American Fisheries Society 125 



the fish. Kings are alsu said to Ije found in the rixer at the 

 Hot Springs, ahout 40 miles from the month, where they 

 remain until the ice melts in the rest of the river. 



In the spawning season the king salmon ascend certain 

 streams during the months of May, June and part of July. 

 They are also found running as late as August and Septem- 

 ber in the headwaters of the Yukon and its tributaries, over 

 2,000 miles from its mouth. The principal streams fre- 

 quented at this season are the Unuk, Stikine, Taku, Chilkat 

 and Aisek rivers in Southeast Alaska ; the Copper and Kenai 

 rivers in Central Alaska, and the Ugashik, Ugaguk, Naknek, 

 Kvichak, Nushagak, Togiak, Kuskokwim and Yukon rivers 

 in Western Alaska. It is possible that they also enter certain 

 of the streams debouching into the Arctic, but this has not yet 

 been definitely established. A few are found along the Arctic 

 Coast, however. It is the general belief in Alaska that this 

 species enters only those streams which carry glacial waters. 



Some of the Southeast Alaska fishermen claim that king 

 salmon spawn at different periods of the year, and that they 

 do not all die after once spawning. In proof of these beliefs 

 they instance the numerous small kings found with well-de- 

 \eloped spawn and the many large kings with immature 

 spawn. 



At Ideal Cove, just off the mouth of the Stikine river, in 

 May, 1908, the fish cleaners found a /-pound male king with 

 milt. Several days before a female king of about the same 

 size with fairly well developed roe had been handled, also a 

 20-pound king with roe of about one-fourth the size of that 

 in other fish taken at the same time. A reliable Juneau fish 

 dealer, who has been handling salmon for years, states that 

 he has met with a number of cases of small and immature roe 

 in large kings, also of large roe in kings weighing from 10 to 

 15 pounds. I myself have taken from a king salmon weigh- 

 ing about 25 pounds a single slender strip of roe, about 6 

 inches in length, which was composed of cjuite small and im- 

 mature eggs. This was at a time wdien the great part of the 

 run was of fish with well developed roe. 



