FISHES AND FISHERIES 



251 



the current, they drift down and die. Most of the young 

 make their way to the sea and a few return, three or four 

 years later, as mature fish ready to spawn. The salmon 

 fisheries have long been one of the most important industries 

 on the Pacific Coast. In some years more than 5,000,000 

 cases are packed, each case containing forty-eight one-pound 

 cans. The value of such a pack is more than $25,000,000. 



The Atlantic Coast salmon, Salmo salar, ascend fresh water 

 streams to spawn, but unlike the western salmon, they return 

 alive to the sea again. 



There are many species of trout, as the black- spotted, 

 rainbow and cut-throat, belonging to the genus Salmo. Many 



FIG. 115. The rainbow-trout, Salmo irideus. 



of these species are represented by one or more varieties, so it 

 is often difficult for even an expert ichthyologist to determine 

 the species definitely. There are certain well-marked types, 

 however, and each region has its particular representative trout 

 type which affords the best kind of sport to the enthusiastic 

 anglers. The genus Sahelinus includes some of the choicest 

 and most beautiful of the brook trout. They are frequently 

 called char, and differ from the members of the genus Salmo 

 in that the body is covered with round crimson or gray spots 

 which are paler than the ground color. The scales are smaller 

 and so imbeded in the skin as generally to escape notice. 



The whitefish, genus Coregonus, occurring usually in clear 

 cold lakes or streams, are regarded as especially fine food 



