388 
BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 
By some persons the catfish are held responsible for the scarcity of Sacramento 
perch in the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers. Mr. Babcock writes that he is 
informed by reliable men living above Colusa that up to 1880 perch were very common 
there and catfish were seldom taken, but since that time the catfish have increased 
beyond all belief and the perch have almost disappeared. The supposed influence of 
the catfish on the abundance of the perch arises from the spawn-eating propensities 
of the catfish. 
Mr. A. Paladini, an extensive and long-established dealer of San Francisco, 
believes that catfish are especially injurious to salmon in the Sacramento River, where 
he thinks they destroy large quantities of ova and fry. This matter is sufficiently 
important to warrant careful attention. It would seem that the centers of abundance 
of catfish are probably remote from the spawning-grounds of salmon. 
ASSOCIATION WITH OTHER FISH, ENEMIES, ETC. 
In California and Oregon catfish inhabit to a great extent waters in which few 
other fish could or do exist. In the lagoons and sloughs connected with the San 
Joaquin, Sacramento, and Willamette rivers, but few fish besides catfish are taken 
with the fyke nets and set lines. When fishing is done in the main streams, a num- 
ber of varieties are caught with catfish, among which are split-tails ( Pogonichthys 
macro lepidotus ) , hardheads (Ptychocheilus oregonensis ), and carp ( Gyprinus carpio ), and, 
in the Columbia basin, young sturgeon (Acipenser transmontanus). 
Few enemies and no diseases disturb the catfish in Pacific waters, according to 
Mr. Alexander. No fish are known to prey on them except the striped bass, and even 
that species must do so very rarely. In some instances the ingestion of catfish by 
striped bass results in the death of the latter, the formidable spines piercing the 
stomach and entering the abdominal walls of the bass. 
ORIGIN AND GENERAL EXTENT OF THE FISHERY. 
From the extracts from the reports of the California fish commission previously 
quoted it may be seen that very soon after the introduction of the catfish a fishery 
was inaugurated. The practice of taking the fish for market from public waters has 
probably increased from year to year, although no statistics are available for any 
early years. At present it is probable that more catfish are caught for local and 
home consumption than for sale in the large marketing centers, but no accurate idea 
of the extent of the desultory and semiprofessional fishing can be formed. 
The catfish fishery is not of large proportions in either California or Oregon. 
Only a small amount of capital is invested in it, but few persons are regularly engaged, 
and the catch is insignificant compared with the yield of many other fish taken in the 
same waters. The industry is more extensive in California than in Oregon. 
The commercial fishery, in California at least, has probably reached its height, if 
it is not already on the decline. The receipts of catfish by the San Francisco dealers 
in 1894 were nearly 30 per cent less than in 1893; the decrease was due wholly 
to the lack of demand, the fish being more abundant. The large receipts of shad in 
the markets in recent years have doubtless put a check on the value of catfish and 
the expansion of the fishery. 
