316 EIGHTH PACIFIC SCIENCE CONGRESS 



residents on them. The shore in many places is rough and inhospitable 

 and the surrounding terrain is so rugged as to make access by land dif- 

 ficult or non-existent. In consequence fishing communities are few and 

 widely separated and those with rail or road connections are even fewer. 



Tidal change is moderate (12 to 26 feet maximum change at various 

 places). Tidal currents in the passages and inlets are, however, strong. 

 In a few places they make navigation hazardous and in others they are 

 too swift to be stemmed by small craft. They must be given thorough 

 consideration for efficient navigation on the coasts. 



The prevailing winds are moderate to strong with occasional calms 

 and gales. Sudden high winds are not common. In deep water, seas 

 are seldom dangerous to properly loaded seaworthy vessels. However, 

 in the shallow waters of Hecate Strait or in situations where the wind 

 opposes strong tidal currents, steep waves develop which can be dan- 

 gerous to small craft. 



Technological Position 



The fishing industry of Western Canada has made use of the tech- 

 nological knowledge of the Western Hemisphere. It has been applied 

 both to processing and to capture. The principal method of process- 

 ing is canning. To it are applied the special techniques of machine 

 cleaning of fish; and of filling, capping, exhausting, sealing, and retort- 

 ing of cans. 



The fish reduction industry uses presses and centrifuges especially 

 adapted to its purposes and special evaporators for concentrating solu- 

 bles in the press liquor. General plant construction and arrangement 

 take advantage of new power sources and engineering methods. 



The installations for the frozen fish trade apply principles of refri- 

 geration engineering as developed by scientists of the Fisheries Research 

 Board. Similarly, the application of newly developed principles to 

 smoke house construction has improved control of the process to the 

 point where the operation is largely freed of dependence on uncon- 

 trolled conditions. 



The greatest single contribution of technology to catching is the 

 development of compact, dependable, and economical power units to 

 propel vessels and to operate deck equipment. More recent develop- 

 ments of great general usefulness are the radio telephone v/hich facil- 

 itates concentration of the fleet on large bodies of fish and with shore 

 headquarters or processing plants; and the echo sounder, which makes 

 navigation more certain, allows troll and trawl fishermen to follow the 

 contours of the bottom, and reveals the presence of deep schools of fish. 

 General developments of more recent application are radar, which 



