FISHERIES OF THE PACIFIC COAST. 
249 
time, however, the rapid growth of the Northwest has put such a pre- 
mium on skilled and unskilled labor that there has been no necessity 
and little incentive for men to engage in the arduous and hazardous 
calling of fishing. Wilcox has observed that among the public build- 
ings which spring up when a new town is established a good substantial 
fish market is usually not among them, and small shanties near the 
water’s edge are generally the inauspicious pioneers of the market fish- 
eries in all the settlements on Puget Sound. 
Port Townsend is at most seasons fairly well supplied with fresh fish 
by a small fleet of sloop-rigged boats manned by about 40 persons. The 
species exposed for sale are mostly halibut, taken near the Strait of Fuca, 
and salmon, rock fish, black-cod, etc., secured in the waters of the Sound. 
The Indians at Neah Bay also contribute at times to the market supply 
of Port Townsend. The market fisheries of Seattle, although surpass- 
ing in extent those of all the other towns on the Sound combined, are 
not commensurate with other industries or the needs of the city. The 
principal varieties marketed fresh are rockfisb, flounders, herring, 
perch, smelt, sardines, and salmon, of which about 1,150,000 pounds, 
valued at $42,000, were taken in 1888. 
Tacoma represents about the southernmost point on the Sound from 
which market fishing is carried on and at which salt-water fish occur. 
Adjacent to the city, shad and salmon trout, in addition to the species 
already mentioned, are taken in pound nets, gill nets, and seines, oper- 
ated from small sloops and open boats. The total catch in 1888 was 
over 850,000 pounds, worth to the fishermen $32,570. The market fish- 
eries of this city are no doubt greatly promoted by a well-kept market 
with refrigerators, and by the abundance of ice used in preserving the 
properly dressed fish. 
Market prices . — The following is a list of market prices for fishery 
products obtained at Tacoma, and these apply, with certain minor modi- 
fications, to other places on Puget Sound : 
Species. 
Unit. Average 
prices. 
Salmon 
Pound 
$0. 03 
.08 
.05 
.03 
.03 
.03 
.05 
. 25 
.10 
.10 
1. 00 
2. 50 
.40 
Salmon trout; 
Cod 
do 
■Roolcfiah _ 
Smelt 
do . 
Perch. . 
Halibut 
do 
Shad 
do ... 
Shrimp 
do 
Crabs 
Number (each) 
Sack (100 pounds). 
do _ _ 
Clams 
Oysters : 
Oil 
Gallon 
Fishing grounds. — Reference is made to the map, plate xliii, for the 
location of the fishing grounds in this region. Halibut, cultus-cod, rock- 
fish, and black-cod can be taken on numerous spots, indicated on the 
