KARLUK: RIVER RED-SALMON INVESTIGATION 



29 



It is apparent that the larger females have the greater number of eggs, the 

 relationship being such that a difference of 1 centimeter in the length of the fish ia 

 accompanied, on the average, by a difference of 150 in the total number of eggs. 

 The average of 3,728 is considerably higher than the number of eggs taken from red 

 salmon as reported by fish culturists. The average number of eggs per female, as 

 reported in the records of the hatchery formerly operated by the Alaska Packers 

 Association on the Karluk River, is approximately 2,900. This discrepancy is 

 doubtless due to the failure, in routine hatchery operations, to secure all of the eggs 



5000 



24000 

 o 



o 



U-J 

 ZD 



3000 



H2000 







<8> 











® 





X 



X / 



> } 



X 



: 



t 



















0 



50 



70 



55 60 65 



LENGTH IN CENTIMETERS 



Fio. 20.— Number of eggs in Karluk River red salmon taken on September 15, 1926. ®, data from single individual. 



produced by each female. Some may be lost before the artificial spawning takes 

 place, and others may be left in the body of the female, especially if she is not per- 

 fectly ripe. The data secured by Chamberlain 9 indicate in the Karluk race an 

 average number of eggs per female of 3,500 — approximately the same as our figures. 



These figures are especially interesting as indicative of the enormous number 

 of eggs deposited on the spawning beds of Karluk Lake in a favorable year. 

 It is probable that more than 1,000,000 females entered Karluk Lake to spawn 



9 See footnote 4, p. 9 



