16 
BULLETTX OF THE BUREAU OF FISHERIES 
In 1920 Smith and Kincaid reported on the unmature saknon taken off the mouth 
of the Columbia River, Grays Harbor, and Neah Bay during 1918. Later in the 
same year (1920) a more complete report by Smith gave the results of his investiga- 
tions during 1918 and 1919. In both of these reports Smith gives the results of 
chemical analyses, which show that the product resulting from the canning of the 
immature fish is decidedly inferior to the standard grades in fat and protein content. 
He also presents figures that show something of the extent of the operations of both 
the purse seine and the trolling fleets, and concludes that " the taking of immature 
salmon in the Puget Sound and on the banks along the coasts of Oregon, Washington, 
and Vancouver Island is responsible for a great loss in one of the important food 
products of the region." 
The "outside fishing," as it is commonly termed, has been increased by the 
addition of both purse seines and trolling boats, but the exact amount of this increase 
in the different regions where such fishing is carried on is difficult to determine. 
The purse seiners frequently move from one location to another, fishing wherever 
the greatest returns can be obtained. The troUers not infrequently (at least in 
Oregon and Washington) fail to take out licenses. Much of the trolling is carried on 
outside the 3-mile limit, and some of the trollers argue that it is not necessary for 
them to take out licenses to fish except in territorial waters. Furthermore, one 
fisherman often takes out licenses for more than one kind of gear — as for trolling 
and gill netting, or trolling and trapping — and trolls only a small part of the season. 
These factors make it practically impossible to determine with any accuracy the 
amount of increase in this outside fishing, but there can be no doubt that it has de- 
veloped within the past few years into a very important factor and represents an 
increased drain on the resources of the fishery which may easily result in serious 
depletion. The number of trollers operating off the mouth of the Columbia River 
during the three seasons, 1919 to 1921, inclusive, was estimated at between two and 
three thousand, and the Columbia River District TroUer's Union alone contained 
some 1,500 members. At the same time there were probably not less than 40 
purse seines operating in the same region. This is in strong contrast to the con- 
dition in 1914, when there were on\j a few dozen trollers and possibly three or four 
purse seines operating off the mouth of the river. 
One of the chief objections that has been raised to this "outside fishing" has 
been that it was destructive of immature salmon. The most casual observation 
shows that a considerable percentage of the fish taken outside are relatively imma- 
ture. They average decidedly smaller than the fish taken inside, are feeding 
heavily, and observation of the gonads discloses the fact that these organs are 
relatively imdeveloped in many of the individuals. The taking of fish one or 
more years before they will become mature reduces the population that will form 
the basis of the fishery one or more years later, at which time fishing operations of 
dangerous intensity will be brought to bear upon the reduced numbers. Such an 
increase in the intensity of fishing that will affect the abundance of salmon previous 
to maturity, when they are comparatively small and of poor quality, and acting 
on a resource already showing evidence of depletion, is unquestionably a dangerous 
development. 
