348 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 



in time be called for, but the gain would scarcely be realized while the 

 salmon remain as abundant as they are, and the expenditure required 

 would be considerable. 



Of artificial impediments, aside from the nets, there appear to be few 

 in any of the fresh waters, and, in fact, no complaints of such have 

 reached the writer. The building of dams in the pathway of the fish 

 should be prevented as far as possible, and if any are allowed they 

 should have openings of ample size to permit the passage of the 

 immense schools which ascend these streams. On many of the Atlantic 

 rivers much harm has been done the salmon by the rubbish from saw- 

 mills passing into the water, a practice which has been followed here 

 to some extent. The prohibition against it in British Columbia is said 

 to be enforced, but in Washington and especially on the Skagit River, 

 if the reports be true, the sawdust and other refuse have been dumped 

 into the water so extensively in j)laces as to threaten serious injury. 

 As this material can readily be disposed of on land by burning or 

 otherwise, there is no excuse for continuing the custom. 



There seem at present to be no sources of general pollution, such as 

 the drainage from large communities, which need to be considered 

 from a fishery standpoint, but they are likely to appear with the 

 increase of population. The same is true regarding obnoxious waste 

 products from extensive factories except in one particular, resulting 

 from the fisheries themselves. This exception is furnished by the sal- 

 mon canneries in consequence of the immense amount of offal which 

 they produce and which is customarily thrown into the water. In 

 Washington the canneries are all located on salt water and their offal 

 gives no trouble, as it disappears quickly and entirely. It is different 

 on the Fraser River, where the many canneries are mostly collected 

 near its mouth. 



Several measures looking toward the disposition of waste materials 

 without detriment to any interest have been adopted by the Canadian 

 government, but none has long been enforced, the remedies being 

 ineft'ectual in some cases and impracticable in others. Offal carried 

 out to the gulf and dumped off" the mouths of the river is liable to be 

 washed ashore, while its manufacture into oil and fertilizer on a large 

 scale has heretofore proved unsuccessful. The old practice of allowing 

 it to fall into the water of the river in a fresh condition as fast as it is 

 produced has, as a whole, given the best results, and is the one quite 

 universally pursued, and there is no specific evidence that it has been 

 detrimental to the welfare of the salmon; nor except in a few localities 

 has there been complaint that it was injurious to the health of the 

 community. When thrown into the current fresh the offal seems to be 

 quickly dissipated, and it produces a nuisance only when placed in 

 quiet, shallow water or in eddies, which tend to retain it along the 

 shores or to carry it into the adjacent sloughs. If held long enough 

 for decomposition to set in, it tends to float at the surface. Pending 



