BIOLOGICAL OCEANOGRAPHY 123 



Hutchinson (1927), Hutchinson (1928), Hutchinson, Lucas and Mc- 

 Phail (1929), and Lucas (1929), stated that the contribution from 

 rivers, especially the Fraser River, was considerable and that this phos- 

 phate tended to be stored or "conserved" thus forming a reservoir of 

 phosphate. The water of Juan de Fuca Strait, which enters Georgia 

 Strait in the tidal flows, is relatively high in phosphate and may also 

 be a factor in maintaining the high values. Throughout the seasons 

 and from one location to another the amount of phosphate may vary 

 according to the "blooming" of the phyto-plankton and the disintegra- 

 tion of both phyto- and zoo-plankton. A detailed study of the phos- 

 phate cycle in this body of water, including the interchange between 

 the water and the bottom sediments, with their contained living or- 

 ganisms, would contribute much to an understanding of a series of 

 fundamental processes. 



The current system off the west coast of Vancouver Island is be- 

 ing steadily elucidated by Tully (1942) and associates. In brief, the 

 freshwater from the Fraser River and from the various inlets moves 

 northwest along the coast. The water of this current is of slightly re- 

 duced salinity and low temperature. Beyond the margin of the conti- 

 nental shelf, some hundred miles offshore, the California current flows 

 southeastward. This water is of high salinity and, during the sum- 

 mer, of relatively high temperature. Between these two currents is a 

 region of complex eddies with mixing of the two above-mentioned 

 water masses. In addition, upwelling occurs during certain portions 

 of the year. Knowledge of the character of the plankton organisms in 

 these areas is very limited. It would seem that a plankton investigation 

 coincident with the physico-chemical program might provide useful 

 information in regard to plankton organisms as indicators of the two 

 water masses and of the nature and extent of mixing. It is possible 

 also that the distribution of plankton organisms in inlets may be used 

 to confirm some of the complicated circulation features as determined 

 by physical dynamic studies. 



As a result of oceanographic studies by many investigators, the 

 physical and chemical characteristics of the waters of Georgia and Juan 

 de Fuca Straits as well as the dynamics of these waters, with their com- 

 plicated features by reason of the outflow of the Fraser River and the 

 strong tidal flows, are well known. On the other hand the fishery biol- 

 ogists have accumulated a very great deal of information concerning 

 the life history of the Pacific herring. In late spring and early summer 

 very large numbers of young herring go out from Georgia Strait to the 

 region off the entrance to Juan de Fuca Strait and to some extent 

 northwestward off Barkley Sound. There they feed and grow and 

 eventually, as three-year-old fish for the most part, enter Juan de Fuca 



