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REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONER OF FISHERIES.
Sessional Papers of the Province of British Columbia
British Columbia. Legislative Assembly
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PROVINCE OF BRITISH COLUMBIA REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONER OF FISHERIES FOR THE YEAR ENDING DECEMBER 31ST, 1915 WITH APPENDICES THE GOVERNMENT OF THE PROVINCE OF BRITISHCCLUNBIA. PRINTED BY AUTHORITY OF THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY. VICTORIA, B.C.: Printed by William H. Cullin, Printer to the King's Most Excellent Majesty. 191B. Provincial Fisheries Department, Victoria, May 15th, 1916. To Eis Honour Frank Stillman Barnard, Lieutenant-Governor of the Province of British Columbia. May it please Your Honour: I beg to submit herewith a report reviewing the operations of the Provincial Fisheries Department for the year ending December 31st, 1915, with Appendices. W. J. BOWSEE, Commissioner of Fisheries. Commissioner of Fisheries' Office, Victoria, British Columbia, May loth, 1916. TABLE OF CONTENTS. REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONER OF FISHERIES FOR 1915. Page. Fishery Products of the Province 7 Value of Fish marketed 7 Salmon-pack in Fraser River District 7. S The Rise of Prince Rupert as a Halibut Centre S, 9 Scientific Research 9 Summary of Salmon Investigations 9,10 Halibut Investigation 10-12 Work on Oysters 12 Crab Investigation 12 Spawning-grounds of Province 12-14 Hatchery Egg-takes. Sockeye-pack of Fraser, 1900-1915 14,15 Sockeye-pack of Northern British Columbia, 1902-1915 15 APPENDICES. The Spawning-beds oe the Eraser River. By John P. Babcock 16-21 The Spawning-grounds of Rivers Inlet. By A. W. Stone 22-24 The Spawning-grounds of Smith Inlet. By A. W. Stone 24, 25 The Spawning-grounds of the Nass River. By J. M. Collison 26 Contribution to the Life-history of the Sockeye Salmon. (Paper No. 3.) By Charles H. Gilbert, Ph.D 27-64 Statistics of Halibut, etc. By William F. Thompson 05-126 Notes on a Halibut Parasite. By William F. Thompson 127-129 The Halibut Problem. By William F. Thompson 130-140 The Native Oyster of British Columbia : Environment. By Joseph Stafford, M.A., Ph.D 141-160 Contributions to the Life-history of the Pacific Coast Edible Crab. (Paper No. 2.) By F. W. Weymouth 161-163 Pack of British Columbia Salmon, Season 1915 164 Pack of Puget Sound Salmon, Season 1915 165 FISHERIES COMMISSIONER'S REPORT FOR 1915. Fishery Products of the Province. The value of the fishery products of Canada for the fiscal year ending March 31st, 1915, totalled $31,264,631. Of that amount British Columbia produced $11,515,086, or 36.8 per cent. British Columbia products exceeded those of Nova Scotia by $3,784,895, and exceeded the combined fishery products of New Brunswick, Ontario, Quebec, and Prince Edward Island by $633,616. This favourable showing is made notwithstanding that British Columbia shows a decrease of $2,376,312 from that of the previous fiscal year. The decline is due to the fact that it was an " off-year " on the Fraser, only a small catch of salmon being recorded there. Value of Fish marketed in British Columbia. The total value of each of the species of fish marketed in the Province for the year ending March 31st, 1915, is given in the following statement:— Salmon $ 8,018,835 Halibut 1,561,626 Herring 876,651 Cod 366,957 Oolachans 71,036 Shad 2,370 Flounders 12,117 Smelts 17,856 Trout 12,115 Sturgeon 22,980 Tomcod 120 Soles 34,512 Skate 6,129 Octopus 980 Shrimps 3,200 Whiting 1,096 Perch 2,064 Mixed fish 32,435 Oysters 28,619 Clams 84,097 Crabs 44,588 Fur-seals 10,560 Hair-seals 512 Fish-oil 12,481 Whale-oil 242,068 Fish-guano 47,432 Bone-meal 1,650 Total $11,515,086 Notwithstanding that the catch of salmon on the Fraser River was a small one, the total salmon-pack of the Province totalled 1,133,381 cases, of which the Fraser produced 320,514 cases, the Skeena 279,161, the Nass 104,289, Rivers Inlet 146,838, and outlying points 282,664. While the total number of cases exceeded those of the previous year, the value was less because a larger per cent, consisted of fall grades of fish. Salmon-pack in Fraser River District. The pack of sockeye salmon caught in the waters of the Fraser River, Gulf of Georgia, and the American channels leading to the Fraser, here termed the Fraser River District, for the year S 8 Eeport of the Commissioner of Fisheries. 1916 was the smallest yet recorded there, being -but 155,714 cases; of that total, 91,130 cases were packed in the Province and 64,584 in the State of Washington. The pack for the district this year was less by 34,053 cases than that of four years ago. For the first time since 1903 the sockeye-pack from our waters in the district exceeded that packed in the State of Washington. Dr. Gilbert's investigations during the year make it appear altogether probable that a component part of the run of sockeye to the Fraser River District approach that river from the north, through Johnstone Strait, and that all do not come in from the open sea through Juan de Fuca Strait, as has been generally supposed. Mr. Babcock, in his report for 1913, first suggested that a portion of the sockeye seeking the Fraser came down from the north through Johnstone Strait. Since the fish seeking the Fraser through Johnstone Strait would not have to pass through American waters to reach the Fraser, they would not be subject to capture by the traps and purse-nets which line the American channels leading to that river, and which catch the greater proportion of the sockeye run which come in from the sea through Juan de Fuca Strait. The fact that our pack of sockeye in the district this year exceeded that in the State of Washington certainly indicates that it is to be attributed to a run of fish from the north. As the Department's salmon investigations for the past three years have established that the salmon hatched in a stream return to that stream to spawn, and pass through the same channels in going and returning from the sea, it appears probable that as the sockeye- eggs now in our hatcheries were expressed from fish which came down from the north through Johnstone Strait, that their young will in seeking the sea pass up through Johnstone Strait, and upon maturing will again seek the Fraser through that strait. If this be true, there is a probability that there may still be a run of sockeye to the Fraser after excessive fishing in American channels leading to that river shall have eliminated the race of sockeye that now seek the Fraser through Juan de Fuca Strait and American waters. Pack of Pinks in Fraser River District. The pack of pink salmon in the Fraser River District this year totalled 722,034 cases, as against 812,659 cases in 1913 and 1,225,493 in 1911. The pack in our waters this year totalled 138,305 cases, as against 20,773 in 1913 and 160,501 in 1911. The pack in State of Washington waters was 583,649 cases this year, as against 791,886 in 1913 and 1,046,992 in 1911. There was no demand for this species in our waters in 1913. The run in both 1913 and 1911, in our own and the State of Washington waters, was greatly in excess of the demand; in consequence the pack of those years cannot be taken as evidence of the size of the run. The pack this year was limited only by the supply, and for the first time on record the catch did not nearly equal the demands of the canners. In consequence of a shortage in the catch in Washington waters, buyers came over the International Line and purchased pinks directly from our fishermen and exported them for canning. Previous to their entering our markets the fishermen were getting but 3 cents each for fish; afterwards many sales were made at 6 cents each, and in some cases as high as 7 cents was paid. Customs returns show that 1,100,764 pink salmon were exported to the United States in a fresh state. That there would be a" great decrease in the run of pink salmon to the Fraser River District this year was clearly indicated in the Department's report from the spawning-grounds in 1913. Owing to the blockade in the canyon of the Fraser at Hell's Gate in 1913, no pink salmon were able to reach the spawning-beds in the waters above that point. Up to that year countless millions spawned in the Thompson and Nicola Rivers and in the vicinity of Seton Lake. As is shown in our report for the spawning-beds this year, no pinks reached those waters. The Rise of Prince Rupert as a Halibut Centre. The importance of Prince Rupert as a receiving and shipping point for fish, which has been pressed by this Department, since it was made the terminus of the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway, was fully demonstrated this year. The development of the halibut fishery there is the most gratifying feature of our fishery for the year 1915. The growth of the fishery industry is due to the operation of the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway and to a change in the Customs regulations placed in effect by the Dominion authorities; the latter being made upon representation of the Provincial Government, Colonel F. H. Cunningham, Chief Inspector of Fisheries on this Coast, and to the active efforts of the Federal representative for the Northern District, H. S. Clements, Esq. 6 Geo. 5 British Columbia. S 9 These changes consist of an extension of bonding and buying privileges to foreign vessels engaged in fishing in the waters of the Pacific off the Coast of British Columbia and Alaska. Under these concessions fishing-vessels may enter our ports, land their catch in bond for shipment to the United States, sell to the Canadian buyers who assume the bonding privileges, purchase bait, ice, and supplies, and ship crews. These privileges are being extensively used by the United States fishing-boats and without injury or curtailment of our own fishermen, but to their decided advantage. Up to 1914 the bulk of the halibut taken oif the North Coast of this Province and Alaska was marketed through Seattle; the fleet buying its supplies and outfitting there. The crew maintained their families there. Since the regulations were amended there has been a steady increase in the number of United States fishing-vessels plying in port of Prince Rupert. During the past year more than one hundred calls have 'been made at that port by American vessels. Many of them how regard Prince Rupert as their home port, outfit there, buying all their supplies, bait, and ice, and many of the crews have established their families there. The following table gives the halibut landed in Prince Rupert in each month of the past three years:— 1913. 