38 KEPORT OF THE COMMISSIONER OF FISHERIES. 



employing nearly 900 men. The possibility of emplopng purse 

 seining for the capture of salmon was first brought to the attention 

 of fishermen and dealers in salmon by the Neah Bay Indians, who 

 for many years had made large catches of salmon on these grounds 

 by trolling. As late as 1895 it was not uncommon to see from 40 to 

 50 canoes on the ground at one time. A portion of the catch was 

 consumed locally; occasional sliipments were made to Seattle and 

 Port Townsend. It is understood that among the first to employ 

 purse seines in the capture of salmon on the banks off Cape Flattery 

 were the Greek and Itahan fishermen who had previously operated 

 on grounds around the San Juan Islands, Point Roberts, and in 

 many localities where traps were located, the traps being a sort of 

 guide to the best fishing grounds. Purse seining for sahnon now 

 seems to be as well established as most other forms of capture 

 employed on Puget Sound. 



Formerly when salmon were reported schoohng on the banks off 

 Cape Flattery, cannery men and fishermen became actively engaged 

 in maldng preparations for the run which might be expected to 

 arrive on the fishing grounds near the canneries in the course of a 

 week or 10 days. In late years, however, it has been the custom for 

 the seining fleet to intercept the school on the banks before it reached 

 the headwaters of Puget Sound. The early run of salmon usually 

 appears on the banks in the latter part of May; the various runs of 

 the different species continue throughout the summer and fall 

 months, thus affording fishermen a greater opportunity for carrying 

 on this method of fishing than ever before. 



To what extent, if any, purse seines operated on the banks interfere 

 with the catch by traps and gill nets on Puget Sound is not knowTi, 

 but complaints have been made that this practice is injurious in that 

 it destroys a large number of immature fish which, if permitted to 

 grow, would reach a marketable size in a year or two. 



It is understood that a Seattle firm is to erect a salmon cannery at 

 Neah Bay, which is the point nearest to the seining grounds on the 

 American side of the Strait of Juan de Fuca. British Columbia 

 packers are also contemplating building canneries on the south coast 

 of Vancouver Island, as they are anxious to obtain a share of salmon 

 that pass over the banks on their way to Puget Sound waters. 



Besides the seining fleet, which makes its headquarters at Neah 

 Bay, there is at times a large number of halibut trawlers on these 

 grounds. Tliis fleet is a considerable distance from points where 

 necessary supplies are to be had, and it is reported that several oil- 

 supply stations, three floating-machine shops, one floating restaurant, 

 and three floating bakeries have been established at Neah Bay. The 

 establishment of a floating cannery is also being cUscussed. 



