210 
BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF FISHERIES 
going to Eshamy Bay or the more northern localities just as they apparently do at 
Falls Bay, for example. 
Prince of Wales Passage. — Beginning in 1919, fishing in these waters has been 
carried on each year through 1926, except 1925. In that time the catch of red salmon, 
though never large, has shown considerable fluctuation; but the number taken in 
1926 was next to the largest ever reported from the passage. The catch of pinks 
has increased materially although none was reported during the three years 1921 to 
1923 nor in 1925 or 1927. The large catches of 1924 and 1926 were made by traps, 
and it appears probable that they were not driven in the odd years when only small 
runs were expected. The streams of the passage are undoubtedly small and not 
capable of supporting large local runs so that the capture of more than 100,000 
salmon in Prince of Wales Passage in 1926 indicates that the salmon taken there were 
chiefly migratory. 
Squire Island, Thumb Bay, and Whale Bay. — Of these three localities, Whale 
Bay only was fished before 1926. It produced in 1918 and 1920, small numbers of 
chums and pinks. The bay was not fished again until 1926 when 36,553 pinks were 
taken and a limited number of reds and chums was also captured. The Squire 
Island and Thumb Bay data cover only two years but catches were fair at both 
places. The Squire Island catches were taken (undoubtedly from salmon on their 
migration to streams beyond) by a trap located at the south end of the island. The 
data are too few to warrant any attempt at analysis. The unallocated catches in 
the district include salmon from Chenega Passage in 1919 and 1920; from Grafton 
Island and Dangerous Passage in 1918 and 1919; from Eshamy Passage in 1920; 
from Flemming Island in 1927; from Hawkins Bay in 1917; from Knight Island in 
1913, 1917, and 1918; from Little Bay in 1920 and 1926; from Paddy Bay in 1913 
and 1917 ; and from Mummy Bay and Sleepy Bay in 1926. 
The Knight Island Passage district, as a whole, shows a rather steady production 
of red salmon from 1904 to 1927. The red-salmon catches are obviously dominated 
by the Eshamy runs since the figures for the entire district closely parallel those for 
Eshamy alone and are only slightly higher up to 1924. Since 1924 the catches in the 
entire district have been markedly higher than those from Eshamy due, without 
doubt, to the limitation of fishing in Eshamy Bay and the subsequent increase of 
fishing effort outside, but in localities where the fish bound for Eshamy are running. 
While the regulations have reduced the catch of red salmon in the immediate vicinity 
of Eshamy, it is apparent that they have not materially affected the total catch in 
the district. This evidently means that the gear formerly fished close to the mouth 
of the stream has been just as effective when moved farther away or else that it has 
been replaced by other gear which has been effectively operated at a distance from 
the stream mouth. It is important to note that, at least in this instance, regulations 
designed to reduce the dangerous concentration of fishing effort at the mouth of the 
stream still permit a reasonable catch. In the case of pink salmon, the district shows 
larger catches in 1926 and 1927 than ever before and a consistently better run in 
each off year since 1921. Chums are not taken in large numbers in this part of the 
sound, the largest catch being 21,033 in 1918. Small runs may be characteristic 
of this district, yet on the other hand the small catches may be accounted for in that 
little or no effort was made to take chums. Cohos are also captured in comparatively 
small numbers, but the supply was as large in 1927 as in any preceding season. The 
evidence indicates that here, as elsewhere, cohos and chums are taken chiefly inci- 
dental to the fishing for other species. King-salmon runs are insignificant, catches 
