126 DEJ'ARTMEXT OF Till-: XAYAL SEiniCE' 



6 GEORGE V, A. 1916 



readings taken at the surface on August lO, lltl4. by Mr. Cameron. At the' head of 

 the sound at the mouth of the Squamish river the water was so fresh as to be not eveii 

 brackish. A little farther out the density was 1 -00035. Near Domett point it was 

 3 -004 and even off eajie Roger Curtis at the southwest corner of Bowcn island it was 

 but 1-OOC, while at the same time in the open strait and in Departure bay it was 

 1-018 or more. Eurrard inlet supplies a large comparatively shallow area, the length 

 from point Atkinson to Port Moody being about 20 miles but the \vidth is nowhere 

 very great except outside Stanley park or the First narrows. Much of the Fraser river 

 water passes in through the narrows at flood-tide, while at the same time Seymovir, 

 Capilano, and other smaller streams add to the supply of fresh water but even then 

 the density is far from being as low as it is in Howe sound. A great trouble would 

 probably arise from the refuse poured into it from Vancouver and other places along 

 tlie shore. From point Grey southward the shore is in no w^ay suitable as it is all an 

 immense sandbank with the water made brackish by the Fraser river. ». 



The shores of Texada island are precipitous. To the north of Lasqueti island, 

 from Tucker bay to the eastern end of Bull passage, there is a small detached area 

 with some small rocky bays and with plenty of kelp and fucus, that would make a 

 suitable ground for a small number of lobsters. There is no place where there would 

 be a ^better interchange of water or a better chance of being free from the inter- 

 mingling of fresh water but hei-e again it is but a short distance into very deep 

 water. 



On the Vancouver Island coast the shore to the northwest of Northwest bay is a 

 sandy or gravelly beach extending out into deep water but to -the southeast of this 

 bay there is a continuous stretch of good coast reaching to Victoria. The distance 

 from Northwest bay to Victoria is approximately 90 miles, the greatest width of the 

 area with less than 100 fathoms of water is aboiit -25 miles with the average width 

 about half that. The total area- must be about 1,000 square miles. Probably half the 

 area is taken up with islands, hence the water area would be about 500 square miles. 

 Over at least one-half of the area the water is less than 30 fathoms deep, and over 

 three-fourths of the remainder the water is not over 50 fathoms. 



From Northwest bay to Nanoose bay, 8 miles, conditions seem very satisfactory. 

 The strip here is from 1^ to 2 J miles wide and is dotted with small islands and reefs 

 fringed with kelp. Strong currents pass through the channels to keep a large supply of 

 food material on the move. The bottom is generally , rocky, but there are some sandy 

 spots with a good variety of molluscs. The entrance to Nanoose bay (the bay extends 

 in about 4 miles with an average width of about a mile) is rocky and supplied with 

 kelp to the north and the centre but the south shore slopes gradually up to form a 

 sandy l)each. Inside the entrance rocks, much of the bottom is covered with mud 

 brought down by the streams that flow into the head of the bay and in general is not" 

 very suitable for lobster habitat. From Nanoose bay to Hammond bay there is but a 

 narrow strip of shallow water, nowhere more than a mile wide, with no islands or reefs 

 and very little irregularity in the shoreline. It i-; well supplied with kelp and other' 

 algaj but is much exposed to all storms. 



From Neck point at the western side of Hammond bay to Horswell rock at the 

 entrance to Departure bay, a distance of 2 miles, there is a triangular area with the 

 apex at Five Finger island, about 1 J miles from shore, in which conditions are much 

 similar to those in the area west of Nanoose bay, that portion about West rocks and 

 Five Fingers island being especially suitable. It is well out in the open strait, with 

 plenty of current, rocky bottom, kelp and an abundant supply of food material. The 

 plankton taken around these islands is very rich in Crustacea. In Departure" 

 bay itself the conditions are fair. The northern side of the bay is rocky with clam 

 beds at intervals along the shore; the dee])er part of the bay and the south side has 

 rather too muddy a bottom and this is time through the channel separating Newcastle 

 and Protection islands from Vancouver island, forming Nanairao harbour at the 



