SALMON AND SALMON FISHERIES OF SWIFTSURE BANK 
717 
big sockeye runs. During the World War the number of traps remained high even 
during years of poor runs owing to the high prices of salmon, but immediately there- 
after the number fell off sharply and never fully recovered. 
The number of traps has been reduced to a slight extent by regulations closing 
certain areas to fishing. In 1921 the State fishery board set aside certain areas as 
salmon preserves, but they were areas that had been without regular traps for several 
years. The San Juan Island preserve had had a few traps at times, especially on Shaw 
Island, but none of them had been successful. 
In 1924 the Hood Canal preserve, which was created in 1921 to protect the lower 
end of Hood Canal, was extended to take in nearly all of the canal. Two or three 
traps that had been operating in the fall, chiefly for chum salmon, were thus removed. 
In the same year traps w T ere prohibited in the Hope Island area, thus removing about 
a dozen traps catching chiefly Skagit River salmon. However, this prohibition was 
modified the following year. 
Table 6. — Number of salmon traps operated from. 1893-1934, exclusive of dummy traps 
Year 
Traps operated in 
Puget Sound 1 
Traps 
with 
data 
before 
1915 
British 
Colum- 
bia 
traps 
Total 
Year 
Traps operated in 
Puget Sound 1 
Traps 
with 
data 
before 
1915 
British 
Colum- 
bia 
traps 
Total 
Regu- 
lar 
Exper- 
imen- 
tal 
Total 
Regu- 
lar 
Exper- 
imen- 
tal 
Total 
1893 
2 13 
3 
13 
1914 
116 
71 
8 10 
126 
1894 
3 19 
1 
20 
1915 
121 
27 
148 
8 10 
158 
1895 
* 21 
11 
2 
23 
1916 
96 
14 
110 
4 
114 
1896 
26 
2 
1917 
121 
32 
153 
7 
160 
1897. ___ 
5 71 
35 
4 
75 
1918 
98 
11 
109 
8 11 
120 
1898 
39 
6 
32 
3 
48 
1919 
101 
13 
114 
8 8 
122 
1899 
98 
14 
112 
76 
3 
115 
1920 
71 
8 
79 
8 8 
87 
1900 
130 
33 
163 
74 
3 
166 
1921-._ 
91 
5 
96 
8 
104 
1901 
140 
9 
149 
88 
3 
152 
1922 
62 
1 
63 
4 
67 
1902 
105 
37 
142 
82 
3 
145 
1923 
90 
6 
96 
6 
102 
1903 
104 
2 
106 
67 
3 
109 
1924. 
68 
3 
71 
4 
75 
1904 
75 
4 
79 
44 
1 
80 
1925 
104 
13 
117 
5 
122 
1905 
137 
1 
138 
70 
7 17 
155 
1926 
86 
5 
91 
6 
97 
1906 
88 
8 
96 
61 
8 10 
106 
1927. 
97 
3 
100 
5 
105 
1907. 
« 98 
60 
7 12 
110 
1928 - 
86 
2 
88 
5 
93 
1908 
80 
49 
7 12 
92 
1929 
116 
14 
130 
6 
136 
1909 
152 
76 
8 15 
167 
1930. 
102 
9 
111 
6 
117 
1910 
93 
8 10 
103 
1931 
93 
5 
98 
4 
102 
1911 
111 
68 
8 10 
121 
1932. 
47 
1 
48 
4 
52 
1912 
110 
66 
8 10 
120 
1933 - 
80 
3 
83 
5 
88 
1913 
168 
84 
8 
176 
1934 
84 
8 
92 
5 
97 
1 1898-1906 partly from State license flies at Auburn. 
2 At Point Roberts only, Rathbun (1899). 
> Partly estimated from Rathbun (1899). 
4 Rathbun (1899). 
* Fidalgo Island Packing Co. records. 
6 1907-14 estimated. Number for which we had data estimated as 61 percent of traps operated, as from 1901-06 (except 1905), 
when it varied from 56-64 percent. In 1905 twice as many operated and this was used for 1909 and 1913. 
: Partly from Pacific Fisherman. 
* Number licensed. 
•Estimated. 
LOCATIONS FISHED 
Because of the sketchy nature of the available data no attempt has been made to 
give accurately the number of traps operating in each area prior to 1898. Traps were 
first tried at Point Roberts in 1880, but could hardly be considered a success until 
1891. In the few years from 1891-97 traps were driven in numerous localities through- 
out Puget Sound, but mostly without much success. The locations that proved suc- 
cessful were continued, and for the others only a few records are available. 
