198 
BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COxMMISSION. 
which were feeding upon young salmon. Bears consume large quantities of the breed- ; 
ing fish. They may be seen standing at the edge of the stream, where the water is 
shallow, and occasionally striking salmon with their claws and throwing them on the • 
shore, where they are eaten alive. We found a dolly varden trout just released by a j 
bear which our approach frightened away. One of the gill-covers of this fish was half I* 
tornofi, but no other injury was visible. We saw Bed Salmon partly eaten, butstillalive,|| 
lying on the shore after the retreat of the bears, which were disturbed while feeding. |1 
Other enemies of the salmon attack it in the sea. Among them are the salmon shark 
{Lamna cornubica), porpoises, and sea-lions. We found all the species of salmon moref: 
or less covered with parasitic copepods. Collections of these were made, but the spe- 1; 
cies have not been determined. At Afognak Mr. Booth observed, a very serious cause I fl 
of destruction of salmon. The estuary of Afognak River is generally left bare at low 
tide and great numbers of salmon are thus stranded, many of which die before the|;j| 
next tide rescues them. | 
Red Salmon are seen in salt water off the mouths of the rivers in large schools in | 
the spring. The season of their approach to the shores has already been referred to, i 
and also the fact that they are not observed farther than about miles from the i 
shore. No attempt has been made to take Red Salmon until it comes to the shore. It I 
is not caught by trolling, like the King Salmon and the Silver Salmon. ^ ; 
The catch of Red Salmon has been increasing, owing to the increase in the number : I 
of persons engaged in the fishery and in the efiectiveness of the implements used in ; | 
its capture. The size of seines has been greatly enlarged and the number of boats, ; ] 
seines and men largely augmented. That there will be a falling off in the supply very! J 
soon there can be no doubt. I have already remarked that the number of spawning -[i 
fish in Karluk Lake and its tributaries last year was unexpectedly small. It is true! ;!i 
that young salmon, from inches to 2 inches in length, were very abundant, but they ij 
were the result of the spawning of the previous season. | 
There was early in the season of 1889, and in previous seasons, injudicious ob-| 
struction of the ascent of spawning fish in the Karluk River, At one time an imi)ass-|!i 
able weir, similar to the zapor of the Russians, was placed in this river. At the timej » 
of our visit we saw the remains of pound nets made of wire netting, which interfered! | 
so seriously with the ascent of the fish that they were dismantled by unknown parties I 
and were not re-established. | 
? 'I 
The Steel Head {8ahno gairdneri). 1 1 
(Plate XLix, figs. 9 and 10.) | ,| 
This large black spotted trout is known also as Hard-head and Gairdner’s trout, ' 
The Russian name is Soomga. In some of our eastern markets, at this date, it is the [ 
“Kennebec Salmon.” 
This species sometimes reaches a weight of 30 pounds, and individuals of that size j'j 
bear a close resemblance to 8. salar. The Steel-head is found from Monterey, Cali-|| 
fornia, to Bristol Bay, Alaska, and is very abundant in some parts of the Gulf off; 
Alaska. This trout has been considered a winter spawner, but females full of ripej 
eggs were seen by me near Sitka, June 10, 1880. Spent fish of this species are fre-r 
quently taken with the spring run of the King Salmon, so that in all probability thel 
usual spawning time is late in the winter or very early spring. ^ 