1914. 1915. January February March April May June July August September October November .... December .... Totals Lb. Lb. Lb. 20,000 190,100 540.700 52,000 555.000 625,000 160,700 171,500 607,000 396,400 669,000 718,300 1,210.200 1,409,500 1,123.000 1,525,300 1,401,500 2,111,500 1.005,055 751,000 1,874,315 1,000,055 721,000 1,793,500 836,800 987,000 2,090.000 778,000 541,500 1,304,000 280,000 579.000 1,942,000 56,300 766.000 1,366.000 7,520,810 8,741,100 10,095,315 On April 10th, 1915, the Canadian Fisheries and Cold Storage Co., of Prince Rupert, agreed to buy halibut at market prices, and supply ice at $3 a ton and frozen bait at $25 a ton, stating that prices in their general store " are the same as those in Ketchikan." It is believed that, if the inspection laws of the Dominion Government, whereby a rating equivalent to that granted to fishing-vessels in the United States be granted vessels of the size now engaged in the halibut-fishing, many of them would seek Canadian registry. Under existing regulations Prince Rupert will continue to handle the bulk of the halibut caught in the waters facing the North-west Coast of British Columbia and Alaska. And while there may be, as Mr. Thompson indicates, a falling-off in the total catch of halibut, due to a depletion of the banks, there is certain to be a corresponding increase in the returns from other species of food-fishes, which, though abundant in these waters, have not heretofore been brought in. Scientific Research. The Department has continued its scientific investigation of the life-history of Important food-fishes. Valuable additions to the biology of Pacific marine fauna have been made, and will be found in the Appendix of the report from the pens of Dr. C. H. Gilbert, Dr. J. Stafford, W. F. Thompson, and Professor Frank W. Weymouth. Summary of Salmon Investigation in 1915. Dr. C. H. Gilbert, of Stanford University, who is retained by the Department for the study of salmon problems, made marked progress during the year. We publish herewith a further contribution to the life-history of the sockeye and other Pacific salmon, in which he writes:— " A very comprehensive examination of sockeye runs throughout the Province was undertaken in 1915, which included not only the principal rivers, such as the Fraser, Rivers Inlet, S 10 Report of the Commissioner of Fisheries. 1916 the Skeena, and the Nass, but also the majority of the smaller streams which have runs of any commercial value. The more important river systems received the more detailed investigation, and were given tests at least once each week throughout the fishing season, while the smaller rivers and creeks which received attention—some forty-four in number—were tested only once, or at most twice, during the period of their respective runs. " Some of the smaller streams were investigated for the first time in 1915, but in the case of others, data had accumulated from previous years and were at hand for comparison. One of the principal reasons for widening the scope of the investigations was to throw further light on the applicability of the parent-stream theory. The validity of this important theory has been conclusively demonstrated in the case of the larger rivers of the Province, as shown in the reports of this Department for 1913 and 1914. Examination of the scales had removed any possible doubt that the progeny of the Fraser River fish return to the Fraser at their maturity, and that this is true also of the fish of each of the large river-basins. It has now been shown, as the result of the past season's work, that this principle holds in the case of all the rivers and creeks, however small these may be, and however near together they may enter the sea. " The practical significance of this demonstration is entirely obvious. In order to maintain the supply of salmon in a given district, it will not be adequate to install a hatchery on any convenient stream, into which the entire output of the hatchery will be turned. On the contrary, each stream must be given separate consideration, and must receive its own quota of fry, which must feed and grow within its boundaries. The original source of the eggs is seemingly a matter of no importance. The destination of the adult salmon is determined by the locality in which they were reared. To what extent the parent-stream theory holds for the tributaries of the larger river systems is as yet undetermined, and is a matter of the utmost practical importance. "In the Report of the Commissioner for 1913 (page 19), Mr. J. P. Babcock, Assistant to the Commissioner, suggests for the first time that a portion of the Fraser River sockeye run may enter from the north through Johnstone Strait. This was based largely on the reported occurrence of large schools seen in 1913 south of Cape Mudge, and also on the testimony of Mr. W. E. Anderson, of Quathiaski Cove, who had captured some of the salmon on their passage and considered them Fraser River fish. " In the early part of August, 1915, we were given an opportunity of examining a southbound school of sockeyes, which were intercepted by Mr. Anderson at Deepwater Bay, shortly above Seymour Narrows. Critical study of these has proven beyond doubt that they were bound for the Fraser River, and has made it appear probable that a certain component of the Fraser run enters from the north in every year, and not, as might have been supposed, in the big year only of each cycle. " In addition to further observations on the age-groups in the various runs, on the proportions of the sexes, and on the sizes of the different races in comparison with previous years, there were examined an extensive series of yearling migrants on their way to the sea, in the Fraser River, Smith and Rivers Inlets, and the Skeena. All previous investigations seem to have shown that the average size of migrants does not change during the month or more that migration is in progress. The last to leave are of the same average size as the first, although a month or more has passed during which growth would be expected. It now appears that the Rivers Inlet race is even more peculiar in this respect, inasmuch as the later migrants not only do not increase in average size, but they actually diminish as the season progresses. With them the larger sizes pass out at the opening of the downward movement, and each successive day is marked by the appearance of a smaller lot of migrating fish than the preceding days. This occurrence has not been noted elsewhere." The Halibut Investigation. The recording of the life-history of the halibut which the Department inaugurated in the spring of 1914, the first scientific effort made to disclose the life of this most important of food-fishes, was continued throughout 1915 with marked success. The results obtained from the two years of continuous study by Mr. W. F. Thompson, the assistant in charge of the work, justifies his assignment aud demonstrates forcibly that only by continuous efforts throughout each month of the year can satisfying and conclusive results be obtained in recording the life- 6 Geo. 5 British Columbia. S 11 history of Pacific food-fishes. Spasmodic efforts, conducted during vacation months only, do not produce such results. Mr. Thompson's work has been of a most satisfactory nature. His report for 1915 is of great value. It adds materially to his previous paper (British Columbia Fisheries Report of 1914). Together they are the only records yet produced that afford a reliable basis for an intelligent handling of the halibut problem. At this time, when the question of joint experiments for the protection of the halibut is before the Canadian and United States Federal Governments, the sole authority which could be involved was this Department. We have been asked by both Governments for information and advice upon this most important economic question. Our replies were based solely upon Mr. Thompson's reports. We have been congratulated upon the excellence and thoroughness of his work, as well as upon the marked progress which he has made in disclosing essential and heretofore unknown facts in the life of the halibut. William F. Thompson contributes to the Appendix of this report " A Report on Statistics of, the Halibut Fishery of the Pacific: Their Bearing on the Biology of the Species and the Condition of the Banks." The most immediately important conclusion in this paper is the fact of depletion. The evidence submitted is conclusive. He frankly disregards all published statistics of the catch and proves his contention from the logs of over 900 voyages of vessels engaged in halibut-fishing. The tabulations submitted are invaluable in considering the future of the fishery. Indeed, the contribution which is made to the knowledge of the species by such detailed statistics is surprising in itself. The present condition of the fishing-banks is undoubtedly shown to relate to its past history and justifies the conclusions drawn from the study made on the biology of the banks. Among the facts presented in the paper, one which stands forth conspicuously is the great effect which the operations of the fishermen have had on the character of the halibut population of the various banks. Not only have they been very extensively depleted, but the proportion of the mature and immature, of large and small