REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONER OF FISHERIES. 43 



In the Skagit River and tributaries, in Washington, there was no 

 apparent decrease in the run of the various sahnons ttnd the steel- 

 head trout, l3ut low water was effective in excluding many of the 

 fish from the spawning beds, and the total egg collections for the 

 Baker Lake station fell behmd those of 1911. Tliis loss was com- 

 pensated for by the increased output of blueback salmon — the most 

 important of the salmons propagated in this region. The produc- 

 tion of chinook, silver, and humpback salmon and steelliead trout 

 at the Bu-dsview station was greater than last year. At the Quilcene 

 and Duckabush stations, completed early in the fiscal year, limited 

 numbers of steeUiead trout, silver, humpback, and dog salmon were 

 produced. It is intended to extend greatly the scope of operations 

 of these stations by the estabhshment of egg-coUecting fields on 

 streams tributary to Puget Sound in contiguous territory. 



Operations in Oregon and on the Columbia River were conducted 

 under more favorable conditions and resulted m mcreased distribu- 

 tions of chmook salmon and steeUiead trout. The egg collections of 

 the former species at the Little White Salmon station exceeded those 

 of many years. 



In response to local behef that the salmon fisheries can be more 

 effectively maintained by the liberation of fuigerhngs than by the 

 distribution of fry, approximately 1,500,000 young salmon were 

 held in troughs at Clackamas and auxiliary stations for three months 

 and fed on canned salmon and smelt, funds for the purchase of 

 which were donated by the Columbia River salmon packers. At 

 the Big Wliite salmon station the experiment of purchasing brood 

 chinook salmon from trap-net fishermen and holding them in pens 

 to ripen resulted in largely increased egg collections at reduced 

 expense, and it is believed this plan may be advantageously and 

 economically adopted at other points on the Columbia River. 



At Yes Bay, Alaska, the hatchery was filled with blueback salmon 

 eggs of superior quality; and sufficient fish to have producetl at least 

 20,000,000 additional eggs were left in the river, owmg to lack of 

 hatching facilities. The capacity of this hatchery will be enlarged 

 another year from 72,000,000 to approximately 87,000,000 eggs by 

 increasing the number of eggs to a basket and by the construction 

 of 160 new hatching troughs, which will permit of the rearing of from 

 35,000,000 to 40,000,000 fry to the feeding stage. In view of the 

 apparent increase in the salmon runs in southeast Alaska, the possi- 

 bility of securing eggs in larger numbers, and the deskability of 

 rearing a larger percentage of the fry to the fuigerling stage, another 

 hatchery of greater capacity than the present one might advan- 

 tageously be provided. 



The collections of blueback salmon eggs at the Afognak station were 

 about equal to those of the previous year. The output, though 



