REPOKT OF THE COMMISSIONER OF FISHERIES. 45 



counteracted and perhaps rendered entirely nugatory, and how valu- 

 able station property may be rendered worthless, through failure of 

 the states to afford proper protection to the fishes. 



Attention may be drawn particularly to the salmon fisheries of the 

 Pacific States. These fisheries are so extensive and exhausting, and 

 the property interests involved are so valuable, that every precaution 

 should be taken to insure the unimpaired perpetuation of the various 

 species of salmon, as has been done in California. It would appear, 

 however, that elsewhere the trend of public sentiment is in the direc- 

 tion of the greatest freedom of fishery, with little or no regard for 

 even the near future. This is shown by the curtailing of already too 

 short closed seasons on the Columbia and other rivers, by the erection 

 of impassable dams in streams that salmon are wont to ascend to 

 spawn, and by the unrestricted operation of fishing devices in locali- 

 ties where they are known to be unnecessarily destructive. A per- 

 nicious example of the last-named condition is the multiplication of 

 pound nets and gill nets about the mouth of the Skagit River on Puget 

 Sound, notwithstanding the well-known facts that it is the only stream 

 in that region in which there is a noteworthy run of blueback or sock- 

 eye salmon for spawning purposes, and that the only hatchery operated 

 chiefly for this species is located on Baker Lake, at the head of that 

 stream. In 1905 some of the pound nets in question took 10,000 blue- 

 backs in twenty-four hours, and the entire run of fish for reproductive 

 purposes was reduced to 2,500. The present indications are that the 

 Baker Lake hatchery may shortly have to be abandoned, because the 

 run of fish will have been annihilated. 



The attitude of indifference on the part of particular states to the 

 preservation of valuable natural resources like the fresh-water and 

 anadromous fishes and the lack of appreciation of the beneficent work 

 carried on by the government through the Bureau of Fisheries demand 

 serious attention. It is respectfully recommended that consideration 

 be accorded the proposition to discontinue all government fishery 

 work in those states that exhibit no healthy sentiment in favor of 

 the preservation of their supply of food and game fishes, Congress 

 being asked to grant such authority, if necessary. 



Another very serious menace to the welfare of food fishes in the 

 'Western States is the irrigation operations. While the industries 

 dependent on irrigation are, of course, much more extensive than fish- 

 ing, this would seem to be no valid reason for overlooking or neglect- 

 ing the fish life of the streams. The damage to the fish supply caused 

 by irrigation depends on several factors. Thus a large portion of the 

 volume of a stream or even the entire volume may be diverted from 

 regular channels into irrigation ditches, carrying fish of all kinds and 

 sizes, which eventually perish on the irrigated lands. Again, when a 

 large volume of water is taken from a natural stream the remaining 