fish has been radically changed. The extensive fishing has, it is evident, made its influence felt throughout the whole biological appearance of the species, and in doing so it has rendered precarious the future of the banks, particularly the older or longer known. The number of halibut still found on them is so small and the percentage of mature fish in the population has fallen so low that it appears imminent that the halibut in the Pacific, like the Atlantic, will drop to a minor position among the food-fishes. It is difficult to see wherein more proof of depletion than is here given can be adduced save the final one of commercial extinction of the species. The rate of decrease on the banks, over 70 per cent, for each decade, is surprisingly large. Yet it must be remembered that the constant shifting to new banks has staved off a portion of the effects of impoverishment. The progress from the banks at Cape Flattery to Hecate Strait, and from there to Yukutat and beyond, has been at a constantly accelerated rate as the total catch has grown from year to year. When expansion is at an end, as will inevitably be, the fishing fleet must return to the older-known banks, which will then be depleted beyond their present condition unless measures are taken to allow them to recuperate. It is very plain that they cannot support the fishing now existent or anything comparable with it. Although a prophecy of immediate decline in the total yield would be out of place, the situation which Mr. Thompson makes clear is sufficiently serious to warrant the taking of immediate steps for conservation. The contemplation of experiments on hatching the halibut must lead simply to ill-founded optimism on the part of the fishermen. In the face of the wholesale reduction of the numbers of halibut on the banks, the establishment of hatcheries cannot be regarded as anything but exceedingly expensive experimental work. The hatching of salmon, shad, cod, and plaice has been carried on by many Governments without any very tangible or definable results. In the case of the halibut nothing could be known as to its results for many years, and unlikely as they are to be of value, those years might incur the ruin of the industry if action were delayed pending the arrival of a conclusion. It is therefore necessary to regard the suggestion of hatchery relief as of purely theoretical value and one which may do great harm by misleading those with the interest of the fishery at heart. 'Mr. Thompson does not discuss extensively the steps which could be taken to conserve the halibut, but his paper brings out many facts vital to their formulation. The exhausted conditions of the banks off our Coast is clearly shown and establishes the vital need of their protection S 12 Report of the Commissioner of Fisheries. 1916 during that portion of the year when they are yielding the largest proportion of small and immature fish. Since the main fishing has shifted to a position farther north there should be no great obstacle to the application of protective measures to the southern banks. Protection to a small area or the establishment of closed zones of comparative limited extent can have no effect on the whole. Effects of close season in various months may be judged from the comparative yields given in Mr. Thompson's tabulations, the value of such closures being in direct proportion to the activity of the fishery at the time they are in force. Mr. Thompson calls timely attention to the necessity of hydrographic work on the Pacific sufficiently wide in scope to include temperatures and salinity in the open sea and in sheltered waters. The theory which he advances for the variations in the catch of halibut depends upon the first factor. He holds that in a study of herring and flounders such knowledge will be essential, as well as in the study of the plankton food of salmon and other food-fishes. It has been shown that temperatures and salinity have a remarkable relation to the time and place of spawning of the herring in the North Sea. The hydrographic work suggested might well be undertaken by Canada and the United States co-operating, as did the nations concerned in the North Sea fisheries. It is high time that the two Governments joined in a programme of investigations of the marine life of the Pacific. The recent successful development of the tile fishery on the Atlantic Coast by the Bureau of Fisheries of the United States Government demonstrates what practical scientifically directed effort can accomplish. It is believed that at slight cost the Government could demonstrate that there is a market in Canada for the cod and other valuable food-fishes which are now caught by the halibut fleet and thrown hack into the sea. With the continued depletion of the halibut the fishermen must eventually turn to the cod and other fishes which are now discarded. The sooner a market is developed the better for all concerned. That the waste has so long continued is a reflection on all concerned. In addition to the above papers on the halibut by William F. Thompson, to be found in the Appendix, we include " A Note on a Sporozoan Parasite of the Halibut," which will be found of interest to fishermen, since it deals with the fish which they so patiently cull from the catch and which are known to them as " mushy halibut." The paper is of interest and illustrated by plates. In addition to the above papers, there is reproduced in the Appendix of this report a paper entitled " The Halibut Problem " by Mr. Thompson, which was read at the 1916 meeting of the Dominion Commission of Conservation, which will be found of value. We are indebted to the Commission of Conservation for the plates used. Work on Oysters. Dr. Joseph Stafford, of McGill University, who was retained by this Department to report upon the oysters of the Province in 1913, and who contributed valuable papers to our reports for 1913 and 1914, continued his studies in the Province the past season. His further contributions to the literature on our native oysters deals with their environment. It is of especial economic value to our oyster-growers and will be found in the Appendix of this report. The Crab Investigation. F. W. Weymouth, Assistant Professor of Physiology of Stanford University, continued the investigation of our edible crabs undertaken two years ago. The field-work during the season was chiefly devoted to the fishing-ground in the vicinity of Prince Rupert and to the collection of data on the problems of age, growth, breeding, and moulting. Mr. Weymouth's " Contribution to the Life-history of the Pacific Edible Crab " (No. 2) will be found in the Appendix. Report from Spawning-grounds. During the season the Department, as usual, conducted an investigation of the salmon fishing and spawning waters of the Fraser, Skeena, and Nass Rivers and Rivers and Smith Inlets. Detailed reports from each section are given in the Appendix of this report. 6 Geo. 5 British Columbia. S 13 Spawning-grounds of the Fraser River. The report upon the fishing and spawning area of the Fraser River by John Pease Babcock, Assistant to the Commissioner, which is given in the Appendix, shows that the run of salmon to the Fraser River District this year presented unusual features, both on the fishing and spawning grounds. The extent of the effort made this year to catch salmon is evidenced by the fact that in our own waters 2,614 gill-nets were employed, as against but 1,443 in 1911, while the gear employed in the State of Washington waters leading to the Fraser equalled that of four years ago. With such an amount of gear in use in both waters this year, it is presumed that a greater proportion of the salmon seeking this river during the fishing season were captured than in any previous year. The combined catch of sockeye in the Fraser District (which includes that made in the waters of the State of Washington and in our own waters) this year totalled 155,613 cases, being less by 34,149 cases than that of four years ago, and the smallest yet recorded in that district. For the first time in many years the catch of sockeye in our own waters of the Fraser River District was greater than that made in the State of Washington waters. The run of pink salmon (0. gorbuscha), locally termed humpback, and which appear in the Fraser District only biennially and which are known to mature in two years, showed a marked decline this year from that in the previous year of their run, 1913. There was little demand for these fish in our waters in the latter year, while this year there was a demand for all that could be taken. Our pack this year totalled 138,305 cases, as against 20,773 cases in 1913. The pack in the State of Washington waters shows a decrease from that of 1913 of 81,477 cases. It is noted that for the first time on record the demand for pink salmon in Washington waters was greatly in excess of the catch, and that buyers from that State came into our waters and purchased 1,100,764 fresh fish. In consequence the prices paid our fishermen were increased from 3 to 7 cents each. Mr. Babcock reports that conditions on the spawning-beds of the Fraser River this year also presented unusual features. There were less sockeye on the beds in the waters above Yale than in any former year since 1901, when he began his investigation of conditions. On the other hand, the number of sockeye salmon which reached the spawning-beds of the tributaries which enter the Fraser below Yale was far greater than in any recent year, not excepting that of the last big year, 1913. The total number of sockeye-eggs collected in this section this season exceeded 68,000,000, as against 23,000,000 in 1911. In addition, a larger number of sockeye spawned naturally. This is a most satisfactory and surprising showing, when it is remembered that the total catch this year was the smallest yet made in the Fraser District. This favourable showing is attributed by Mr. Babcock to the fact that the fish entered the river after the regular fishing