SALMON AND SALMON FISHERIES OF SWIFTSURE BANK 
781 
In 1927 both the trap- and gill-net fisheries were slightly more intense than in 
1923. The purse seine boats were also more numerous. The net result was a catch 
of 1,800,000 in 1927 against 850,000 in 1923, and, as might be expected, the level of 
abundance fell off somewhat in 1931. 
COHO SALMON 
By George B. Kelez 
INTRODUCTION 
Ascending almost every stream and river of the region on their spawning migra- 
tions, cohos are the most widely distributed salmon present in these waters. Although 
suffering a severe decrease in numbers in recent years, they have formed a considerable 
portion of the catch throughout the history of the salmon fishery. 
This species provided the bulk of the pack of the first Puget Sound cannery and 
of the establishments which immediately succeeded it in that district. They formed 
the major portion of the catch of the natives resident at Neah Bay when fishery 
operators first visited that region in quest of new supplies of salmon. The catches 
of the early type of purse seines were composed almost entirely of cohos, and they 
have provided the chief source of the seiner’s income in off years up to the present 
time. This species is also the principal salt-water catch of summer vacationists and 
recreational fishermen throughout the region. 
The first coho catciies of the season are made during the early summer by the 
troll and purse-seine fleets operating in the waters off Cape Flattery, and on Swiftsure 
Bank. Great schools of immature fish feed there at that time, and large catches are 
common for a period of several weeks. In late summer the adult cohos begin their 
migration through the inner waters of the region to the tributary rivers where they 
will spawn, and the major part of the commercial catch is made during the period of 
this migration by traps, seines, and gill nets. 
LIFE HISTORY 
SPAWNING 
The majority of the mature fish enter fresh water during the months of October 
and November, although some may run as early as September, and a few individuals 
may tarry in salt water until the latter part of January. Actual spawning usually 
begins a week or two after the fish first enter the streams, and often extends through- 
out the winter months. Some of the salmon hatcheries in the region have con- 
tinued to strip eggs up to the middle of March, but most of the natural spawning 
has terminated before that date. In general, late spawning is confined to the 
smaller, shorter streams. 
Active and highly adaptive to different conditions, coho salmon may spawn 
on suitable gravel beds only a few miles from salt water, or may ascend the larger 
rivers to tributary streams in the mountains which surround the region. Such varia- 
tions in time and locality of spawning cause considerable differences in the time of 
hatching of the eggs and in the growth of the fry. 
