128 Thirty-ninth Annual Meeting 



is the largest king salmon reported from Alaska. Some 

 people in Alaska claim that the white-meated fish when 

 cooked have a better flavor than those of a red color. The 

 exterior appearance is exactly the same, the only way to 

 determine whether the fish has red or white flesh being by 

 cutting it. 



The reason for this remarkable variation in color of flesh 

 is still unknown. It has been ascribed to the food of the fish, 

 but this would hardly seem to be borne out by the few facts so 

 far gathered in Southeast Alaska, where the variation is most 

 noticeable. I have personally opened a number of stomachs 

 of king salmon, and have also watched the cutters at the 

 fishing establishments doing the same, and found the same 

 class of food in them without regard to the color of the flesh. 



Herring is the principal food of both varieties and it does 

 not seem reasonable that this food could have such opposite 

 efl"ects in two fishes traveling practically side by side. The 

 color could not be caused by food at present unknown to u^ 

 unless this food was partaken of during the winter months, 

 when, owing to the lack of animal life at the surface, due to 

 the coldness of the climate, the fish seek the deeper waters 

 and are only occasionaly taken on trawls set for halibut. 



Several housewives have stated to me that in a few in- 

 stances when cooking red-meated kings they observed the 

 Mesh to turn white during the operation. Experiments in the 

 cooking of this species might possibly disclose the reason for 

 the variation in color. 