for sockeye was over and the nets removed from the river. No pink salmon were observed this year in the canyon of the Fraser at Hell's Gate, or in any of the tributaries of the Fraser above that point. It will be recalled that our report for 1913 stated that no pink salmon were observed passing through Hell's Gate, nor were any found in the waters above. Because of the fact that pink salmon mature in two years and die after spawning, it is reasonable to believe that those entering the Fraser this year were the product of those which spawned in the tributaries below the canyon at Yale in 1913, also that as no pink salmon spawned in the waters above Yale in that year, there naturally could have been no run there this year. Summarizing his observations, Mr. Babcock concludes that " as a result of the eggs collected on the Lower Fraser, and of the number of fish which spawned there naturally, the sockeye run four years hence (19-19) should show an increase over that of 1911, or that of this year, notwithstanding the fact that less fish spawned in the upper reaches of the Fraser than four years ago and no eggs were collected there." While no eggs were collected at the Seton Lake Hatchery this year owing to the failure of salmon to reach there, the hatchery was supplied with 1,000,000 eyed sockeye eggs from the Dominion hatchery at Pemberton Meadows, through the courtesy of Chief Inspector Cunningham, and with 6,000,000 pink-salmon eggs secured by this Department from the Mamquam River, a tributary of the Squamish River. This was made possible by the operation of the Pacific Great Eastern Railway, which runs from the head of Howe Sound to Lillooet. The eggs collected were shipped direct to the Seton Lake Hatchery and reached there the evening of the day they were taken. S 14 Report of the Commissioner of Fisheries. 1916 Nass River Spawning-grounds. During the last of September Fishery Overseer J. M. Collison made an inspection of the accessible spawning-grounds of the Nass River in the Meziadin Lake Section. Meziadin Lake and its outlet streams were very much lower this year than previously recorded. This was due to the lack of snow on the mountains and very light summer rains. The water in the Meziadin River was so low that the sockeye had difficulty in passing the rapid or lower fall. Heretofore salmon have passed this rapid with little effort by keeping to the left bank, and after passing over it reach the main fall at the mouth of the fishway built there in 1912-13. The evidence submitted by Mr. Collison evidences that large numbers of sockeye were unable to pass the lower rapids this year, and in consequence were deprived of suitable spawning-beds. Notwithstanding that during ordinary seasons this rapid does not intercept the run, a fishway should be provided. The expense of the work would be light as compared with the fishway on the main falls. Mr. Collison's report will be found in the Appendix. Rivers and Smith Inlets Spawning-grounds. Fishery Overseer A. W. Stone again made an inspection of the spawning-beds of both Rivers and Smith Inlets. All the streams tributary to Long Lake at the head of Smith Inlet were again visited. The inspection was made the middle of September, some three weeks later than last year. Large numbers of salmon were observed in Long Lake, as well as in all the tributaries, but the numbers seen there impressed Mr. Stone as being far less than in 1914. He is of the opinion that there was a big falling-off in all tributaries and anticipates that this year's hatch will not produce a run equal to that hatched in 1914. Rivers Inlet. Mr. Stone conducted his observations of the spawning-beds of Owikeno Lake, at the head of Rivers Inlet, in October. In summing up his investigations, he submits: " I have every reason to believe the run of sockeye salmon was well up to the average and compares favourably with the runs during the last two seasons. With the exception of one or two rivers reported upon unfavourably, and which comprise a very small proportion of the total spawning area, I have no doubt the enormous number of sockeye seen on the beds will produce a big run from this season's spawning." Mr. Stone's reports are of value and will be found in the Appendix of this report. Skeena River Spawning-grounds. We are indebted to Colonel F. H. Cunningham, Chief Inspector of Fisheries for the Province, for the following summary of a report made to him by Fishery Guardian MacKendricks of conditions on the Skeena River spawning-grounds for 1915. Our own Inspector reached the lake too late to obtain reliable information. " Sockeye salmon made their appearance at the entrance to Babine early in July and continued throughout August and early September. All the tributaries of Babine Lake were well stocked. Several streams contained more fish than in former seasons. On the Babine River and at the lower end of that lake the Indians had no difficulty in taking all the salmon they wished for their winter supply. The streams were so well supplied that the outlook for the run four years hence is excellent." Statement showing Salmon-eggs collected for the Hatcheries in the Province for the Year 1915. Hatcbery. Sockeye. Humpback. Spring. Coboe. Dog Totals. Harrison Lake Pemberton Stuart Lake . . Babine Lake . . Rivers Inlet . . Skeena River . Anderson Lake Kennedy Lake Cowichan Lake Fraser River . . Seton Lake .. . Totals 42,986,000 3,549,000 2,540,000 1,359,000 50,434.000 25,250,000 25,250,000 5,430,000 5,430,000 8,440,000 8,440.000 12,981,000 12,981,000 4,244,000 4,244.000 4,511,000 321,900 4,832,900 4,256,500 738,000 1,700,000 4,256.500 2,438,000 240,000 400,000 468,000 1,108,000 * S.000.000 6.000,000 108,338,500 9,949,000 3,278.000 3.848.900 • 125,414,400 1,000,000 eyed eggs received from Pemberton Hatchery and fry planted in Seton Lake. 6 Geo. 5 British Columbia. S 15 The Department is indebted to Colonel F. H. Cunningham, Chief Inspector for the Province, for the statement of salmon-eggs collected at the Dominion hatcheries. Sockeye Salmon-pack* of Fraser Rtver and Puget Sound from 1900 to 1915, inclusive. Year. Fraser River. Puget Sound. Totals. 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 229.800 928,669 293,477 204,809 72,688 837,489 183,007 62.617 74,574 585,435 150,432 62,817 123,879 736,661 198,183 91,130 228,704 1,105,096 339,556 167,211 123,419 847,122 182,241 96,974 155,218 1,005,120 234,437 126,950 183,896 1,664,827 336.251 64,584 458,504 2,033,765 633,033 372,020 196,107 1,684,611 365,248 159,591 229,792 1,590,555 384,869 189,767 307.775 2,401,488 534,434 155,714 Given in cases—forty-eight 1-lb. cans to case. Sockeye Egg-take at Fraser River Hatcheries from 1901 to 1915. 1901 15,741,000 1902 72,034,000 1903 13,464,000 1904 9,469,000 1905 97,656,000 1906 51,121,000 1907 53,952,000 1908 46,709,000 1909 98,000,000 1910 37,343,000 1911 22,937,000 1912 38,500,000 1913 86,000,000 1914 28,589,000 1915 68,476,000 Sockeye-pack of Northern British Columbia from 1902 to 1915, inclusive. Year. Nass River. Skeena River. Rivers Inlet. Outlying. Total. 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 190,8 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 20,953 117,677 68,819 8,438 50,968 68.119 15,000 93,404 93,862 24,462 91,717 82,741 22,166 86,394 122,631 17,813 108,413 87,874 27,584 139,846 64.652 28,246 87,901 89.027 30,810 187,246 126,921 37,327 131,066 88,763 36,037 92,498 112.884 23,574 52,927 61,745 31,327 130,166 89,890 39,349 116,553 130,350 30,510 36.292 45.272 51,234 45,481 40,159 48,367 49.832 70,506 67,866 79,464 149.336 87.130 98,660 237,959 163,908 250.538 243.184 276,672 254,259 260.449 255.006 415,483 325,022 320,883 252,382 338.513 384,912 S 16 Eeport of the Commissioner of Fisheries. 1916 APPENDICES. THE SPAWNING-BEDS OF THE FRASER RIVER. Hon. W. J. Bowser, K.C., Commissioner of Fisheries, Victoria, B.C. Sir,—I have the honour to submit the following report of the inspection of the salmon fishing and spawning grounds of the Fraser River and its tributaries which I conducted during the past season. Following the usual custom, I visited those sections of the rivers watershed frequented by salmon during the spawning season. In this work I was ably assisted by Inspector Hickman and Fishery Overseer Newcombe. I am also indebted to correspondents for information as to conditions in out-lying sections which I was unable to personally visit. The run of salmon to the Fraser River District this year presented unusual features, both on the fishing and spawning grounds. It is locally well known that the catch of sockeye and pink salmon this year, both in our own waters and in the estuaries in the State of Washington leading to the Fraser, was the smallest on record notwithstanding the fact that the efforts made to catch the fish were greater than in any previous season, and the further fact that the prices paid for the fish were higher. In the estuary waters of the State of Washington leading to the Fraser, 268 traps, 137 purse-seines, and 509 gill-nets were employed in catching salmon this year, as against 300 traps, 137 purse-seines, and 459 gill-nets employed four years ago. The extent of the efforts made this year is more evident when it is remembered that in the last year of the big run (1913) 311 traps, 252 purse-seines, and 170 gill-nets were used. In our own waters 2,614 gill-nets were engaged this year, as against 1,443 in 1911. In the last big year (1913) our fishermen used 2,560 gill-nets, and in 1914 2,656. With such an amount of gear in use in both waters it is fair to presume that a greater proportion of the fish seeking the Fraser during the fishing season were captured this year than in any previous year. The statement that the catch of sockeye this year was the smallest yet made in the Fraser District should occasion no surprise when due consideration is given to the statement of Dr. Gilbert in the Department reports for 1913 and 1914, that the race of sockeye frequenting the Fraser River predominantly is a four-year