o74 EEPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AXD FISHERIES. 



are but a few miles distant, and are landed twice a day daily by 

 steamers. The lisli in full spawning condition can be obtained directly 

 from the nets, and the transportation of impregnated spawn is available 

 daily by express. It will give us great pleasure to meet your friend, Mr. 

 Stone, and you will do me a favor by advising me of the time of proba- 

 ble arrival here, that I may be on the lookout for him. I know that he 

 can teach us many things upon this, to me, very interesting subject, and 

 it will give us great pleasure, not only to meet, but to be as useful to 

 him as we can be. 



With much respect, 1 remain, very truly, yours, 



S. R. THEOCKMORTOX, 

 Chairman California Commission of Fish and Fisheries. 

 Hon. Speis^cer F. Baird, 



United States Commissioner of Fish and Fisheries. 



E— ON THE SALMOX-FISHERIES OF THE SACRAMENTO 



RIVER. 



By Livingston Stone. 



Charlestown, N. H., JStovcmher, 1873. 



Dear Sir : In reply to your inquiries as to the extent and nature of 

 the salmon-fisheries in the Sacramento River, I have to say that in 

 February, 1873, 1 went to the Sacramento River and at Rio Vista and 

 other points gathered the following rather fragmentary notes, which I 

 present here as supplementary to my report on the Sacramento River 

 for 1872. 



The fishing on the Sacramento is done in three ways: 1st, by drift- 

 nets; 2d, by fyke-nets; 3d, by sweep-seines. 



1. — DRIFT-NET FISHING. 



The drift-nets are used exclusively for catching salmon. They have 

 an 8:|-inch mesh, are usually 40 meshes deep, and from 150 to 200 

 fathoms long. As nearly as I could learn, there were not far from a 

 hundred salmon-nets in operation on the Sacramento River in 1872. At 

 the meeting of the salmon fishermen of the Sacramento that year, there 

 ■were 95 boats represented. 



These nets are worked by simply drifting them with the tide. The 

 salmon, which of course are heading against the tide, are gilled in the 

 meshes. The turn of the tide is the most favorable time for this sort 

 of fishing. 



The nets are frequently drifted a mile before being hauled in. The 

 salmon-fishing is conducted entirely by white men, no Chinamen being 

 allowed to jjarticipate in it. There is no law regulating the matter, but 

 public opinion is so strong iii relation to it, and there is such a prejudice 

 against the Chinamen, that any attempt on their part to engage in salmon- 

 fishing would meet with a summary and probably fatal retaliation. 



