GROWTH AND MATUEITY OP SALMON IN THE OCEAN 
63 
The agreement in the data from the Straits of Georgia and from the ocean 
near the mouth of the Columbia River is remarkably close, considering the different 
conditions under which the data were collected. The growth is apparently nearly 
identical in the two localities. It seems evident that the growth curves given in 
Figures 22 and 23 represent quite accurately the average size of chinook salmon 
during their hfe in the ocean. 
The results of this study of growth may be summarized as follows: 
1. Examination of the trends of the variations in size of the different age groups 
during the season has shown that the variations are much more irregular among 
the fish taken in the river than among those taken in the ocean. Evidence is pre- 
sented to show that these irregularities are due to variations in the racial consti- 
tution of the fish taken in the river. On this account the data from this source 
are not suitable as a basis for a study of growth. The data obtained from fish 
taken in the ocean is, however, suitable for such a study. 
2. A growth curve has been based on the trends obtained from the study of 
the fish taken in the ocean. It has the form typical of organisms the growth of 
which continues over a series of years and shows seasonal fluctuations in rate. 
The agreement with similar data obtained by Eraser in his investigation of the 
salmon of the Straits of Georgia is very close — a fact which indicates that the growth 
curve presented in this paper may be relied upon to show the average size of chinook 
salmon in the general region of the Columbia River and Puget Sound during the 
greater part of their life in the ocean. 
FISH TAKEN IN MONTEREY BAY 
A few data are available from the chinook sahnon taken by troll in Monterey 
Bay, Calif. A collection of scales was made during the summer of 1915, and at 
the same time a collection of egg samples was made. The egg samples were merely 
taken from the cleaning tables and, since the value of the size of the eggs in deter- 
mining the relative maturity had not then been established, no attempt was made 
to take data and scales from the fish from which the eggs came. In fact, this value 
first became apparent through the study of this collection. In the summer of 
1918 (June 19 to 21), a small collection of females was made and egg samples taken 
and tagged so that they could be identified with the corresponding scales and data. 
At the time this collection was made it was the intention to obtain many more data, 
but the fishing happened to be unusually poor and only 63 females could be obtained 
in the time available. The study of these few data has proved interesting, although 
they form an inadequate basis for final conclusions. More extensive studies of the 
fish taken in Monterey Bay are being made by the California Fish and Game 
Commission under the direction of Prof. J. O. Snyder, assisted by E. A. Mc- 
Gregor, to whom the writer is indebted for the privilege of examining some of 
their unpublished data. 
SIZE 
The length-frequency distributions for the various age groups found in the 
collections made in 1915 and 1918 are given in Tables 22 and 24 on pages 84 and 
86. The number of individuals belonging to each age group and the average lengths 
are given in Table 13. 