fish, and coupled with the Department's reports for 1911, stating " that the run of sockeye to the spawning-beds was lighter than in any previous year; that scarcely any sockeye reached the area above the great canyon of the Fraser at Yale, an area comprising 75 per cent, of the watershed of the Fraser; and that in the Harrison Lake and Lillooet Lake Sections, at most comprising but 25 per cent, of the available spawning area, less'than half the sock-eye reaching there four years ago (the poorest previous year) spawned naturally, or were spawned this year. ... It is certain that never in the past has the number of sockeye salmon reaching this district (the Fraser above Yale) fallen so low as it did this year." The combined catch of sockeye in the Fraser District (which includes that made in the waters of Puget Sound, in the State of Washington, and in our own waters) this year totalled 155,613 cases, being less by 34,149 cases than that of four years ago, and the smallest on record. The catch in our own waters was greater by 28,313 cases than that of 1911, while the catch in the waters of the same district in the State of Washington was less than that recorded in that year by 62,467 cases, a loss in that State of nearly 50 per cent. This is the first time in many years that our catch in this district has exceeded theirs. The run of pink salmon (O. gorbuscha), locally termed humpback, and which appears in the Fraser District only biennially and which are known to mature in two years, showed a marked decline from that made in the previous year of their run, 1913. The total pack of the district this year amounted to 722,034 cases, as against 812,659 cases in 1913, a decrease of 90,625 cases. The Puget Sound pack consisted of 583,649 cases, while the 1913 pack totalled 791,886 cases. The pack in our own waters of this district consisted of 138,305 cases, as against 20,773 cases in 1913. There was no demand for this species in our waters in 1913. The run that year in our own and Washington waters was greatly in excess of the demand. In consequence the pack of 6 Geo. 5 Spawning-beds of the Fraser. S 17 that year cannot be taken as evidence of the size of the run. The pack this year was limited only by the supply, and for the first time on record the catch in Puget Sound waters did not equal the demands of the canners operating there, with the result that buyers came over the International Line and purchased pinks directly from our fishermen and exported them for canning. Previous to their entering our market the fishermen were getting but 3 cents each for fish; afterwards many sales were made at 6 cents each, and in some cases as high as 7 cents was paid. Customs returns show that 1,100,764 pink salmon were exported to the United States in a fresh state this year. Conditions on the Spawning-beds of the Fraser. Conditions on the spawning-beds of the Fraser this year also presented unusual features. There were less sockeye on the beds in the waters above Yale (which includes the greater portion of the spawning area of the river) than in any former year since 1901, when our inspection began, and no sockeye-eggs were collected. On the other hand, the number of salmon on the spawning-beds of the tributaries which enter the Fraser below Yale (which includes the Harrison and Lillooet Lake Section) was far greater than in any recent year, not excepting that of the last big year, 1913. The total number of sockeye-eggs collected in this section this season exceeded 68,000,000, as against 22,937,000 in 1911. In addition, as is hereafter shown in detail, a large number of sockeye spawned naturally. This is a most satisfactory but surprising showing, especially when it is remembered that the total catch this year was the smallest yet made in the Fraser District. No doubt this favourable showing is attributable to the fact that the fish entered the river after the regular fishing season for sockeye was over and the nets had been removed. As a result of the eggs collected on the Lower Fraser, and of the number of fish which spawned there naturally, the sockeye run four years hence (1919) should show an increase over that of 1911, or of that of this year, notwithstanding the fact that less fish spawned in the upper reaches of the Fraser than four years ago, and no eggs were collected there. Conditions in the Canyon of the Fraser at Hell's Gate. The Department reports for 1913 and 1914 set forth in detail the conditions in the Fraser channel at Hell's Gate, above Yale, which seriously interrupted in those years the salmon migration to the spawning-grounds above. The removal of the great masses of rock which obstructed the channel which was undertaken in the winter of 1914 was prosecuted with intelligence and vigour throughout that year, and was completed early in 1915. The result of this work has been to practically fully restore the river to its former channel. The final report of the engineer in charge of this work may be found in the Appendix of this Department's report for 1914, which was issued in July, 1915. Notwithstanding the fact that the channel at Hell's Gate is believed to have been fully restored, the salmon which reached there in August and September of this year were considerably delayed, and for days at a time were unable to pass to the waters above. Previous to the great rock-slides of 1913 and 1914 the salmon commonly met with difficulty in passing through the swift waters at the Gate. The rapids there presented the first real obstacle encountered by the advancing fish, and at certain water-levels their delay was marked. During August and September of this year, when the greater portion of the run reached Hell's Gate, Fishery Overseer Newcombe, who was stationed there throughout the season, reports that for days at a time he could find no fish in the eddies above the Gate, and was of the opinion that for a time none succeeded in getting through. At no time this season was there a noticeable number of sockeye assembled in any of the eddies in the river, except those immediately below the Gate, and it is believed that all eventually reached the waters above. No sockeye were noted in the canyon in June and very few in July. Indians fished there in both June and July, but their catches consisted chiefly of a limited number of spring salmon, though a few sockeye were taken in the latter part of July. The movement of sockeye throughout August and September was noticeable, but at no time this season were they seen there in as great numbers as in 1914. The greatest number which passed through Hell's Gate in one clay he placed at 4,000. Very few fish were observed there in October. No pink-salmon were observed in the canyon this season. It will be recalled that the report for 1913 stated that no pink salmon were observed passing through the Gate, nor were any found in the waters above. 2 S 18 Report of the Commissioner of Fisheries. 1916 Conditions in Fraser River Canyon near Bridge River. Sockeye salmon made their first appearance at the canyon in the Fraser, just above the mouth of Bridge River, the latter part of July, but not in numbers until the end of August. The run that month was light. It is estimated that the Indians who nvere fishing from both banks of the river that month caught less than 1,000. During the month of September their catch is estimated at 6,000, and during October and November at 3,500; a total for the season of 10,400. Water conditions were favourable to the passage of the fish until the latter end of the season. At high water conditions are less favourable for the catching of salmon by the Indians. During low-water levels the Indians take the greater proportion of those reaching this canyon. I am indebted to Colonel F. H. Cunningham, Chief Inspector of Fisheries for the Province, for the above figures. He maintained an officer there during the entire season. Conditions at Seton Lake. Not to exceed 200 sockeye reached Seton Lake this season, and they came scatteringly during the latter part of September and the early part of October. There was no later run. Early this season the customary retaining-weirs were placed in the stream at the outlet of the lake, and all the fish which reached there were detained in the seining-pool, but at no time was there a sufficient number of fish to warrant taking them for spawning purposes. All were permitted to spawn naturally. No eggs were secured from this section this season. No pink salmon reached the retaining-weirs at Seton Lake this year. Not a single specimen of that species was observed there, while up to 1913 countless numbers of pink salmon had reached this section every alternate year. Although the run of pinks to the Fraser River was exceptionally large in 1913, it will be recalled that none were able to pass through the canyon at Hell's Gate. Because of the fact that pink salmon mature in two years and die after spawning, it is reasonable to believe that those entering the Fraser this year were the product of those which spawned in the tributaries below the canyon at Yale in 1913. Hence their failure to run to Seton Lake caused no surprise. Very few cohoe or spring salmon reached Seton Lake this year, and no eggs were secured there. Anticipating that there would be no run of pink salmon to Seton Lake, arrangements were made in September to secure eggs of that species from the run to the Mamquam River, near Squamish, at the head of Howe Sound, on the line of the Pacific Great Eastern Railway. This railroad runs close to the hatchery at Seton Lake, and its completion this year from the head of Howe Sound enabled the Department, for the first time, to go outside for eggs. Between September 15th and October 4th 6,000,000 pink-salmon eggs were collected from the Mamquam River and transported over the Pacific Great Eastern Railway to the hatchery, and were successfully landed there the evening of the same day they were expressed from the fish. As a result of this successful experiment the Department should hereafter