THE SALMON FISHERY OF PENOBSCOT BAY AND RIVER. 
123 
Extension of salmon-liatching operations on the Penobscot . — The establishment 
of branch hatcheries has been suggested in order to utilize the spawning salmon in 
the region which lies above commercial fishing, and thus increase by artificial means 
the production of young fish. It is well known that even under the best conditions 
now prevailing in our streams the eggs of anadromous fishes like the salmon and 
shad are liable to numerous destructive agencies; that only a small percentage of the 
eggs laid under natural surroundings ever hatch, and that the young are subject to 
heavy mortality up to the time when they leave the river and enter the salt water. 
Probably 5 per cent would be much too large an estimate of the number of salmon 
eggs which in a state of nature produce fish that reach the ocean. Fish-culture, 
on the other hand, hatches 95 per cent of the eggs and raises 75 per cent of the fry 
to the age of yearlings. Of 206,350 Atlantic salmon eggs obtained in 1895 at the 
government station at Oraig Brook, 206,109 were hatched and 151,761 yearling fish 
were liberated in the fall. The percentage of eggs hatched was thus 99.88 and the 
percentage of yearlings raised was 78.39. This is sufficient ground for interfering 
with the salmon even after they have reached their spawning-beds, and justifies the 
establishment of hatcheries in the headwaters of the Penobscot, provided the supply 
of fish in any section is large enough to insure a reasonable take of eggs. 
No examinations of the upper tributaries of the Penobscot thus far made have 
disclosed the existence of any stream on which the construction of a branch salmon 
hatchery is warranted, owing to the few salmon obtainable. The matter deserves 
further investigation, however, and will receive due consideration at an early date. 
It is thought that a satisfactory supply of fish may be secured by constructing a dam 
or rack which will intercept fish in the main stream and lead practically the entire run 
into one tributary, where they may be retained. 
The operation of a branch salmon hatchery in the river above Bangor would of 
course depend on the successful working of the fishways and the enforcement by the 
State of the anti-poaching laws. 
Planting of quinnat salmon and steelhead trout in Maine streams . — The United States 
Fish Commission is making the experiment of planting large numbers of non-indigenous 
salmon in the Penobscot Basin and other Maine waters with a view to test whether 
the fishes are adapted to those streams. The species with which trials have thus far 
been made are the quinnat or chinook salmon ( Oncorhynchus tschawytscha) and the 
steelhead trout ( Salmo gairdneri). It is intended to plant sufficiently large numbers 
of yearling fish to fully test the feasibility of the project; and in the event of success 
two extremely valuable species will have been added to the fishery resources of the 
Maine streams. 
During the years 1896 and 1897 over 2,000,000 young quinnat salmon and steel- 
heads were deposited by the Commission in the Penobscot Biver and adjacent waters, 
several hundred thousand of which were four to six months old. The planting of 
additional fry and yearlings is contemplated in order to thoroughly demonstrate 
whether their introduction is possible. 
The quinnat salmon ranges along practically the entire Pacific Coast of North 
America north of Mexico, entering all suitable streams. It is the most valuable 
member of the salmon family, and is taken in very large quantities for canning, 
salting, and fresh consumption. Its flesh is very rich and of a deep-red color. It is 
caught in the rivers with gill nets, seines, pound nets, traps, weirs, wheels, and other 
