Cobb. — Halibut Fishery Declining 131 



their headquarters on Puget Sound, and which operated 

 during the greater part of the year on banks lying within 

 400 miles of Seattle. During the inclement weather of 

 late fall, winter and early spring a portion of these ves- 

 sels made their headquarters in Southeast Alaska and 

 fished on the banks in the protected waters of that region, 

 shipping their catch down on the regular steamship lines. 

 Today the sailing vessel is unknown in the halibut fish- 

 ery, having been superseded by vessels with twice the car- 

 rying capacity of those formerly engaged, the increase 

 in size permitting them to carry double the number of 

 fishermen and dories. These vessels are all powered 

 with gas engines. Instead of getting its catch within 

 easy steaming radius of Seattle, the fleet now fishes mainly 

 on the Alaska off-shore banks, ranging from 800 to 2,000 

 nautical miles from Seattle. A greater amount of gear 

 to the dory is set at present than was the case twelve 

 years ago, while the introduction, several years ago, of 

 the method of long-line fishing directly from the deck 

 of the vessel permits fishing now in weather when it 

 would not be safe to launch a dory. 



Closed Season Proposed : — About two years ago, in the 

 Pacific Fisherman, a journal devoted to the interests of 

 the Pacific Coast fisheries, I called attention to the con- 

 dition of the halibut fishery, and suggested that a closed 

 season, say from November 15 to February 15, be estab- 

 lished. Since then the demand for a protective measure 

 of this sort has been steadily growing. About six months 

 ago the Department of Naval Service of Canada, which 

 department has charge of fishery matters in the Domin- 

 ion, addressed inquiries to its own halibut fishermen and 

 dealers, endeavoring to learn the exact status of affairs, 

 and inquiring as to whether they favored a closed season. 

 I am informed, through apparently reliable sources, that 

 the large majority of the responses were favorable to 

 the idea of a closed season of from one to three months. 



The ideal time for a closed season is when the fish in 

 question are spawning, and, fortunately, in the case of 

 the halibut this comes during the winter months, when 



