FISHERIES OF WASHINGTON AND BRITISH COLUMBIA. 343 



a less depth than 1 fathom at low tide. Laterally successive nets should 

 be separated by at least 2,500 feet, approximately half a mile. The 

 greater the distance in this respect the less are the evils to be expected 

 from auy alternating- arrangement. 



By the act of 1897 the I'egislature of Washington recognized the jus- 

 tice of these requirements. Besides prohibitiug the use of trap nets 

 and other fixed appliances in rivers or within 3 miles of their mouths, 

 as well as in Deception Pass and in water of greater depth than G5 feet, 

 this law limits the length of leaders to 2,500 feet and provides for 

 an end jjassageway between all traps of at least 600 feet and a lateral 

 passageway of at least 2,400 feet. 



The purse seines, though very unlike the trap nets, are nevertheless to 

 be classed with them as having great individual scope and requiring a 

 considerable outlay for their operation. They are chiefly fished in the 

 upper j)art of Puget Sound for the later-run uiiig species, especially the 

 silver salmon, of which they take enormous quantities. Elsewhere they 

 are not mnch utilized, and in connection with the sockeye fishery they 

 cut no figure, although sometimes set in the neighborhood of the traps 

 at Point Roberts. The purse-seine fishery has not been sufiiciently 

 studied to determine how far it should be restricted, but the important 

 part played by these nets in the removal of salmon from the salt water 

 and the almost certain future increase in their number make it desirable 

 that the subject be thoroughly considered. Their use is now prohibited 

 within 3 miles of the mouth of any river. 



The drag seine was one of the earliest appliances, if not the first, 

 employed in this region for taking salmon, and its use has been con- 

 tinued and increased. The fishery by this means, however, is mostly 

 scattered and irregular, being mainly conducted on a small scale in 

 different places to meet local wants. In some localities more exten- 

 sive operations are carried on, as about the mouths of the larger rivers 

 at the period when the salmon begin to enter, and in certain parts of 

 Puget Sound to supply the canneries with fall fish. Some fishery 

 experts regard the drag seine with unqualified disfavor under all con- 

 ditions, but this universal condemnation is far from merited. While 

 they may possibly be hauled surreptitiously rather more easily than 

 most other kinds of nets, within proper limitations their use is quite as 

 legitimate, and to abolish them here would be to deprive the inhabitants 

 of thinly settled shores of one of their most ready means of securing 

 food. They are not now permitted to be hauled in any river or within 

 a mile of its mouth outside. 



The primitive reef nets which well answered the requirements of the 

 Indians, although now used for commercial purposes, are rapidly going 

 out of use, and before many years they will doubtless cease to figure 

 among the methods of the region. With an exceedingly limited scope 

 at the best, uo occasion exists for giving them consideration in connec- 

 tion with any scheme of regulations. 



