290 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 



tinguish it from all other forms. On the Fraser River it is said to 

 weigh mainly from 12 to 15 pounds, although many are taken up to 

 25 pounds, and individuals have been caught weighing 40 pounds and 

 over. 



Very little has been learned regarding its movements. A few may 

 occasionally be secured as early as the middle of August among the 

 other salmon. The regular run, however, is stated to begin in Septem- 

 ber and to continue through October and more or less of November, 

 sometimes not ending until about December 1. In the purse-seine 

 fishery tributary to Seattle the first catches during the six years from 

 1889 to 1894 varied in date from September 10 to October 17, and the 

 last from October 27 to November 17. These figures, however, can not 

 be assumed to indicate at all positively the duration of the run in any 

 of those years without other information, as in some seasons the fishery 

 may have been started late or may have terminated before the run had 

 ceased. In January, 1897, dog salmon were reported present in the 

 salt water, being then in good condition and having the appearance of 

 just coming in from the ocean. 



This species, like the humpback and silver salmon, seems generally 

 not to ascend the rivers far above the sea, but it enters all streams, 

 large and small, going even into the little creeks for spawning. Its 

 distribution in the Fraser is limited to the lower tributaries, but while 

 it is there considered one of the least abundant species, in some of the 

 smaller rivers elsewhere it appears in relatively very large numbers, 

 the fish crowding together in narrow and shallow places, which become 

 badly polluted by their dead and decaying bodies. According to Mr. 

 A. B. Alexander, in the fall and winter all the small creeks, lagoons, 

 and sloughs near the Dwamish and Cedar rivers, Washington, are filled 

 with dog salmon, and boys find great amusement in killing them with 

 clubs and stones. In the rivulets by the roadside, where the water is 

 not over 2 or 3 inches deep, dog salmon may be seen trying to get 

 farther upstream. Mr. Mowat says that they spawn principally in quiet 

 creeks and in the shallow waters along the river banks, even doing so 

 in water so shallow as to leave part of the back exposed. 



The dog salmon are not generally held in good rejiute, although 

 when taken in the salt water, especially soon after coming in from the 

 ocean, their flesh is firm and they are handled to some extent in the 

 fresh markets of Washington. They are regularly canned at Seattle, 

 and small quantities have been put up at one or more of the other 

 Washington canneries, the supplies for this purpose being obtained in 

 Puget Sound by means of purse seines. The color of the flesh, which 

 is always light, is said to grow paler as the season advances. The fish 

 deteriorate rapidly after entering fresh water, and the jaws in the 

 males become very much hooked. The Indians on the Fraser River and 

 elsewhere make use of the species to some extent, more particularly 

 when the other salmon are scarce. 



