FISHERIES OF WASHINGTON AND BRITISH COLUMBIA. 329 



SUMMARY. 



In the account that has gone before, the conditions presented by this 

 region are shown to be, from a fishery standpoint, both varied and per- 

 plexing — varied as to its natural features and resources, and perplexing 

 in the division of its waters between two distinct countries. A long, 

 deep, and rugged arm of the sea, fed by many mountain streams, invites 

 a host of fishes from the ocean to seek shelter, food, and spawning- 

 grounds. So closely does it resemble the outer coast in the purity, 

 salinity, and coolness of its waters, that its fishes are identical, while 

 the character of its surroundings greatly increases the opportunities 

 for their capture. Among the useful species which enter here are 

 several of anadromous habit, which occur in extreme abundance, 

 being represented by one form or another throughout nearly the entire 

 year. 



It is doubtful if any other known region of no greater size affords so 

 rich an assemblage of aquatic products or offers so many inducements 

 for remunerative employment in their pursuit. To retain these benefits, 

 so important for the region, will require the exercise of a wise fore- 

 thought by those in power, as well as the accomplishment of a still 

 more difficult task, the securing of harmonious action by the two 

 nations whose interests are made inseparable through the extent to 

 which the more prominent fishes cross the boundary line. As regards 

 the salt waters the resources seem to be about equally divided between 

 the two countries, but Canada has much the greater advantage in the 

 matter of rivers, not in point of numbers, perhaps, but in the possession 

 of the Eraser system, one of the most extensive resorts of salmon in the 

 world. 



While no marked decrease in the abundance of any species, except 

 in two or three instances, has so far been positively recorded, experience 

 teaches that in waters such as these a decrease is certain to appear 

 unless due precautions are taken to prevent it, and they should be both 

 timely and effective. Some of the open sea fisheries in the North 

 Atlantic Ocean have been prosecuted for centuries without apparently 

 diminishing the supply, but the number of these is comparatively small. 

 As a rule, man's influence has been felt, its extent varying with the 

 natural limitations upon the movements of the fishes which are sought, 

 the perfection of the fishing methods, and the persistence with which 

 the latter are employed. The more restricted a fish's habitat, the 

 smaller the sheet of water or the narrower the river, the more readily, 

 in general, may the species be caught out. In conformity also with 

 the same conditions are generally the opportunities for organizing 

 systems of protection which shall be adequate to insure the perpetuity 

 of each fishery. 



A thorough regulation of the fisheries does not, however, imply a 

 return to primitive or inferior methods of capture. There can be no 



