The 
erustaceans are almost at the surface, and the young coho may be seen in all 
directions, jumping out of the water. They take the spoon readily at this time but, 
apparently, not because they are hungry, as they may be taken with their stomachs 
much distended with the pink food made up of thousands of these individuals. 
Locally, at this time, they are called “ bluebacks,” but this term is used in so many 
different senses, as several common names are, that it is scarcely wise to mention 
the fact lest it give a wrong impression. At the same time, or somewhat later, the 
young herring are little larger than the schizopods, and they also provide excellent 
food material. Probably at no other time in the life of the coho is there such a 
superabundance of good food available, and in consequence the rate of growth is 
rather startling. Fish that weigh 14 to 24 pounds at the middle of April, will weigh 
3 to 5 or even 54 pounds by the middle of June, i.e., doubling the weight in two 
months. The length, which was from 14 to 19 inches in April, now runs from 18 to 
23 inches. From this time on an occasional fish is caught in the vicinity of Nanaimo, 
but the real season for mature coho does not start until on in September. In other 
parts of the province it starts earlier than this. At several points from Alert bay to 
Prince Rupert a good catch was made last year before the end of August. These 
mature fish, now two years and seven or eight months old, vary much in length and 
weight. In the length, a variation from 18 to 31 inches has been observed, and in 
weight from 3? to 164 pounds. They are now on the way to the streams to spawn, 
and their life-cycle is soon completed. 
As to the food of the coho, from the time that the yolk is absorbed until maturity, 
there seems to be a decided preference for an insect and crustacean diet. When this 
is not available, reliance has to be placed on fish. In the nearby creek, as soon as the 
alevins work their way out of the gravel of the spawning bed, they move away from it 
down stream. By the time the yolk is all absorbed they are well distributed throughout 
the length of the stream, and not too much crowded in any one place. In consequence 
there probably is a supply of insect larve for all. Beside the coho, the only fish in 
