BRITISH COLUMBIA FISHERIES. 
HE coast of British Columbia, embracing all the sea-front 
which lies between the 49th and 55th parallels of north 
latitude, presents an ideal field for the establishment and profitable 
operation of a great fishing industry in all its branches. The coast 
is so indented by numerous sounds, bays and inlets, many stretch- 
ing inland for long distances, that the actual shore-line (including 
Vancouver Island and the Queen Charlotte Group) exceeds 
15,000 miles. The Mainland coast is protected from ocean storms 
by thousands of islands, which serve to form a vast, land-locked 
maze of waters, teeming with sea life of many varieties,—from 
the mighty whale to the tiny sardine—while the beaches are alive 
with shell-fish. Beyond this great natural fish preserve, the North 
Pacific and Behring Sea afford deep-sea fishing grounds eclipsing 
the North Atlantic in their wealth of food fishes. 
Although the British Columbia fisheries show remarkable 
development in some branches, producing an average annual value 
of over six million dollars in the past decade, it may be confidently 
stated that the industry is still in the initial stage, for 80 per cent. 
of the yearly output is credited to salmon, which (with the 
exception of halibut) is the only fish which has so far been taken 
in large quantities. 
The activity in salmon fishing is accounted for by the habits of 
the fish itself. Swarming into the straits and the mouths of the 
rivers in countless myriads at certain seasons every year, the 
salmon invited capture, and capital, with an eye to substantial 
dividends, was attracted by the ease with which it could be turned 
to profitable account. The excellent quality of British Columbia 
canned salmon, and its cheapness, made it a universally popular 
article of food, so the industry grew apace while other fishes, equal 
in food value, were overlooked and escaped the net. 
The strides made in salmon canning may be realised by the 
following figures, showing the progress in ten-year periods since 
1876, the year in which the business was established in British 
Columbia :— 
Cases. Value. Cases. Value. 
1876 :8.0.9 es 9,800... $ 46,840 1896...... 601,500 ..  §2,875,1 
I88Gue202% 161,200... 770,536 1906...... 629,400 .. 3,008,53 
These figures are the more remarkable from the fact that they 
do not include any of the so-called “big years,’ in which the 
run of salmon is unusually large. Thus, in 1901, a big year, 
