10 AUTIFICIAL PROPAGATION OF PACIFIC SALMONS. 



good fish, but it deteriorates rapidly in fresh water, and it loses its 

 color in the can. It spawns in shallow riffles and creeks, usually at 

 no great distance from the ocean. Large quantities are packed in 

 Oregon, Washington, and Alaska. The production of canned chum 

 salmon in 1916 amounted to 1,500,332 cases, of which 715,238 cases 

 were put up in Alaska. 



STEELHEAD. 



Another anadromous fish found in Pacific coast waters is the steel- 

 head (Salmo gairdneri), commonly known as steelhead and steel- 

 head trout, and in many instances erroneously classed with the 

 Pacific salmon in the State laws. It resembles in form, size, and some- 

 what in general appearance the salmon of the Atlantic coast, but is 

 distinguished from the Pacific salmons by its short anal fin of not 

 over 12, and usually 9 or 10, rays, square tail, small head, rounded 

 snout, comparatively slender form, light-colored flesh, and its spring- 

 spawning habit. Its average weight in the Columbia is about 12 

 pounds, but specimens weighing 42 pounds have been found in the 

 Skagit Eiver. 



Its range is very extended, reaching from Santa Barbara on the 

 southern coast of California to the Alaskan Peninsula, and perhaps 

 to the Arctic Ocean. It is found in almost all the streams of the 

 Pacific States which empty into the ocean. The only run of this 

 species of commercial importance in the Columbia River begins in 

 late June and is in full force in July and early August. It reaches 

 Seufert, Oreg., about the close of the blueback run, and some of the 

 fishing wheels catch practically nothing else. This fish feeds while 

 in fresh water, and does not always die after spawning, but it de- 

 teriorates from the time it enters fresh water until the following 

 spring, and spawns between the months of February and May. Its 

 movements in other rivers on the coast are not materially different, 

 except that it enters the southern rivers earlier and the northern 

 rivers later than it enters the Columbia. Like the chinook salmon, the 

 steelhead ascends for long distances, and it has been found as far up 

 tributaries of the Columbia as the ascent of fish is possible. The 

 number of eggs per fish ranges from 6,000 to 8,000. The greater quan- 

 tities of steelhead trout are caught during the winter and spring 

 months and are utilized in a fresh state, large quantities being 

 shipped to eastern markets in refrigerator cars. However, during 

 the calendar year of 1916 cases of this species to the number of 

 24,999 were packed. 



ARTIFICIAL PROPAGATION. 



Artificial propagation having been first applied on the Pacific 

 coast to the chinook salmon, the description of methods which follow 

 is based mainly upon the practices employed with that species. In 

 1916 the number of salmon and steelhead eggs collected by the 

 Bureau of Fisheries, expressed in millions, was as follows: Chinook, 

 108; blueback, 105; humpback, 32; silver, 13; chum, 29; steelhead, 

 14. These were collected at the Afognak and Yes Bay stations in 

 Alaska; at stations located on tributaries of Puget Sound and in 

 the Quinault Indian Reservation, Wash. ; at Clackamas and its aux- 

 iliaries in the Columbia River Basin and in southern Oregon; and 



