FORTY-FOURTH BIENNIAL REPORT 



29 



Similar surveys were conducted on key north coast 

 rivers. Here crews examined over 1,000 king salmon 

 and nearly 400 silver salmon for tags and marks during 

 fall and winter of 19.')4-55. During 19.';.^-.?6 crews ex- 

 amined 16,000 kings. 



From these surve>'S, and from f\-ke-net studies 

 which determine the duration and intensity of the 

 downstream migration of young salmon, as well as 

 from counts at fish ladders and other observation 

 points, accurate population estimates are obtained. 

 Man)' of these estimates remain in the files for years, 

 but when they are needed they are immediately avail- 

 able. The salmon and steelhead fish hatchery at Nim- 

 bus on the American River, which was completed and 

 placed in operation during the biennium, was justified 

 entirely on the basis of spawning stock surveys made 

 from 1944 through 1952. 



Catch SajiipUng—TKis operation supplies basic in- 

 formation concerning the stocks of salmon, their con- 

 dition, and their relationship in the fishery. It is a cen- 

 sus that reveals how the fish are reacting to the fishery 

 and the changes \\ rought by man and nature. 



THREE IMPORTANT STUDIES 



During the biennium the department attacked vari- 

 ous problems involving salmon and steelhead on three 

 fronts. The Marine Fisheries Branch undertook a 

 study to determine conditions in the ocean salmon 

 sport fishery. The Inland Fisheries Branch divided its 

 efforts on the otiier two fronts. It conducted one 

 anadromous trout and salmon investigation on north 

 coastal streams and another on the Sacramento and 

 San Joaquin River drainages. 



OCEAN STUDY 



Financed mainly by federal aid funds, the Marine 

 Fisheries Branch began a study in July, 19.'>4, to deter- 

 mine conditions in the ocean salmon sport fishery. The 

 goals were to learn the numbers and sizes of fish taken, 



the amount of effort expended in the taking, the esti- 

 mated \alue of the fishery, and the relationship of the 

 fishery to the over-all salmon picture. The study is 

 still under wa\% but some conclusions have been 

 reached. 



The investigators found that anglers fishing from 

 party boats and skiffs land most of the sport-caught 

 salmon in the ocean and bays and estuaries; a small 

 part of the catch is made by shore fishermen who fish 

 near river mouths. 



Party Boats 



Party boats operating out of most California ports 

 take passengers fishing for hire. From San Francisco 

 northward most of them fish almost exclusively for 

 salmon. From Half Moon Bay south to Avila (San 

 Luis Obispo County) party boats fish primarily for 

 rockfish and salmon. The proportion of salmon in the 

 catch varies from port to port and month to month. 



Party boat captains are required b\- law to turn in 

 daily logs of their fishing activities. Logs show the 

 number of passengers and the number and kind of fish 

 caught, and are used to measure quality of fishing 

 from month to month and year to year. 



Skiff Fishing 



During the past few years there has been a very 

 rapid increase in the amount of ocean sport fishing for 

 salmon from skiffs. Rental facilities have been pro- 

 vided at nearly ever)' small port from Monterey north. 

 This t\'pe of fishing is a comparatively new develop- 

 ment and its significance in the over-all salmon picture 

 is still under study. 



COASTAL STREAMS 



The Inland Fisheries Branch began a study in Feb- 

 ruary, 19.55, of trout and salmon in coastal streams in 

 response to needs recognized by the department as 

 w ell as by legislators and sportsmen. 



Federal moneys are used to finance the project. 

 Much of the work is performed at the new Cedar 

 Creek Experimental Station on the South Fork of the 

 Eel River, west of U. S. Highway 101 between Gar- 

 berville and Laytonville. 



The objectives of this project are: 



1. To determine the survival to the angler and 

 to spawning of artificially propagated steelhead 

 and salmon. 



2. To determine the survival to the angler and 

 to spawning of naturally reproduced steelhead 

 and salmon under varying conditions. 



3. To measure the reasons for, and extent of, 

 mortality. 



4. To test the effects of various management 

 methods, including physical and biological 

 habitat improvement and regulations on these 

 fish and the fisheries. 



