TAGGING SALMON IN ALASKA, 1923 
57 
fish running on the eastern side of Morzhovoi Bay represent races seldom found 
in the other districts. Some admixture is apparent, since a few fish from trap No. 5 
went to Bristol Bay and a few from other traps went eastward, but the proportions 
are so distinctly different that there can be no question as to the essentially different 
character of the two streams of migrants. 
Table 35. — Returns of red salmon from each tagging in Morzhovoi Bay, Pacific American Fisheries 
trap No. 5. Percentage taken in each locality and median time en route in days 
[Number of fish tagged, 962] 
Locality of recapture 
Approxi- 
mate 
distance 
(stand- 
ard 
miles) 
June 30— 
403 tagged, 
228 returned 
July 8— 
110 tagged, 
52 returned 
July 13— 
279 tagged, 
135 returned 
July 18— 
170 tagged, 
79 returned 
Total 
number 
returned 
Per- 
centage 
returned 
Average 
time in 
days 1 
Per 
cent 
Time 
in 
days 
Per 
cent 
Time 
in 
days 
Per 
cent 
Time 
in 
days 
Per 
cent 
Time 
in 
days 
Morzhovoi Bay 
1.7 
3 
3.6 
10 
16.5 
3 
10 
7 
74 
7. 69 
4.6 
5 
3.2 
50+ 
2.4 
40+ 
13 
1.35 
50(?) 
Ikatan Bay 
25 
44.4 
2 
4.5 
2 
8.2 
3 
5.3 
8 
216 
22. 44 
2.' 7' 
150 
. 2 
11 
1 
. 10 
11 
190 
1 
10 
.9 
14 
5 
.52 
11.2 
210 
.6 
1 
. 10 
Egegik 
350 
.2 
18 
1 
. 10 
420 
.4 
22 
1 
. 10 
Naknek 
370 
2 
16 
2.7 
14 
11 
1. 14 
Kvichak. 
370 
1.5 
15 
1.8 
13 
8 
.83 
Nushagak 
360 
.2 
18 
.9 
14 
.4 
12 
3 
.31 
Thin Point 
25 
3 
4 
21.8 
3 
10.4 
6 
18.8 
6 
97 
10. 09 
5.1 
Cold Bay 
40 
2 
11 
9.1 
3 
6.5 
8 
8.2 
6 
50 
5.20 
6.9 
50 
.6 
5 
1 
. 10 
Pavlof Bay 
90 
.2 
19 
1.8 
10 
2.9 
6 
1.2 
10 
13 
1. 35 
8.3 
Total. 
56. 4 
47. 1 
48.5 
47. 1 
495 
51.42 
1 See footnote 3 to Table 30. 
Inspection of the tables also shows that the local fish constituted a much larger 
percentage of the fish tagged toward the end of the season. Very few fish taken 
locally were tagged during June, but they form a conspicuous item in the returns 
from experiments started during July. In the case of 37 individuals taken in 
Morzhovoi Lake, but one was tagged during June (June 7 at Kelly Rock trap). 
Twelve of those recovered in Morzhovoi Lake were tagged in Morzhovoi Bay on 
July 8, 5 at Ikatan on July 10, 2 at Ikatan on July 11, 9 in Morzhovoi Bay on July 
13, 4 on the 18th, and 4 on the 20th. It is quite apparent that this run of fish, which 
spawns in Morzhovoi Lake, appears in the vicinity of Ikatan and Morzhovoi 
Bays late in the season after the Bristol Bay run has passed on. It is not possible 
to state whether these local fish actually come into these bays later in the season 
or whether they are there along with the others but form such a small element in 
the total population that the chance of tagging many of them is slight. It is pos- 
sible that the influx into the coastal waters of the tremendous shoals of salmon 
bound for Bristol Bay may either obscure the lesser runs or may tend to keep them 
out and away from the coast where the fishing gear is operated. It is also possible 
that the fish bound for local streams do not normally seek the shore as early as 
those bound for the more distant spawning areas. Whatever the ultimate explana- 
tion may be, it is certain that the local fish do not constitute a conspicuous per- 
centage of the fish taken in this region until well along in July. 