establish egg-collecting stations on the streams emptying into Howe Sound. The variety of pink salmon which run to the streams there are considerably larger and heavier than those which hertofore have run to Seton Lake, and are thought by many to be superior for canning. The eggs secured were successfully hatched in December. The young fish will later be transferred from the hatching- troughs to the large retaining-tanks and there held until they are able to swim freely and are feeding. They will then be permitted to pass out at will into the stream which leads to the Fraser. On December 14th 1,000,000 sockeye-eggs were delivered at the Seton Lake Hatchery by Mr. T. W. Graham, Superintendent of the Dominion hatchery at Pemberton Meadows, at the head of Lillooet Lake. These eggs were a gift from the Dominion Fisheries Department through the kindness of the Chief Inspector of Fisheries F. II. Cunningham. They were collected from the Birkenhead River, a tributary of Lillooet Lake, and after being eyed were transported over the Pacific Great Eastern Railway from one hatchery to the other in four hours. The eggs were received in excellent condition. Not to exceed twelve dead eggs were removed from the baskets in the three days following their delivery. They began hatching by December 20th, and all were hatched in a few days. The alevins will be retained in the hatchery until their sacks are absorved, and then transferred to large retaining-tanks, where they will be fed until 6 Geo. 5 Spawning-beds of the Fraser. S 19 May, and they will then be released on the shoals at the head of Seton Lake. It is anticipated that some of these fish will return to Seton Lake four years hence. Shuswap and Adams Lakes. Few salmon of any species were to be found in the Shuswap and Adams Lakes Sections this year. So few, in fact, that the Indians along the Thompson River and at the lakes did not catch enough to dry any. Throughout the season no salmon were observed or taken at the dam at the outlet of Adams Lake or in the Lower Adams River. The hatchery at Granite Creek was abandoned and dismantled and will not again be operated, because in the last five years a sufficient number of salmon has not reached this section to warrant its operation. No pink salmon were found either in the Thompson or Nicola Rivers this season, though up to two years ago they spawned there in vast numbers. Quesnel Lake. The number of salmon which reached Quesnel Lake this season was the smallest yet recorded. All the fish which enter this lake are obliged to pass through the fishway in the raceway of the great dam at the lake's outlet. While passing from the fishway into the lake they are easily counted. As in former years, the Department maintained a watchman at the dam throughout the season, whose duty it was to carefully note, each day, the movements of fish through the fishway. He recorded his observations many times daily. His journal discloses that the first sockeye reached the great pool at the lower end of the raceway on August 26th (fully two weeks later than usual), and that they continued to arrive in small numbers until September 3rd, when the run ceased. The greatest number noted passing through the fishway in any one hour was thirty. The average hourly number from August 26th to September 4th was but twelve. Using this as a basis of calculation, it appears that during the nine days' run this year less than 3,000 sockeye entered Quesnel Lake, one of the largest lakes in the watershed of the Fraser. It is of interest in this connection to note that in the big run of 1909, when a similar record was kept, over 4,000,000 sockeye entered the lake. I visited the dam the last day of the run, and after reading the watchman's journal abandoned making my proposed inspection of the tributaries of Quesnel Lake. That such an inspection was unnecessary is shown by the reports received from the Horsefly and other tributaries to the effect that very few salmon appeared in any of them this season. Chilko Lake. The number of sockeye which entered the Chilcotin River, en route to Chilko Lake at its head, this season was so small as to attract no attention. The Indians fishing at Fish Canyon, Hanceville, and Indian Bridge caught a few during the last days of August, but did not catch enough to furnish food for those assembled there. None were dried. In consequence of the failure of sockeye to run into the Chilcotin River, the spawning-beds of Chilko Lake, which is the largest lake in the Fraser watershed and the main source of the former river, were unseeded this year. Conditions in Fraser River Watershed above Quesnel River. Stuart Lake.—Mr. A. C. Murray, Mining Recorder at Fort St. James, Stuart Lake, writes: " This season hardly any salmon entered Stuart Lake. The Indians around the lake may have caught a dozen sockeye amongst them all, but I am certain not twenty were taken during the season. However, it will interest you to learn that for this part of the country there was a good run of spring salmon. These fish do not enter the lake, but spawn in the upper reaches of Stuart River. This run was much later than usual. It commenced towards the end of September, and lasted until about October 20th. It is estimated that 5,000 spring salmon spawned in Stuart River last fall." Conditions below the Canyon at Hell's Gate. It gives pleasure to record that the number of sockeye which entered the lake-fed streams of the Fraser below the canyon at Yale, which includes both Harrison and Lillooet Lakes, this year greatly exceeded the number previously recorded there in any off-year, and as great even as during the last big year (1913), or greater. The hatcheries in this section collected 68,575,000 sockeye-eggs, and in addition large numbers of sockeye spawned naturally. S 20 Report of the Commissioner of Fisheries. 1916 Lillooet Lake. The number of sockeye which reached the egg-collecting stations of the hatchery at the head of the Lillooet Lake this season was larger than in any recent off-year, and compared favourably with the number which reached there in 1913, the last big year. The fish first made their appearance on August 19th, somewhat later than usual. Egg-collecting began on September 16th, and was continued until October 13th, during which period 25,000,000 sockeye-eggs were secured, as against 12,500,000 taken four years ago. The collections this year are not, however, to be taken as indicating that the number of fish which entered Lillooet Lake this year greatly exceeded the run of 1911, because such is not believed to be the case. For the past four years the Dominion Fisheries authorities have maintained an officer in this section whose duty has been to enforce the fishing regulations, the result of which has been that the Indians during the last three seasons have not been permitted to intercept the fish before they reached the spawning-stations. The salmon which enter Lillooet Lake come from Harrison Lake through the Lillooet River. In passing out of the latter they are subjected to capture in the rapids at its head by Indians who assemble there in numbers and use dip-nets. They formerly captured at this point all the salmon possible, regardless of sex. During the last three seasons Officer Grant prevailed upon them to confine their catch to fish sufficient for their immediate needs, and to retain only the males taken. His efforts in this regard have been most successful, not only at the rapids at the head of the Lillooet River, but also in the lower reaches of the Birkenhead River at the head of Lillooet Lake. His efforts have in no measure cut off the Indians from their usual supply of salmon for curing, since they are given, throughout the season, all the fish which are taken and spawned at the egg-collecting stations. During the early part of the season before egg-collecting is begun, the Indian residents at Pemberton Meadows, and close to the hatchery, are supplied with sufficient male fish to meet their requirement for fresh food. The stripping of the fish at the hatchery does not lessen their value as food to the Indians. By taking these stripped fish from the egg-collecting stations their labour is lessened, and the total number of fish secured by them is greater than they would have secured by their former methods of catching salmon. Some investigators have recently sought to create the impression that the establishment and operation of hatcheries in the vicinity of Indian salmon-fishing grounds works a hardship on the Indians by depriving them of their usual supply of salmon for curing. Such is not the case. On the contrary, the Indians are directly benefited. Many of them are given employment at the hatcheries. In one season's operations at the hatchery at Seton Lake the Indians employed were paid over $1,200 for labour in collecting and caring for eggs. Many are thus employed at the various hatcheries every season. The total number of fish secured and cured by them is as great as formerly, and even greater in seasons when the run is light. The fish also are in every way as suitable for curing as though they had taken them in their customary way. The most that can be truthfully stated by them in opposition to this method of securing fish is that they are occasionally delayed for a short time in beginning their operations for curing. The run of .cohoe to this section was very light and no pink salmon reached there. Harrison Lake. The number of sockeye which entered the tributaries of Harrison Lake this season was greater than in recent off-years. The number of sockeye-eggs collected at the stations on the lake proper and at Morris Creek exceeded that of 1911. The run of pinks to the tributaries of Harrison Lake was very light, but they spawned in great numbers in the streams tributary to Harrison River. Cultus Lake. Operations at the egg-collecting station on Cultus Lake, at the head of a tributary entering the Fraser from the east side and below the mouth of the Harrison River, were most successful, and far exceeded all previous records at any station on the Lower Fraser. Sockeye appeared there in limited numbers as early as September 15th, but not in large numbers until October 15th. The great majority reached there between the latter date and November 30th. Egg- collecting began November 1st and continued until well into December. In all, 30,000,000 sockeye-eggs were secured. 