of the Fishery Board for {Scotland. 



7 



feature : even in the case of the scales of old fish, where the periods of 

 growth may be indistinct, the " spawning mark" is still obvious. 

 Mr. Johnston, in 1907, pointed out* that many of the Tay salmon 

 five and six years old showed no spawning mark on their scales. In 

 a paper in Appendix II. to this Keport he again, and more fully, 

 refers to the same matter. It appears certain that some Tay fish up 

 to and even over 30 lbs. have not spawned before the date of their 

 capture. Again and again within recent years it has been pointed 

 out that the scales of salmon showed how seldom they spawn. 

 Mr. J. Arthur Hutton, who has contributed valuable papers on the 

 subject of scales, has kindly informed me that in 1908, 1909, and 1910 

 he examined the scales of 304 salmon from the river Wye, and that 

 of this number only 21 had previously spawned, and only 1 of the 21 

 had spawned twice. The particulars are : — 





No. of 





Previously 





Fish. 



Unspawned. 



Spawned. 



1908 ... 



32 



29 



3 



1909 ... 



117 



105 



12 



1910 ... 



155 



149 



6 





304 



283 



21 



Evidence of this nature seems to me more likely to produce reliable 

 information on the infrequency of spawning amongst salmon, than 

 the evidence from marking, since the indeterminate factor of non- 

 recaptured marked fish is eliminated. 



Mr. Hutton examined the scales of three Wye fish of 40 lb., 42 lb., 

 and 44 lb., taken last season, and found that the fish were six years old 

 and had never spawned. His returns go to show, therefore, that only 

 about 7 per cent, of the Wye fish taken have already spawned. 



It is further significant, as Mr. Johnston pointed out in an earlier 

 Report, that all recaptured fish which have been marked as kelts 

 show this " spawning mark," while it is absent from the scales of the 

 majority of salmon netted or caught by rod in the Tay. Mr. Johnston, 

 in the paper above referred to (Twenty-fifth Eeport, 1907) says : — 

 " The first period in the salmon's life after it returns to the river at 

 " which it spawns is the grilse stage in its fourth }^ear. Many of the 

 " Tay salmon, one and even two years older, have no indication of a 

 " previous spawning on their scales, and have perhaps spent three 

 "years in the sea. They are younger, but, owing to continuous 

 " feeding, may be heavier than some fish of similar appearance 

 " returning at the same time on their second visit to the spawning 

 "beds." 



Observations made on the species of salmon which inhabit the rivers 

 of the Pacific Coast of America go to show that at any rate the sockeye, 

 humpback, and dog salmon only spawn once in their lives, and that 

 certainly all the summer run of these fish die after spawning. On all 

 hands the evidence at command goes to show that the fish composing 

 the salmon family are infrequent spawners. 



On the question as to whether or not fish which have once entered 

 fresh water drop back to the sea, evidence is not very explicit. After 

 floods, and especially perhaps after floods of cold snow water, fish no 



'■Twenty-fifth Annual Report, Pt. II., p. 65. 



