298 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AXD FISHERIES. 



sion of greater or less length, the entire arrangement being planned to 

 intercept and direct toward the crib-opening such of the salmon as do 

 not follow close along the main leader, and to minimize the chances 

 of escape of those which have entered. This construction, the out- 

 come of much experimenting, is said to have very greatly increased the 

 effectiveness of the traps. 



There may be an opening into the heart and crib on both sides of the 

 leader, but it seems to be the more common practice to limit the 

 entrance to one side, at least as regards the fishery for the sockeye, in 

 view of the steady and constant movement of this species in one direc- 

 tion while on its passage to the fresh waters. The customary double 

 opening would oifer no advantages under these conditions. 



The mesh of the netting is usually 3 inches in the crib and heart, 

 and from 3i to 4 inches in the leader. Mesh of larger size, from to 8 

 inches, has been tried in the leaders, but it is said to have ])roved dis- 

 advantageous, owing, in part at least, to the large quantity of coarse 

 seaweed which is often found floating in the water, and which finds 

 lodgment in the larger mesh, tending to clog it and weigh down the 

 net. Observations on the general efifect of using the smaller mesh in 

 both the crib and leader are lacking. The gill-net mesh for sockeye 

 on the Eraser River is 5^ inches, and it would seem that the mesh in the 

 crib might be increased above 3 inches without danger of gilling adult 

 fish. There would be no object, however, in taking such a step, unless 

 it were found that the present mesh was destructive of young salmon 

 or of other species smaller in size than the sockeye. This fact could 

 readily be determined by careful examination extending through an 

 entire fishing season. 



As elsewhere explained, the catches made in the trap nets are some- 

 times much larger than can at once be handled by the canneries, and 

 while one such catch might be held in the crib for several days, it would 

 prevent continuous fishing during a period when the salmon might be 

 running best. To meet this contingency an adjunct to the crib, called 

 a spiller, has recently been devised, and appears to be coming into quite 

 general use. It is, in fact, an additional crib, square in shape, and con- 

 nected with the first by means of a tunnel, through which the surjilus 

 fish of any catch may be driven. In this way large numbers of salmon 

 may be kept in good condition for a considerable time, fishing mny go 

 on uninterruptedly and without loss, and the canneries continue in oper- 

 ation during intervals when the runs are small or have ceased. 



DISTRIBUTION AND HISTORY, 



The shores first approached by the sockeye which have furnished 

 sites for trap nets are those of the San Juan Islands, but none of these 

 has so far been more than very moderately successful. How many trials 

 have been made there as well as elsewhere throughout the region it 

 has been impossible to ascertain. In 1894 two nets of this character 

 were built on Lopez Island. < >ne was near Fisherman Bay, in San Juan 

 Channel, where it is now thought the sockeje never enter, or, if at all, in 



