NOTES ON THE FISHERIES OF THE PACIFIC COAST. 
271 
Destruction of small salmon . — The statement has from time to time been made in 
public print, and the opinion prevails among some i»ersons interested in the fisheries 
of the Columbia Kiver, that to the destruction of young Chinook salmon is to be 
attributed at least a part of the decline which the industry has undergone. It may 
be said, however, that most i)ersons attach very little importance to the taking of 
small fish; and the special coinmiftee of the Oregon legislature appointed to investi- 
gate the fisheries of the State seemed inclined to fa\ or rather than oppose the capture 
of the’small fish found in the Columbia, on the ground that they were stunted hsh, 
the multiplication of which tended to impair the quality of the race. The prevalence 
of the opinion that all the chinook salmon constituting the runs up to August 1, or 
even later, will naturally die after the completion of the spawning process, is sufficient 
to outweigh.any compunctions that may be entertained as to the sacrifice of small fish. 
In proportion to the extent of the fishery, the catch of chinook salmon too small 
for canning is generally nnimportant. During some seasons there is a larger run of 
small hsh than during others, and then considerable quantities may be destroyed. 
Mr. M. J. Kinney, of Astoria, is authority for the statement that at a seine hshery 
above Astoria a great many small chinooks were sacrihced in 1893. Perhaps a third 
of the catch of o0,000 pounds consisted of hsh urder 4 or 5 pounds in weight. Some 
were brought to Mr. Kinney, who dumped them overboard and refused to take more, 
as did other cauuers. Fish of this size are too small to can. Iveference to a table 
(p. 252) giving the daily catch of salmon at a seine hshery at Brownsport Sands, 
near Pillar Eock, Washington, shows that in the month of August, 1893, 1,990 pounds 
of chinook salmon, having an average weight of only 34 pounds each (some neighing 
only 14 pounds), were caught and thrown away because there was no sale. Seines 
neai’er the mouth of the river are reported not to take a great manj^ small hsh, and 
pound nets in the same situation are said to catch very few oi’dinarily, although some 
of these small chinooks are thus taken each season. On June 20, at Astoria, a few 
Avere seen weigliiug only 2 pounds; these had been obtained in pound nets. 
According to the statements of canners, hsherinen, and all other persons con- 
nected with the salmon hshery rvho have had opportunity to make observations, the 
small chinook salmon in question are all males which, though undeveloped as to 
size, are sexually mature. This opinion is based on the following facts and hypotheses : 
(1) That only hsh capable of undergoing the reproductive act enter the river; (2) that 
male hsh of this small size are known to have had ripe milt and to liar^e undergone 
the spawning process; (3) that no female salmon under 7 poumls in rveight has ever 
been taken in the river. 
The following remarks on this subject emanate from a report .made to the Oregon 
legislature by a special committee appointed to investigate the hsheries of the State: 
Parties engaged in either of the different inodes of fisliing named generally insist that that 
particular mode of fishing is least injurious to the fish interest of the State; and a great deal of 
complaint has been made and many objections have been urged against fishing with traps, wheels, 
seines, and similar aiipliauces. The main objection urged against the modes of fishing just enumerated 
is that they are detrimental to the fish interest of the State in this way, that they destroy very small 
fish (salmon), and by the destruction of the small fish cause a general falling oft’ in the sujiply of 
salmon; and it is urged that this mode of fishing is so destructive that it will ultimately cause the 
annihilation of the salmon industry" of the Columbia. We have, therefore, undertaken to make a 
thorough investigation of that subject, and have done so to the best of our ability, to such an extent 
that we feel confident that we have arrived at the proper solution of the question. 
The small fish, or salmon, that are caught with the last-named appliances, and which it is claimed 
are destroyed by such modes of fishing, consist principally of small chinook salmon, and weigh from 
