NOTES ON THE FISHERIES OF THE PACIFIC COAST. 
277 
Nearly tlie entire catch of sturgeon is consigned to San Francisco, in tlie markets 
of which city the fish is constantly found. It is there known by the trade names of 
“sturgeon,” “bass,” “white salmon,” and “tenderloin sole.” In restaurants and 
hotels sturgeon is commonly served as “ tenderloin sole,” which represents the choicest 
cut of the fish. 
Small numbers of the green sturgeon (N. medirostris) are caught and find a market 
in San Francisco. The-prejudice against this fish is too strong, however, to permit the 
sale of jnany, and the price received is less than half that commanded by the white 
sturgeon. 
THE COLUMBIA RIVER. 
The sturgeon utilized in the Columbia is the white sturgeon, the same species 
which is taken in California. The green sturgeon is also found there, but, as in Cali- 
fornia, is only sparingly eaten, and in most places is totally discarded. The white 
sturgeon is found in. the river every month in the year, but it is most numerous in 
July and August, when, the-sardiues are. running, and in January and February, when 
the smelt are. found in abundance. The sturgeon feeds on these fish. Writing of the 
sturgeon of the west coast at a time when its commercial importance in the Columbia 
Eiver had not brought it into the prominence it has since had. Dr. Jordan said : 
It reaches a length of 8 or 10 feet or more, and is said to attain a weight of 400 to 500 pounds. 
We have seen none of over 150 pounds weight. 
The average gross weight of sturgeon taken in the regular sturgeon fishery of the 
Columbia is about 150 pounds. Fish weighing 500 pounds and even more are not rare. 
In 1892 one weighing 800*pounds was taken off Oak Point, and in the iirevious year 
one weighing 818 pounds was caught near Kalama, this being probably the largest 
sturgeon ever taken on the west coast. 
The history of the sturgeon fishery of the Columbia Eiver is that of most other 
streams in which the sturgeon has been assiduously sought. For many years no 
attention was paid to the fish and its value was not recognized. It was generally 
regarded .as a nuisance by the salmon fishermen, who emphatically expressed their 
contempt for such a fish whenever it was caught in the salmon nets by quickly knock- 
ing it in the head and throwing it away. The institution of a regular fishery for 
sturgeon dates from 1888. During that year some fishing-camps were experimentally 
located on the river, and the abundance offish led to the establishment of a permanent 
business, contingent on the presence of fish. 
Practically the entire catch has been taken with set lines armed with unbaited, 
barbed hooks. 
Most of the fishing has been done in that part of the river below Kalama, although 
it is also carried on as far up as the Cascades. The fishing season extends from the 
close of the salmon-iiacking, about August 10, to the opening of the salmon season, 
about April 10. The sturgeon fishery thus occupies the attention of the fishermen at 
a time when other fishing has been suspended. The inquiries conducted in 1889 and 
1892 by Mr. W. A. Wilcox, of this Commission, showed that in the first year of this 
fishery (1888) nearly 1, 000, OOO' pounds of dressed fresh and pickled sturgeon, valued 
at $15,000 to the fishermen, were shipped from points on the river. The business 
steadily increased until, by 1892, over 2,900,000 pounds of dressed fish were sold, which, 
together with various secondary products (caviar, isinglass, and “bone”), had a value 
of over $11,000. 