6 Geo. 5 Spawning-beds of the Fraser. S 21 When it became evident that the total collections of sockeye-eggs at Cultus Lake and other auxiliary stations of the larger hatchery at Harrison Lake would exceed its capacity, an auxiliary hatchery was constructed at Cultus Lake and filled to its capacity of 7,000,000 in December. The balance of the eggs taken were transferred to the hatchery at Harrison Lake and are mentioned in the record there. In addition to the large number of fish spawned at Cultus Lake, it is to be noted that upwards of 20,000 sockeye were permitted to pass through the retaining-weirs there and spawn naturally in the streams above. Those streams were better stocked naturally, notwithstanding the hatchery operations, than in any former year. It is believed that the sockeye which reached Cultus Lake and other sections of the Lower Fraser entered that river after the regular sockeye-fishing season was over and the nets removed from its waters. This is indicated (1) by the fact that the catches made during the last ten days of the fishing season were very light; (2) the fish were very late in appearing at the stations; and the further fact (3) that the fish spawned there did not show any of the net- marks on their sides and backs, which are so commonly found on the females manipulated at other stations. Pitt Lake. For the first time sockeye-eggs in considerable numbers were taken this year from the tributaries of Pitt Lake. All previous efforts to take sockeye-eggs there have failed, because that species has not appeared there in sufficient numbers. Sockeye were this year observed there in August, but not in large numbers until September. In September and October they sought entrance to all the main streams of the lake. In addition to the sockeye-eggs taken, many fish spawned naturally. With the exception of 1,000,000, all the eggs taken at Pitt Lake were forwarded to Harrison Lake Hatchery and are shown in the totals recorded there. The remarkably large number of sockeye which entered Cultus and Pitt Lakes this season was the distinguishing feature of this year's run to the Fraser watershed. I have, etc., John P. Babcock, Assistant to the Commissioner. Victoria, B.C., December SOth, 1915. THE SPAWNING-GROUNDS OF RIVERS INLET. Hon. W. J. Bowser, E.C., Commissioner of Fisheries, Victoria, B.C. Sir,—Continuing my inspection of the spawning-grounds, I have the honour to submit my report upon the conditions existing at Owikeno Lake, Rivers Inlet, in 1915. Leaving Rivers Inlet Cannery on October 4th, I proceeded at once to the head of the lake, which stretches for a distance of forty miles, and commenced an examination at Indian River. It was very low, and on travelling up in the canoe very few sockeye were observed, and those that were appeared to be all spawned out, and this was further evidenced by an examination of several before I could obtain one suitable for the collection of specimen eggs desired by the Department. This river clearly did not show up as favourably as last year, and this deduction was borne out by one of the men from the hatchery, who stated that, while the Cheo and Washwash Rivers were full of sockeye salmon three weeks prior to my visit, few sockeye were observed by him in the Indian River. The Cheo River, which received my attention next, was very thick and muddy, due to the glacier, and very low; the result was I had an uninterrupted view of the salmon right up to the falls. The riffles and bars were literally packed with spawning sockeye, and am of opinion the beds will be as thickly seeded as last year. The log-jam at the bend had not materially changed, and the salmon were able to reach the falls without difficulty. Here they were seen in large numbers, many making great efforts to surmount them, but all in vain. No log-jam other than the one already referred to interrupted their progress. In size the sockeye compared favourably with those seen last year. I noticed quite a sprinkling of " grilse " in the river, resembling very much in size and appearance the sockeye tested by Dr. C. H. Gilbert and myself at Bella Bella Cannery during the fishing season, and which he termed three-year sockeye. I examined several to determine the sex, and found they were all males. An examination of the Washwash River revealed the fine spawning-bed thickly massed with sockeye. All the way to the falls, a distance of two miles and a half, the river-bed bore the same tale. A very large proportion had spawned out, and it required the handling of several before obtaining one containing eggs. Their size in no way differed from the run last year. The log-jam still obstructed the mouth, but did not hinder the movement of the salmon to the upper reaches. I have no doubt the fine showing here will produce its full quota of sockeye from this season's spawning. Returning from the head of the lake, I looked into Sunday Creek, and find it still keeps up its reputation. The beds were covered with sockeye, the greater number having spawned out. In size they were exceptionally large fish, some of them weighing 10 and 11 lb. each. The cohoe salmon had not yet invaded the spawning-ground here, although the Indians say that later on a large number come in. Passing through the Narrows, which lies about thirty-two miles from the mouth of the lake, I observed the sockeye in great numbers spawning on the fine gravel-bars at this point, which should provide a full quota of salmon from this season's spawning. The Sheemahant River hereafter will be remembered by me with feelings of the greatest respect. It was while negotiating one of the many rapids in our endeavour to reach the falls that an accident happened, very nearly placing us hors de combat; our canoe caught on a submerged boulder, and in trying to extricate ourselves it overturned, with the result that we were precipitated into the raging torrent. Beyond, however, a ducking and the loss of all our camping outfit and provisions, no further harm befell us. In spite of this misfortune, I was able to form a good idea as to conditions existing in the finest salmon-stream tributary to the lake. The sockeye in thousands could be seen spawning all the way up the river. In making a comparison with the run of last year, I have no reason to doubt that it is equally as good. Careful note of their size was made and found to be well up to the average of those seen in the other rivers. No log-jams interefered with the progress of the fish all the way to the falls. Jeneesee Creek was exceptionally low for this time of the year and very few sockeye had come in. Many could be seen playing around outside and others spawning on the gravel-bars 6 Geo. 5 Spawning-grounds of Rivers Inlet. S 23 at the entrance to the creek. (It will be remembered that in making an inspection three weeks earlier in the season at this point last year I found the creek crowded with sockeye.) The hatchery officials were waiting in vain to get the pen full, so that eggs could be collected for the hatchery. Conditions improved somewhat after my inspection of the Machmell and Nookins Rivers. With the rise of the creek they were rushing up in great numbers, and on reaching the pen were quickly spawned out by the hatchery-men, who by this means filled about four boxes with eggs. The falling-off in the number is most marked and shows no comparison with the run to this stream last year; their size, however, compares very favourably. The log-jams still obstructed the creek all the way to the falls, but did not prevent the salmon from reaching the head. I noticed a few grilse, which had managed to get through the fence, swimming around in the upper reaches. An examination of a few proclaimed them to be of the male sex. The Machmell River, a swift-running glacier stream, was in " freshet" and prevented satisfactory observations. An examination made under difficulties through the bush for several miles revealed very few sockeye, the thick muddy water preventing an accurate estimation of their numbers. The Nookins River, on the other hand, was in every way favourable for observing conditions, and on making our way up through the rapids and shallow water, sockeye salmon in dense masses could be seen spawning out on the fine gravel beds. No log-jams arrested their progress to the upper reaches, and am of opinion the run to this stream is equal to the big run experienced here last year. Little difference was noticed in the size of the sockeye; they were well up to the average of other streams. The Asklum River was in " freshet" at the time of my visit and compelled me to take to the bush for the purpose of reaching the head. I noticed from the mouth thousands of sockeye spawning on the fine gravel-bars at this point. Observations of the river up to the falls revealed the same conditions; no falling-off in the run here has taken place; it was equally as prolific as last year. The size of the salmon was also well up to the average. The small grilse were again in evidence here, as in the case of Cheo River and Jeneesee Creek, but the river was running too strong to allow an examination to be made for the determination of sex. With the exception of two windfalls obstructing the river, but not impeding the progress of the salmon, the way was clear to the head. Quap River came under inspection next, and was observed to be crowded with a seething mass of sockeye waiting to reach the upper part of the river. The hatchery officials here were making a great showing, and had collected in the neighbourhood of 6,000,000 eggs, and hoped to fill the hatchery within the week. Unfortunately at this time, and while I