114 The Salmon 



are seal- marked, showing that hsh in prime condition are more 

 inchned to run when the water and weather are suitable. More 

 fish run during night than during the day. 



The Movements of the Fish in the Sea 



We have little knowledge of their movements from the time they 

 visit the sea as smolts until they appear again along the coast, and are 

 either caught in the stake-nets or immediately after appear in the 

 river. I am of opinion that every salmon or grilse on coming to our 

 shores wishes to enter its own river, and would do so if it were not 

 caught in these nets. A good deal of nonsensical talk has been 

 indulged in, in arguing the advisability of catching all the hsh in the 

 sea and leaving the rivers unfished. The wiser plan, however, would 

 be to remove all stake and bag nets from the sea and catch the 

 fish in the rivers. They can be caught in the rivers at far less 

 expense, and being caught by sweep-nets, are not so roughly handled, 

 and are killed at once on being captured. They are thus in much 

 better condition than those caught in stake-nets, although I know 

 many people think differently. 



During the sitting of the recent Royal Commission, Lord Elgin 

 was astonished to hear me say that the fish caught in our sweep- 

 nets were better than those cauQ^ht in our stake-nets in the sea. 

 My explanation was, that it was the method of catching them that 

 made the river ones superior to those caught in the sea. If they toss 

 about in the stake-net until they die and are then rolled about by the 

 waves, their scales are torn and rubbed oft and their flesh becomes 

 soft and flabby, and altogether they have the appearance of " cadged " 

 fish. One can easily see this if the two kinds be compared on 

 a fishmonger's slab. The sea-caught ones lie as flat as a flounder ; 

 whereas the river-caught ones are stiff and rigid and do not lie flat. 



I am of opinion that the increased number of stake and bag nets 

 on the coast is not only curtailing the supply of fish, but is actually 

 ruinine some ot our West Coast rivers which used to swarm with 



