FISHERIES OF WASHINGTON AND BRITISH COLUMBIA. 267 



the small catches made in the iuuer traps, aud then only under the 

 most favorable conditions, indicate their natural tendency to avoid 

 the shallower water. Along- the southern side of Point Eoberts the 

 much bolder shore permits the fish to come within a few yards of the 

 beach, and this is also true for a short distance on the outer side, after 

 rounding the southwest corner; but then soon begins the shoal or flat, 

 which widens rapidly to form the extensive bank commanding the 

 approaches to the Fraser Eiver. 



Much remains to be learned regarding the later as well as the earlier 

 stages in the movement of the sockeye which pass through Eosario 

 Strait. While the appearance of extensive schools in Boundary Bay 

 and about Point Eoberts is definitely established through the experi- 

 ences of the fishermen, it can not be said that the entire eastern run 

 approaches those localities so as to come within the range of observa- 

 tion, and it is very possible that some of the schools make the passage 

 to the Fraser Eiver at some little distance from the land. In fact, 

 judging from the statements of the fishermen, when large bodies of 

 fish are moving around the i^oint they occupy a wide zone, extending 

 some distance ofi' shore and beyond the limits of the trap nets. The 

 latter are, therefore, said to intercept only a very small proportion of 

 the run, notwithstanding the amount of ground they cover. The 

 schools on which the fishermen depend are chiefly those which enter 

 well within the bay and, then circling, pass directly in front and within 

 a mile or slightly more of the southeast corner of Point Eoberts, called 

 Cannery Point, which carries them over or around the large kelp- 

 covered ledge south of that point. Their course is thence along the 

 southern side of Point Eoberts, keeping well in until they have rounded 

 the southwest corner, when they begin to follow the edge of Eoberts 

 Bank (so called), over the deeper parts of which they soon become 

 distributed. 



The meeting-place of the two divisions of the sockeye run — one 

 coming through the Canal de Haro, the other through Eosario Strait — 

 is not known. Both are seeking the fresh water of the Fraser Eiver 

 and begin to feel its influence some distance oft' the shore. The flood 

 which begins in the late spring continues during most of the summer, 

 so swelling the volume of the river and charging it with fine sediment 

 that the brackish and discolored water is carried a long way out into 

 the Gulf of Georgia and covers, during practically the entire sockeye 

 season, a relatively wide area. In this mixed water both runs assemble 

 preparatory to ascending the river. It is also a common belief among 

 the fishermen that they rest here for several days, or at least that all 

 do not immediately begin the inland journey. While there is as yet no 

 positive proof of this, it is not out of keeping with the habit of some of 

 the salmon species elsewhere, and the prolonged periods of fishing 

 which are enjoyed in this position make it appear at least reasonable. 

 The extent of tliis assembling-ground, as brought out by the recent 

 drift-net fishery, is froni the neighborhood of Point Grey to about the 



