774 
BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF FISHERIES 
Abundance of Cycle Ending in 1934 
The cycle of years — 1934, 1930, 1926, etc. — immediately following the big years 
showed a decline from 1898-1914 amounting to 39 percent from the 1898 level. The 
catch of 5,000,000 sockeyes in 1898 did not appear to be unduly heavy at the then 
existing level of abundance, only a 4 percent drop, which may not be statistically 
significant, occurring between 1898 and 1902. In 1902, however, the catch was in- 
creased to over 7,000,000 fish, resulting in a drop of 23 percent in the abundance of 
the 1908 run. Catches of over 4,000,000 in 1906 and 1910 were both too heavy for 
these lower levels of abundance and the catch continued to decline. 
In 1914, the lowest level of abundance the cycle had thus far experienced, the 
fishing was very intense. One hundred traps fished in the sockeye areas, the most in 
any off year since 1903, and the gill net effort was exceeded only by 1900, 1901, and 1903, 
resulting in a catch of 5,700,000 sockeyes. The spawning ground reports for 1914 
indicated the poorest escapement on record, which was amply borne out by the run 
of 1918, the next year of this cycle, which was the poorest in the whole history of the 
Fraser River fishery. 
The intensive fishery of 1914 was doubtless instrumental in causing this remark- 
ably low escapement, but there is little doubt that at least a small portion of the blame 
must be laid on the blockade of Hell’s Gate in 1914. The report on this blockade 
stated that no salmon were able to ascend through the canyon from August 10 to 25, 
and that the fish had great difficulty in passing at other times, some 20,000 being put 
over the rapids with dipnets. 
Although a fair amount of gear was employed in 1918 the catch of just over 800,000 
was relatively much less than that of 1914, considering the very low level of abundance. 
However, the remarkable increase in abundance between 1918 and 1922 cannot be 
explained in terms of catch or escapement. The survival rate of the sockeyes being 
influenced to a great extent by conditions in the lakes, and probably, to a lesser extent, 
by conditions in the ocean, is subject to occasional violent fluctuations. In this case 
the result was a doubling in the level of abundance between 1918 and 1922. 
In 1922, with the sockeyes much more numerous than in 1918, the catch was only 
slightly over 1,000,000 fish. The number of sockeye traps was the lowest since 1898 
and the gill net effort had fallen considerably since the war years, permitting the best 
off year escapement for several years, possibly since 1912. One feature of the 1922 
run was a fair escapement to the Shuswap-Adams Lake system. 
The relatively good escapement of 1922 was reflected in an improved run in 1926. 
The run was exceptionally late, and, in addition, appeared not to have followed its 
usual migration routes through the salt-water channels leading to the mouth of the 
Fraser River. As a result, neither the traps nor the purse seines in Puget Sound 
caught many sockeyes, and the gill net operators on the Fraser River received the 
full benefit of the run, catching more per unit of fishing effort than in any year since 
1913. However, the number of gill nets was so small that the escapement was relatively 
very high in proportion to the catch, which was slightly under 1,400,000. 
The results of the 1926 escapement are shown in the catches of 4,600,000 and 
5,000,000 in 1930 and 1934, respectively. 
