REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONER OF FISHERIES. 93 



quantities. It has been canned to some extent on the Columbia, and 

 is not inferior to the red salmon for that purpose. 



The Dolly Varden trout {Salvelinus malma) is miscalled "salmon 

 trout" in Alaska, where it is by far the most abundant of all the trouts, 

 swarming in every stream and lake and about the islands from the 

 Columbia River to Bering Sea. It attains a weight of 8 to 12 

 pounds, though examples of a greater weight than 1 or 2 pounds 

 are not often seen. It is a fairly good food fish, but is of little 

 economic value except about the towns where it may be consumed 

 fresh, since it can not be taken in such numbers as the canning inter- 

 ests require and it is too small for advantageous sale in cold storage. 

 As a game fish it offers excellent sport to the angler in almost every 

 stream or lake in Alaska. In fresh water the color is rich dark blue 

 or olive, with crimson or orange spots; in the sea it changes to steel 

 gray with spots of paler gray. 



This trout is the most persistent and destructive enemy of the salmon 

 eggs and fry. When the red salmon and the humpbacks enter the 

 streams, the Dolly Vardens accompany them in great numbers, and 

 may be seen at the falls and cascades leaping and jumping quite as 

 freely and vigorously as the salmon. They follow the latter to their 

 spawning beds, where they devour the eggs and fry by the millions. 

 The only compensation for the destruction wrought by them lies in 

 the fact that the salmon sometimes feed upon the young trout. 



The cutthroat trout (xS'«?W(9 clarkii) occurs sparingly in many streams 

 in southeast Alaska and southward, and is a superior game fish. In 

 Alaska it probably does not exceed 2 or 3 pounds in weight, and is 

 of no importance except to the angler.. It is a black-spotted trout, 

 and may always be known by the dash of red on each side of the throat. 



The rainbow trout {Salmo vrideus) has not previously been recorded 

 from Alaskan waters, but was found by the Alaska Salmon Commis- 

 sion in the streams and lakes about Loring and Ketchikan and on Bar- 

 anof , Chichagof, Admiralty, Kuiu, and Prince of Wales islands. It 

 also occurs in British Columbia, particularly at Texada Island. The 

 species reaches a weight of 2 or 3 pounds, and is the greatest game 

 fish in Alaska, if not in American waters. It may be distinguished 

 from the cutthroat by the absence of red on the throat and the larger 

 scales; from the steelhead by the larger head, larger scales, smaller 

 size, and more rosy coloration. It is not abundant enough to be of 

 any value except to the angler. 



The Great Lakes trout ( Cristi/vomer namaycush) is common in the 

 Yukon and other waters tributary to Bering Sea, reaching a weight 

 of 30 to 50 pounds in the lakes at the headwaters of the Yukon. It is 

 of some commercial importance as a fresh fish at Dawson and other 

 mining towns in the interior. 



