FISHERIES OF WASHINGTON AND BRITISH COLUMBIA. 271 



men can depend. There are good years and off years, as they are 

 called, following- one another in a certain order, as elsewhere described, 

 but even in an off year very successful catches may unexpectedly be 

 made. The year 1895 belonged in the latter category, and during short 

 periods some single boats took as many as 450 sockeye daily with their 

 one drift net, while catches of 200 to 300 fish a day were made by many 

 boats. During most of the season, however, the catches averaged no 

 more than 25 sockeye daily to a boat, being often smaller, and frequently 

 none was secured. 



When the number of boats engaged in this fishery is taken into con- 

 sideration, one comes to realize how great is the quantity of sockeye 

 entering this river system, and how relatively compact at times must 

 be the distinctive bodies moving upstream. With the api)earance of 

 the latter the catch suddenly increases, often to such an extent as to 

 give the canneries much more than they can haudle, and the excess is 

 occasionally so great as to cause an enormous loss of fish. No other 

 species of salmon is so abundant in the Eraser as the sockeye. 



Observations which seem reliable indicate that, in a general way at 

 least, the earlier runs proceed farthest up the river. The fish composing 

 them are less mature when entering from the sea than those of the later 

 runs and are better prepared to make the longer journey. Sockeye 

 have been seen in abundance in the streams which empty into the 

 South Thompson and in the Shuswap Lakes about the middle of July, 

 yet on returning to the Harrison and other lower tributaries their total 

 absence there was determined. It is on the later fish, eagerly seeking 

 the nearest spawning-grounds, and with their reproductive organs well 

 developed as they move upstream, that the Canadian hatchery relies 

 for its supply of eggs. These are the runs which have been most closely 

 observed and are best known. 



The sockeye retains its freshness in the river longer than any other 

 species of salmon except the quinnat and the steelhead. This must be 

 chiefly due to the fact that its movement begins quite far in advance 

 of the spawning season, and during nearly the entire period of its run 

 through the lower part of the river the catch is always of a superior char- 

 acter, the flesh being firm and of good color, while the external surface is 

 clean and inviting in appearance. Beginning the latter part of August, 

 however, the fish rapidly deteriorate in condition, and the close season, 

 which begins on August 25, is as nuich in the interest of the consumer 

 as for the protection of the species. In 1894, by request, the Canadian 

 government extended the open season a week longer on the plea that 

 the sockeye were late in beginning to run, owing to the heavy flood 

 which occurred in the early part of the summer. Such was probably 

 not the fact, although the high water interfered with fishing operations, 

 and the spawning season began no later than in average years. The 

 extension was therefore deprecated by those having the best interests 

 of the fishery at heart, and it is not likely to be repeated. 



