FISHERIES OF AMERICA 155 



that the length runs to over 15,000 miles, 

 presents a veritable fisherman's paradise. 

 With scenery equal, if not/ superior, to 

 that of Norway, with beautiful wooded 

 shores and lofty mountains, with calm 

 inland seas protected from the ocean 

 storms by countless isles, these waters, 

 which until a few years ago were virgin 

 seas, sustain teeming millions of fish of the 

 most valuable kind, whilst outside the 

 coast belt are fishing banks running right 

 up to the Behring Sea. The wealth of 

 this sea region is far greater than ever 

 will come out of Klondyke. So far the 

 annual landings have already reached over 

 3,000,000 sterling. Halibut and herrings 

 are caught in abundance, the former, 

 however, in decreasing quantities ; but 

 it is to the queen of fishes that most of the 

 efforts are directed. The salmon of British 

 Columbia make up 80 per cent of the total 

 production of the fisheries, and the canned 

 product penetrates to all parts of the world. 

 The breeding grounds are in the lower 

 reaches of the Fraser and Skeena rivers, 

 where the quantities caught in the early 

 stages of the industry were so great that 



