SALMON AND SALMON FISHERIES OF SWIFTSURE BANK 
727 
catch. One end of the net was attached to the scow and the bulk of the seine was 
carried by the skiff, from which it was set around the school of fish. The free end 
was brought back to the scow where the two ends of the purse line were then hauled 
in by the means of the winch. A “plunger,” consisting of a stout pole with a wooden 
box shaped like a truncated pyramid and attached to the lower end, was thrust re- 
peatedly into the water at the opening between the purse lines to keep the fish from 
escaping there. This was necessary, since pursing the net was a very slow proce- 
dure. As high as 6,690 fish were taken in a single haul. At this time the principal 
fisheries on the Sound were at Seattle, which then had three canneries, at Tacoma, 
and at Port Townsend (see figs. 2 and 3). 
Rathbun (1899) describes the purse seines in use about 1895 as essentially similar 
to those of 1888. He also dates their introduction to these waters as 1886, doubtless 
based on Collins’ report, and gives their size as ranging from 150-250 fathoms in 
length, from 14-25 fathoms in depth, and being of 2%-3-inch mesh. 
Rathbun states that in 1893 and 1894 several seines fished regularly at Point 
Roberts, some were employed at Port Angeles, and some in the San Juan Islands. 
The principal purse-seine fishery remained at Seattle, however, where the catches 
were sold to the fresh-fish markets as well as to the canneries. Eleven seines fished 
out of Seattle in 1895, and at least 20 in 1896. Individual hauls of from 1,500 to 
2,500 fish were not uncommon, and one Seattle cannery received from 6 seines an 
average of 12,000 cohos a day during the height of the 1895 run. Although traps had 
become the chief source of salmon in other districts by 1895, the seines still supplied 
the greater part of all fish used in the Seattle aiea. 
Purse-seine fishing in the San Juan Islands received considerable impetus from 
the location of a cannery at Friday Harboi in 1894, and three at Anacortes in 1896. 
Large shore camps, established at points close to the best fishing grounds, provided 
living quarters for the crews. The seine scows and skiffs were towed to these camps 
at the beginning of the run and remained there during the season. The individual 
seine outfits also had to be towed to various parts of the fishing grounds, for their own 
movements were limited to the distance that the boat-pullers could row the heavy 
skiff and attendant scow, and at the close of the day’s fishing the whole apparatus 
had to be returned to the camp ground. Because of these limitations, fishing by purse 
seines was confined to a radius of a few miles from the base camps. 
The first purse seines had been employed during the fall season in the southern 
districts of the Sound where the bulk of the catches consisted of coho salmon. 
Although large quantities of chum and pink salmon were available, the lack of a ready 
market curtailed the fishing for these species. A considerable increase in the number 
of canneries after 1895 furnished a better market for species other than coho, and the 
fishing season of the seines was considerably lengthened. The license records of the 
Washington State Department of Fisheries show that, during 1897, 22 licenses were 
issued during the month of June, 11 during July, 1 in August, and 13 in September, 
In 1898 approximately 31 licenses were issued up to and including duly 6, and none 
thereafter until September 10. Nine licenses were issued after the latter date. It 
will be noted that the larger number of licenses were issued during the early summer, 
that few or none were issued during a slack period of several weeks, and that an addi- 
