SALMON-FISHING AS AN INDUSTRY 



American property if they follow the southern current 

 down into Puget Sound, Canadian if they turn north- 

 wards into Queen Charlotte Sound. 



There is little hope for the fish when they swim south- 

 wards, for, as may be seen from a map of Washington, 

 Puget Sound is a natural salmon-trap on a very large 

 scale, having but the one outlet, and that split up by a 

 small island ; and it is doubly delusive on account of its 

 great depth, which leads the fish to suppose that they 

 have reached the open sea. 



The fishing, which lasts about five months, begins in 

 April, and, in the Sound, is done chiefly by means of 

 trap-nets, consisting of a wall of netting, sometimes double 

 with a narrow space between the two. These are moored 

 across current or are let down from platforms in the 

 quieter parts of the harbour. 



In proportion to its size the salmon is one of the 

 strongest fish in creation : therefore only a stout net will 

 hold him ; the meshes of such nets are made of what is 

 known as Barbour's twine, a single thread of which would 

 hold a hundredweight and a half. 



The trap-net is set late in the afternoon and left down 

 all night, and the fish, swimming with the tide, go 

 straight at the net, which, well weighted below, hangs per- 

 pendicularly ; small fish will be allowed to pass through 

 the meshes, but the larger ones soon find that where the 

 heads will go the shoulders will not follow; they can 

 proceed no further and, naturally, as soon as they try to 

 withdraw their heads, the cord slips itself under one of 

 the gills and they are " unavoidably detained " henceforth. 



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