418 American Fisheries Society 



It is to be recognized then that ultimately the preserva- 

 tion of all the spawning grounds, or even of all the streams, 

 will inevitably become impossible and that the conservationist 

 and fish culturist will be forced to formulate a policy for the 

 handling of the problem. In view of this I think all will 

 agree that it is important to do the fundamental work essential 

 at the earliest feasible date and to outline the policy, as well 

 as analyze and discuss its details, before the situation becomes 

 so serious that action must be taken promptly, and while ade- 

 quate time is still available for careful study of the situation. 

 It seems to me that the very first step in laying the founda- 

 tion for this policy in the future must be to make a thorough 

 survey of all the salmon streams after the manner in which this 

 work has been conducted on the Columbia, the Fraser, and 

 possibly a few other rivers, so that complete and accurate 

 information is at hand concerning the size of the run, the pre- 

 cise course or courses followed by the fish in their migration, 

 the period during which the migration takes place, and the 

 actual spawning grounds to which the fish resort. No less 

 than the information obtained by such a careful survey will 

 show the relative importance of all the factors that enter into 

 the situation or enable the fish expert to determine the relative 

 value of different parts of the stream or of difficult runs in it. 



Thus if reduced stream flow be the serious factor in the 

 changed conditions with which the fish have to contend, then 

 that part of the run which seeks to make its way to the spawn- 

 ing grounds at the time when the river is sure to be low and 

 decreasing in volume, is much more susceptible to the danger, 

 and consequently much more difficult to preserve than another 

 portion of the run which is so timed in its movements that 

 its migration is completed before the low water should be 

 feared, or which does not start until after danger from such 

 a condition has passed. Such an example shows very clearly 

 also the need of determining all the conditions for the par- 

 ticular stream in question since some streams derive their water 



