TENTH ANNUAL MEETING. 19 
EEE 
to inhabit the deep water of Fuca Strait, and for that reason is 
seldom fished for, except occasionally some of the older fisher- 
men will try during very fine weather to take fish in eighty 
fathoms. Further up the Sound and in Hood’s Canal, and a few 
other localities, the Gadus is taken, but it is small—evidently a 
young fish. Although its existence is well-known to residents 
on Puget’s Sound, it is not taken in sufficient quantities to be 
relied on as a food fish.” Mr. H. A. Webster, Collector of Cus- 
toms at Port Townsend, Washington Territory, writes thus to 
the Chief of the Bureau of Statistics: ““The cod, I believe, is 
always present in the waters of Fuca Strait and Puget Sound, 
but in such limited quantities that catching has not been pursued 
as a business, and the knowledge of their habits is very limited. 
Young cod, about the size of shad, have been somewhat abund- 
ant in Puget Sound during the winter months. Cod weighing 
from four to six pounds have been taken during the summer 
months by Indians at Nee-ah Bay. The presence of small cod 
in the winter months in Puget Sound and at the mouth of the 
Strait of Fuca, is an indication that large quantities may be found 
in the neighborhood of Cape Flattery—say west of Tahosh Light 
and south from Vancouver Island. No efficient search has been 
made off the coast of Washington Territory for this valuable 
fish.”’ | 7 
At Sitka, Indians brought a few cod to our vessel in June, 1880. 
The cod were reported abundant and readily caught, but the 
halibut, the many fine “bass” (Sebastichthys, several species) and 
“rockfish” (Hexagrammus) seemed to have greater popularity. 
Mr. A. T. Whitford told me that the cod spawn in the vicinity of 
Sitka in spring, and that they havea remarkable number of eggs. 
We bought a fine cod twenty-six inches long for ten cents here. 
At Port Mulgrave, Yakutat Bay, we took but one cod in the har- 
bor during the day spent there ; this one was large but sick. Good 
fish are to be had in the deeper water outside. Nothing but hand- 
lines were used from the vessel. Capt. J. Haley reports cod very 
abundant on the Hoochenoo bank in Chatham Strait. The bank 
extends from Hoochenoo Point to Point Samuel. He also states 
that there is a bank off Point Gardiner, and that there are banks 
on the east shore of Baranoff Island, near Poghibshi Strait ; also 
