REPORT OF STATE BOARD OF FISH COMMISSIONERS. 37 



I have since learned from the market men that from three to four 

 thousand of these fish were sold in the market before the ordinance was 

 passed, and that it has since been in the newspapers that these fish have 

 been caught and sold in other counties around our bay. 



The arrival of so many young of this fish at one time in our markets, 

 shows conclusively that the Striped bass have successfully reproduced 

 themselves in our waters. Our anglers may anticipate some grand sport 

 in a few years. 



I am happy to give the people of California some desirable informa- 

 tion about this useful fish, and take the opportunity of appending to my 

 report a valuable paper taken from " The Fisheries and Fishing Indus- 

 tries of the United States," by George Brown Goode. 



NECESSITY FOR A TROUT HATCHERY NEAR SAN FRANCISCO AS A DISTRIBUTING 



POINT. 



California is a large State in territorial area, approximating to three 

 times the size of the State of New York. 



The headwaters (the breeding places for trout and salmon) of most of 

 the large streams in our State are far away from the railroads, and are 

 also in high altitudes. To reach these is, in most instances, a weary 

 road to travel by stage coach and teams, and in some cases by horse- 

 back only, following Indian trails through almost impassable canons and 

 mountain gorges 



The Sisson Hatchery, which is at present the distributing point for 

 the RainboAV trout, is about seven hundred miles from the southern bor- 

 der of the State, and applications for trout come in from Siskiyou to San 

 Diego Counties. 



To distribute fish into these streams over such a vast territory is very 

 expensive, and the cost is much increased by the many difficulties in 

 getting to their headwaters with teams heavily loaded with ice and cans 

 of water, over the long, hot valleys, and up steep mountain roads. 



It is also unsafe to transport young fish in large numbers over such 

 long distances. 



To ship half a million of eyed eggs is comparatively inexpensive to 

 what it is to ship the same number of young fish. Thirty thousand 

 young trout in eight to ten cans of water is as much as it is safe for one 

 man to carry on a long journey. This means half a ton of water and 

 hundreds of pounds of ice. 



Express charges for this great weight are heavy; the cost of the ice, 

 railroad fares to and fro, teams to transport the fish from the railroad 

 to the streams (sometimes for sixty miles to their headwaters), hotel 

 expenses, and telegraphic charges rapidly eat up our funds. 



Two men are compelled to go on long journeys to care for the fish, as 

 the water in the cans has to be almost continuously aerated night and 

 day to give the fish fresh air to breathe, and the water in the cans 

 requires occasional changing. 



A trip with trout from Sisson to the southern part of the State con- 

 sumes nearly one week's time, which is very dangerous to the safety of 

 the young trout, and limits the number of trout which can be distributed. 

 To make these journeys shorter and less expensive, with saving of time, 

 and with more certainty that less fish will be lost in their transporta- 



