SALMON FISHERIES OF ALASKA. 
33 
Chief among the destroyers of the young fish are terns, gulls, ducks, and loons, 
which are very common in that region. I have shot terns and gulls near the south 
end of Karluk Lake, and upon holding them up by the legs small salmon dropped out 
of their mouths. Towards the end of August, 1889, the shallow parts of Karluk 
River were visited by hundreds of gulls, chiefly young of Larm glaucescens and L. 
brachyrhynchus , which were feeding upon young salmon. Bears consume large quan- 
tities of the breeding fish. They maybe 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. I have seen red salmon 
partly eaten, but still alive, lying on the shore after the retreat of the bears, which were 
disturbed while feeding. Other enemies of the salmon attack it in the sea; among 
them are the salmon shark ( Lamna cornubica ), porpoises, and sea lions. All species of 
salmon are more or less covered with parasitic copepods. 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 next tide rescues them. 
Red salmon are seen in salt water off the mouths of the rivers in large schools in 
the spring. No attempt has been made to take them until they come to the shore. 
The catch of red salmon has been increasing, owing to the greater number of per- 
sons engaged in the fishery and the superior effectiveness of the implements used in 
its capture. The size of seines has been greatly enlarged, and the number of boats 
and seines largely augmented. There was, early in the season of 1889 and in previous 
seasons, injudicious obstruction of the ascent of spawning fish in the Karluk River. 
At one time an impassable weir, similar to the zapor of the Russians, was placed in 
this river. I have also seen the remains of pound nets made of wire netting, which 
interfered so seriously with the ascent of the fish that they were dismantled by un- 
known parties and were not reestablished. 
The Steelhead ( Salmo gairdneri). Plate v, Fig. 1. 
This large black-spotted trout is known also as hardhead and Gairdner’s trout. 
The Russian name is Soomga. In some of our eastern markets it is sold as “Kennebec 
salmon” before the Atlantic salmon has come in from the sea. ' In the Rogue River, 
Oregon, the fishermen call it Rogue River trout. 
It sometimes reaches a weight of 30 pounds, and individuals of that size bear a 
close resemblance to 8. salar. It is found from Monterey, Oal., to Bristol Bay, Alaska, 
and is very abundant in some parts of the Gulf of Alaska. This trout has been con- 
sidered a winter spawner, but females full of ripe eggs were seen by me near Sitka, 
June 10, 1880. Spent fish of this species are frequently taken with the spring run of 
the king salmon, so that in all probability the usual spawning time is late in the winter 
or very early spring. 
This species, according to Mr. Charles Hirsch, arrives at Karluk in August in 
small numbers. I have seen a moderately large number of steelheads at Karluk on 
September 4, but their abundance was nothing in comparison with that of other species. 
It is seldom used at Karluk. A few small individuals are dried there by the natives. 
The spawning habits of the steelhead are scarcely known. Mr. B. F. Dowell has 
recorded its arrival in May in Applegate Creek, Oregon, for the purpose of spawning. 
At the falls in the Willamette River, at Oregon City, Mr. Waldo F. Hubbard, of the 
U. S. Fish Commission, reported a few ripe females about the middle of May, 1892, 
F. C. B. 1892—3 
