﻿MANUAL 
  OF 
  FISH-CULTURE. 
  11 
  

  

  rivers 
  they 
  are 
  comparatively 
  safe 
  from 
  euemies 
  except 
  otters, 
  ospreys, 
  

   and 
  fishers, 
  but 
  immense 
  numbers 
  are 
  destroyed 
  at 
  the 
  mouths 
  of 
  the 
  

   streams 
  by 
  seals 
  and 
  sea 
  lions. 
  

  

  The 
  qulnnat 
  salmon 
  has 
  been 
  successfully 
  introduced 
  into 
  Australia, 
  

   New 
  Zealand, 
  and 
  France, 
  and 
  in 
  the 
  latter 
  country 
  it 
  is 
  now 
  being- 
  

   reared 
  successfully 
  as 
  landlocked 
  salmon 
  in 
  fresh-water 
  lakes. 
  Efforts 
  

   to 
  acclimatize 
  this 
  species 
  on 
  the 
  Atlantic 
  coast 
  of 
  the 
  United 
  States 
  

   have 
  up 
  to 
  this 
  time 
  been 
  unsuccessful. 
  

  

  THE 
  BLUEBACK 
  SALMON. 
  

  

  Considering 
  the 
  entire 
  west 
  coast, 
  this 
  species 
  (OncorhyncJius 
  nerTca) 
  

   is 
  probably 
  more 
  numerous 
  than 
  all 
  the 
  other 
  salmons 
  combined. 
  It 
  is 
  

   known 
  in 
  different 
  regions 
  under 
  the 
  names 
  blueback, 
  redfish, 
  red 
  

   salmon, 
  Fraser 
  River 
  salmon, 
  and 
  sock-eye 
  or 
  saw-qui. 
  It 
  ranks 
  next 
  

   to 
  the 
  Chinook 
  in 
  commercial 
  value, 
  being 
  especially 
  important 
  in 
  the 
  

   Columbia 
  and 
  Fraser 
  rivers 
  and 
  in 
  Alaska. 
  For 
  canning 
  purposes 
  it 
  

   is 
  but 
  little 
  inferior 
  to 
  the 
  chinook, 
  the 
  color 
  of 
  the 
  flesh 
  being 
  a 
  rich 
  

   red, 
  which 
  persists 
  after 
  canning. 
  Comparatively 
  few 
  red 
  salmon 
  are 
  

   sold 
  fresh 
  in 
  the 
  United 
  States. 
  Large 
  quantities 
  are 
  canned 
  iu 
  British 
  

   Columbia 
  and 
  in 
  Alaska, 
  particularly 
  on 
  Kadiak 
  Island, 
  and 
  its 
  com- 
  

   mercial 
  importance 
  to 
  that 
  Territory 
  is 
  indicated 
  by 
  the 
  fact 
  that 
  nearly 
  

   lialf 
  of 
  the 
  entire 
  salmon 
  pack 
  of 
  the 
  world 
  comes 
  from 
  Alaska 
  and 
  the 
  

   majority 
  of 
  the 
  fish 
  canned 
  are 
  of 
  this 
  species. 
  

  

  It 
  is 
  next 
  to 
  the 
  smallest 
  of 
  the 
  salmons, 
  the 
  maximum 
  weight 
  being 
  

   about 
  15 
  pounds, 
  but 
  it 
  rarely 
  weighs 
  over 
  8 
  pounds 
  and 
  the 
  average 
  

   weight 
  is 
  scarcely 
  5 
  pounds. 
  In 
  various 
  lakes 
  this 
  fish 
  weighs 
  only 
  

   half 
  a 
  pound 
  when 
  mature, 
  and 
  is 
  called 
  the 
  little 
  redfish. 
  

  

  It 
  ranges 
  from 
  Humboldt 
  Bay, 
  California, 
  to 
  the 
  far 
  north. 
  In 
  

   general 
  it 
  ascends 
  only 
  those 
  rivers 
  which 
  rise 
  in 
  cold, 
  snow-fed 
  lakes. 
  

   No 
  more 
  is 
  known 
  of 
  its 
  ocean 
  life 
  than 
  of 
  the 
  quinnat. 
  It 
  appears 
  

   in 
  the 
  Columbia 
  River 
  with 
  the 
  spring 
  run 
  of 
  the 
  quinnat 
  salmon. 
  In 
  

   southern 
  Alaska 
  and 
  also 
  at 
  Kadiak 
  Island 
  it 
  comes 
  in 
  numbers 
  in 
  

   June; 
  the 
  heaviest 
  run 
  is 
  during 
  June 
  and 
  July, 
  the 
  spawning 
  occur- 
  

   ring 
  in 
  August 
  and 
  Sei)tember. 
  In 
  the 
  Idaho 
  lakes, 
  which 
  may 
  be 
  

   considered 
  typical 
  spawning-grounds 
  for 
  this 
  fish 
  in 
  the 
  United 
  States, 
  

   the 
  height 
  of 
  the 
  spawning 
  season 
  is 
  from 
  August 
  25 
  to 
  September 
  5, 
  

   although 
  ripe 
  eggs 
  have 
  been 
  found 
  as 
  early 
  as 
  August 
  2, 
  and 
  fish 
  with 
  

   eggs 
  in 
  them 
  as 
  late 
  as 
  September 
  11. 
  In 
  the 
  numerous 
  affluents 
  of 
  

   the 
  Fraser 
  River 
  the 
  spawning 
  extends 
  from 
  September 
  15 
  to 
  November 
  

   15, 
  a 
  few 
  stragglers 
  spawning 
  as 
  late 
  as 
  November 
  30. 
  They 
  scoop 
  out 
  

   small 
  circular 
  nests 
  for 
  their 
  eggs 
  in 
  rather 
  shallow 
  water 
  in 
  the 
  inlets 
  

   of 
  the 
  lakes, 
  where 
  they 
  deposit 
  their 
  spawn, 
  the 
  eggs 
  averaging 
  about 
  

   1,000 
  to 
  1,200 
  to 
  the 
  fish. 
  

  

  Except 
  during 
  the 
  breeding 
  season 
  the 
  color 
  of 
  this 
  fish 
  is 
  a 
  clear 
  

   bright 
  blue 
  above, 
  with 
  silvery 
  sides 
  and 
  belly. 
  At 
  the 
  spawning 
  

   period 
  the 
  back 
  becomes 
  blood-red 
  in 
  color, 
  the 
  sides 
  dark 
  red, 
  and 
  the 
  

   male 
  develops 
  an 
  extravagantly 
  hooked 
  jaw. 
  

  

  