296 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF PISH AND FISHERIES. 



in Skagit Bay for several years, but the catch there also consists in 

 large part of silver salmon and the quinnat. 



As the main body of the sockeye moves northward through the 

 Canal de Haro and Rosario Strait, the finest opportunities for the cap- 

 ture of this species are to be expected in that direction. In the former 

 passage, however, no successful trap-net sites had been discovered up 

 to 189C, although trials had been made at Henry and Stuart islands 

 and probably elsewhere. In Rosario Strait, moreover, good fishing 

 with these nets has heretofore been found only in the vicinity of Village 

 Point, on Lummi Island. Trials have been made along the mainland 

 shore north of Lummi Island, but the principal trap-net grounds of 

 the region, and the last before the boundary is reached, are those fur- 

 nished by Boundary Bay and the waters about Point Roberts. In this 

 locality traps have been in use the greatest length of time and in the 

 greatest number, while their catch has exceeded many times that of 

 all the other similar nets combined. 



The Canadian government has constantly opposed the placing of 

 trap nets in British Columbian waters, although much pressure in favor 

 of their construction has been brought to bear. In 1894, however, it 

 yielded to the extent of permitting the building of one such net in 

 Boundary Bay, the number being increased to two in 1895. Taking 

 into consideration their position in the upper part of Boundary Bay, 

 where any fish they might intercept would be headed toward the group 

 of nets in the adjacent waters of the United States, this concession can 

 not be regarded as inconsistent with the general policy of the Cana- 

 dian government in the matter of this class of fishing. The position of 

 these nets, however, is unfavorable, and it is doubtful if they can be 

 made to pay, especially in view of their distance from the Canadian 

 canneries. Except for a sort of fascine arrangement tried unsuccess- 

 fully in 1877, no traps have ever been used on the lower Fraser, and 

 the quantity of sediment and drift brought down by the current would 

 probably interfere with the proper working of such apparatus. 



The total number of traps in operation during more or less of the 

 season of 1895 was 21, but not nearly all of these are known to 

 have made good catches, especially of sockeye, and several were 

 practically failures. Twenty-nine additional trap-net sites which had 

 been tried in previous years, but had been abandoned for one cause or 

 another, were definitely located the same year by the Fish Commission 

 party, but the actual number of such sites must have been much 

 greater. New traps were added in several places in 1896, 1897, and 

 1898, but their exact positions have not been learned. The total num- 

 ber in 1898, however, was much greater than in 1895. The future 

 growth of the fishery can not be predicted. Despite its rapid develop- 

 ment it has met with many reverses, and much capital has been sunk. 

 Only a certain proportion of the nets have realized the expectations of 

 their builders, and the location of successful sites has, in most cases, 

 been the result of actual trial, generally following one or more failures, 



