﻿REPORT 
  OF 
  THE 
  COMMISSIONER 
  OF 
  FISHERIES. 
  47 
  

  

  in 
  tlie 
  Sacramento 
  River 
  by 
  the 
  rigid 
  enforcement 
  of 
  the 
  law 
  com- 
  

   poUing 
  the 
  screening 
  of 
  intakes 
  to 
  irrigating 
  ditches 
  and 
  the 
  ease- 
  

   ments 
  and 
  overflows 
  of 
  the 
  river, 
  thus 
  preventing 
  the 
  passage 
  of 
  

   young 
  salmon 
  and 
  their 
  destruction 
  on 
  the 
  lowlands. 
  He 
  also 
  reports 
  

   that 
  the 
  State 
  Fish 
  Commission 
  has 
  greatly 
  increased 
  its 
  facihties 
  

   for 
  rearing 
  salmon 
  fry, 
  and 
  has 
  improved 
  its 
  methods 
  of 
  distribution. 
  

   Under 
  the 
  changed 
  conditions 
  there 
  seems 
  to 
  be 
  no 
  necessity 
  for 
  

   changing 
  the 
  location 
  of 
  the 
  Bureau's 
  stations 
  in 
  California, 
  or 
  

   departing 
  from 
  the 
  cooperative 
  policy 
  of 
  turning 
  over 
  to 
  the 
  State 
  

   hatcheries 
  for 
  development 
  the 
  surplus 
  salmon 
  eggs 
  taken 
  at 
  the 
  

   Baird 
  and 
  auxiliary 
  stations. 
  

  

  The 
  Bureau 
  is 
  providing 
  facilities 
  which 
  will 
  enable 
  it 
  to 
  rear 
  each 
  

   year 
  a 
  larger 
  percentage 
  of 
  salmon 
  to 
  the 
  fingerUng 
  size, 
  in 
  the 
  ex- 
  

   pectation 
  that 
  eventually 
  most 
  of 
  the 
  output 
  may 
  be 
  liberated 
  as 
  

   fingerlings 
  or, 
  in 
  some 
  cases, 
  yearlings. 
  Tliis 
  procedure 
  entails 
  a 
  

   large 
  increase 
  in 
  expense, 
  and 
  the 
  funds 
  available 
  do 
  not 
  permit 
  the 
  

   immediate 
  establishment 
  of 
  all 
  the 
  rearing 
  ponds 
  and 
  other 
  facihties 
  

   necessary 
  to 
  accommodate 
  the 
  entire 
  product. 
  A 
  very 
  important 
  

   item 
  of 
  expense 
  is 
  food, 
  and 
  a 
  cheap 
  and 
  eflficient 
  salmon 
  food 
  is 
  one 
  

   of 
  the 
  great 
  desiderata. 
  Various 
  experiments 
  have 
  been 
  undertaken 
  

   with 
  a 
  view 
  of 
  decreasing 
  the 
  cost 
  of 
  feeding, 
  and 
  it 
  is 
  possible 
  that 
  

   the 
  solution 
  of 
  the 
  problem 
  will 
  be 
  found 
  in 
  the 
  utilization 
  of 
  the 
  

   parent 
  fish, 
  which 
  have 
  heretofore 
  been 
  mostly 
  wasted. 
  By 
  salting, 
  

   drying, 
  or 
  freezing 
  the 
  bodies 
  of 
  the 
  spent 
  fish, 
  a 
  large 
  quantity 
  of 
  

   food 
  will 
  be 
  made 
  available 
  during 
  the 
  entire 
  period 
  when 
  it 
  is 
  desira- 
  

   ble 
  to 
  retain 
  the 
  young 
  salmon. 
  

  

  In 
  1914 
  the 
  cost 
  of 
  rearing 
  salmon 
  to 
  the 
  fingerhng 
  stage 
  varied 
  

   from 
  24.8 
  cents 
  to 
  86 
  cents 
  per 
  thousand, 
  according 
  to 
  the 
  particidar 
  

   station 
  and 
  the 
  average 
  size 
  of 
  the 
  fish 
  at 
  the 
  time 
  of 
  planting. 
  The 
  

   lowest 
  cost 
  secured 
  was 
  that 
  of 
  rearing 
  chinook 
  salmon 
  at 
  the 
  Cali- 
  

   fornia 
  stations. 
  

  

  The 
  creation 
  during 
  the 
  year 
  of 
  a 
  Pacific 
  district 
  embracing 
  all 
  the 
  

   Bureau's 
  salmon 
  stations 
  in 
  California, 
  Oregon, 
  Washington, 
  and 
  

   Alaska 
  and 
  the 
  placing 
  of 
  their 
  operations 
  under 
  the 
  general 
  direction 
  

   of 
  a 
  field 
  superintendent 
  have 
  been 
  productive 
  of 
  good 
  results. 
  Many 
  

   minor 
  routine 
  matters 
  pertaining 
  to 
  the 
  Pacific 
  salmon 
  work 
  hereto- 
  

   fore 
  attended 
  to 
  in 
  the 
  Washington 
  office 
  are 
  now 
  acted 
  upon 
  by 
  the 
  

   field 
  superintendent. 
  Various 
  improvements 
  and 
  mucli 
  economy 
  

   have 
  been 
  eff'ected 
  by 
  the 
  periodical 
  inspection 
  of 
  the 
  stations, 
  and 
  

   the 
  central 
  office 
  is 
  in 
  a 
  better 
  position 
  than 
  heretofore 
  to 
  act 
  intelli- 
  

   gently 
  upon 
  matters 
  relating 
  to 
  the 
  salmon 
  work. 
  

  

  FISH 
  PROPAGATION 
  ON 
  THE 
  GREAT 
  LAKES. 
  

  

  The 
  fish-cultural 
  work 
  on 
  the 
  Great 
  Lakes 
  is 
  conducted 
  at 
  four 
  

   main 
  stations 
  and 
  numerous 
  auxiliaries, 
  and 
  is 
  addressed 
  to 
  three 
  

   great 
  commercial 
  fishes 
  — 
  the 
  lake 
  trout, 
  the 
  whitefish, 
  and 
  the 
  pike 
  

   perch. 
  Incidentally, 
  the 
  cisco 
  or 
  lake 
  herring 
  and 
  other 
  local 
  rood 
  

   fishes 
  are 
  handled 
  as 
  circumstances 
  permit. 
  

  

  The 
  collecting 
  of 
  lake-trout 
  eggs 
  for 
  stocking 
  the 
  Michigan 
  and 
  

   Minnesota 
  hatcheries 
  of 
  the 
  Bureau 
  was 
  subjected 
  to 
  the 
  provisions 
  

   of 
  the 
  new 
  law 
  enacted 
  by 
  the 
  Michigan 
  Legislature 
  in 
  1912, 
  which 
  

   became 
  operative 
  for 
  the 
  firet 
  time 
  in 
  the 
  fall 
  of 
  1913. 
  Under 
  the 
  

   old 
  law 
  the 
  prohibitive 
  season 
  for 
  fishing 
  in 
  the 
  Michigan 
  waters 
  of 
  the 
  

  

  