310 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 



information as we possess is very indefinite at the best, but the evi- 

 dence presented by the circumstances attending the weekly close time 

 argues strongly in favor of the continuance of that i^rotective measure. 

 In illustration of this matter may be cited the catch by the drift-netters 

 during the night of Sunday, August 16, 1895, which was said to have 

 exceeded 700,000 sockeye, the largest single night's catch on record up 

 to that time at least. 



WASHINGTON. 



Gill nets are employed in both the salt waters and rivers of Wash- 

 ington, but much less extensively than in British Columbia. Their 

 use extends quite largely to the clear open waters, where they are only 

 serviceable at night, and they are fished both set and drifting. The 

 fishery is for the most part somewhat irregular, and aside from a few 

 localities is prosecuted in a small way at scattered places, much of the 

 catch being disposed of locally, although a good ])art of the fresh supply, 

 especially of quinnat, sent to the larger markets, such as Seattle, is the 

 product of this class of nets. 



Skagit Bay and River seem to have been the seat of the most impor- 

 tant operations of this character. About 50 nets were employed on 

 the latter in 1894, 35 belonging to white men and 15 to Indians. The 

 set nets measured 15 fathoms long and 15 feet deep, some having a 5| 

 and others a 9 inch mesh ; they are anchored in little indentations of the 

 river bank to avoid the swift current as much as possible. The drift 

 nets were 50 fathoms long and 15 feet deep, with a 9-inch mesh, being- 

 used mostly for the quinnat. The nets were larger on the bay, some 

 measuring 125 fathoms long and 18 feet deep, a 9-inch mesh being used 

 for the quinnat and a 5| or 6 inch mesh for the sockeye and silver 

 salmon. Since 1895 there has been a large increase in this fishery, 

 which has mainly been brought about by the establishment of new can- 

 neries, especially at Anacortes. The gill-uetters, however, have had 

 difficulty in competing with the trap nets, which afford the cheapest 

 means of taking salmon here, as at Point Roberts, and in 1897 a strong 

 but futile effort was made to secure the passage of a bill prohibiting 

 the latter class of apparatus. 



Boundary Bay is another relatively important place for gill-netting, 

 and in other places about the shores, as well as in many of the rivers, 

 this method is also followed, the extent of fishing varying in accord- 

 ance with the opportunities and the demands. In some places only 

 two or three small nets may be employed to supply the local wants, 

 while in others the advantages for shipping or canning interests may 

 stimulate a considerable activity. Even in such small rivers as the 

 Elwha and Dungeness, on the south side of the Strait of Juan de Fuca, 

 having only 2 or 3 miles of level course, several nets may be in use, and 

 such fish as are not required at home find their way to the Seattle 

 market. 