was staying at the camp, a terrific downpour of rain threatened disaster to their hopes. The " freshet" which was caused swept over the fence, partly destroying it, and gave the milling mass of sockeye waiting below their chance. In the mad rush many were left high and dry in the woods, and observing the effect next morning at the fence very few sockeye could be seen. An examination of the mouth of the creek turned out more favourable. A large number of sockeye were noted at this point, and which I have no doubt will provide enough eggs to allow the hatchery to receive its full complement. The great windfall obstructing the river all the way to the falls undoubtedly saved the situation to the hatchery. Had it not beeu for this nothing could have withstood the raging torrent which swept down during the storm. The sockeye were of average size and compared very favourably with the run here the previous season, and in numbers about twice as many, and in this estimate the hatchery-men agreed with me. Crossing to the Dalleg River, similar conditions presented themselves. The river was rushing down with such volume it was necessary to take to the foothills and gradually work around until the falls were reached. Here the salmon could be seen in thousands. It was, however, impossible to get sufficiently near to hook one for the purpose of obtaining specimen eggs. Observations taken here satisfied me there was no falling-off in the run of sockeye salmon to this river, and am of opinion the spawning-beds will be abundantly seeded. The hatchery creek did not receive as many sockeye this year. The bars outside and in front of the hatchery were covered with spawning sockeye, and 1 agree with Captain Hamer, Superintendent of the Dominion hatchery, that the sockeye this year, instead of going into the creek, are making use of the gravel-bars outside for the deposit of spawn. A collection of about 800,000 eggs had been received at the hatchery from this creek. I am also given to understand S 24 Report of the Commissioner of Fisheries. 1916 a big run of humpbacks invaded the spawning-beds here during the latter part of August. The exceptional size of the sockeye was most pronounced, averaging much larger than those hitherto met with in the other rivers. A fine expanse of spawning-ground extending along the upper end of the Owikeno River, near the Rancherie, was thickly massed, with spawning sockeye, which, according to the belief of the Indians, belong to a later run, and when ripe for spawning, instead of passing up the lake, drop back and spawn on the bars at this point. The whole tribe of Indians were located here, and in answer to inquiries why they were not obtaining their winter supply of salmon from other portions of the tributaries to the lake as last year, they informed me the sockeye caught here retain their condition very much better after being smoked as against those obtained on the other rivers. An examination of the sockeye swimming around here certainly bore out the theory; if looks were anything to go by, all appeared to be well nourished and were undoubtedly fine specimens of the sockeye species. I did not see many cohoe salmon in the rivers, but on returning down the lake numbers could be observed breaking water, which would indicate that the spawning-grounds later on will be abundantly seeded by this species of salmon. The Owikeno River was exceptionally high and precluded satisfactory observations of the spring salmon which usually make use of the spawning-grounds here. At the request of the Department, I have obtained a collection of salmon-eggs from the various rivers, at the same time registering the temperature of the water. In summing up the results of my investigations of the tributaries to the Owikeno Lake, I have every reason to believe the run of sockeye salmon was well up to the average and compares very favourably with the runs during the past two seasons. With the exception of one or two rivers reported upon unfavourably, and which comprise a very small proportion of the total spawning area, I have no doubt the enormous number of sockeye seen on the beds will produce a big run from this season's spawning. Allow me, in conclusion, to express my appreciation of the kind hospitality extended to our party by Mr. A. W. Carter, of the Rivers Inlet Cannery; Captain Hamer, of the Dominion hatchery; and the men at the various camps, to whose assistance I am indebted for a very successful trip. I have, etc., Arthur W. Stone, Fisheries Overseer. Rivers Inlet, B.C., November 2nd, 1915. THE SPAWNING-GEOUNDS OF SMITH INLET. Hon. W. J. Bowser, K.C., Commissioner of Fisheries, Victoria, B.C. Sir,—I have the honour to submit the following report of an inspection of the spawning- grounds of the tributaries of Smith Inlet, conducted in September, 1915 :— Bearing in mind the exceptionally bad weather prevailing last year, and also with the desire to see what the spawning-grounds would be like by an inspection three weeks earlier in the season, I proceeded to Smith Inlet first, arriving there on September 16th. The Docee River (the overflow to the lake), through which the sockeye salmon have to pass to reach the spawning-ground, was very low and no difficulty was experienced in reaching the lake. I noticed on the way up an exceptionally large number of spring salmon. They were seen here last year, but in nothing like the numbers met with on this trip. They were also thickly dotted along the shore at the mouth of the lake. Large numbers of sockeye salmon, too, were swimming around at this point. Proceeding to Quay Creek, which lies about seven miles from the mouth, I found the low state of the water affected to a great extent the entrance. It did not, however, prevent the salmon from passing in. An examination of the spawning-grounds here and at the foot of the 6 Geo. 5 Spawning-grounds of Smith Inlet. falls was distinctly disappointing. Very few sockeye could be seen, and these were for the most part green and not ready to spawn out. They could be seen breaking water in large numbers outside, so I decided to give this creek another visit on my return from the head of the lake. The volume of water pouring over the falls last year, and which prevented an examination of the upper reaches, did not deter me this time. A creek, running for about half a mile, opened out into a large lake. No sockeye or other salmon could reach this point, as the falls form an insurmountable barrier. On reaching the head of the lake very different conditions presented themselves. Thousands of sockeye salmon could be seen spawning out on the bars at the entrance to the river, the low state of the lake providing an uninterrupted view. Passing up the Geluch River, the sockeye were noticed thickly massed on the bars and using every foot of spawning-ground for the deposit of ova. This fine river with its natural beds provided every facility to the salmon. No log-jams were seen to arrest their progress to the falls, three and a half miles up. The bears had played havoc with the fish; hundreds could be seen on the bar and in the bush, partly devoured, and the stench arising was overpowering. I am of the opinion that in numbers and size the sockeye salmon seen on the spawning-grounds here compare favourably with the run to this point last year. An examination of the Delabah River, lying about two miles from the head of the lake, did not show up as favourably in comparison with last year's run of sockeye. The spawning-grounds were alive with salmon, it is true, but the vast horde which had taken possession of this river, and noted on my previous visit, was missing; one-fourth would be a fair estimate of the number seen; in size they compare very favourably. The low state of the river may have accounted for the poor showing, but in observing the numbers swimming around outside it did not indicate that the exceptional run of last year would be repeated. The fine gravel spawning-grounds reaching out into the lake, and which I feared might go dry at low water, is not the case. The lake, although at its lowest mark, covered the beds. The absence of the milling mass of sockeye seen last year was most marked, and in this case one-fourth of the numbers previously covering these grounds would be a fair estimate of the sockeye utilizing them for the deposit of spawn. Returning from the lake, I noticed the sockeye salmon breaking water in large numbers. Looking into Quay Creek, conditions were much better; the sockeye were coming in, and from the number observed the beds here should he abundantly seeded, although not to the same extent as last year. On reaching the mouth, I met the tribe of Takush Harbour Indians making their way to the head for the purpose of smoking salmon for their winter's use. They were anxious to know if there were many fish at the Geluch, and when informed there were " hyiu " salmon were greatly excited. I noticed they had lost no time in getting busy with the spring salmon congregated at this point, as a few big fellows hanging in their shack testified. In summarizing the results of my observations of the spawning-grounds, I am of the opinion, in basing my calculations on the run of sockeye salmon to the headwaters of this lake last year, that a big falling-off will be noticeable in the run which will reach here from this season's spawning. In conclusion, I wish to express my appreciation for the courtesy extended by Mr. G. F. Harris, manager of the Smith Inlet Cannery. I have, etc., Arthur W. Stone, Fisheries Overseer. Rivers Inlet, November 2nd, 1915. S 26 Eeport of the Commissioner of Fisheries. 1916 THE NASS RIVER SPAWNING-GROUNDS. Hon. W. J. Botvser, K.C., Commissioner of Fisheries, Victoria, B.C. Sir,—I beg to submit a report on my investigation of the spawning-grounds of Meziadin Lake, Nass River. On September 22nd I went via Stewart and over the trail to Meziadin Lake and then down to the falls. On reaching the lake I was surprised to see comparatively few sockeye salmon spawning there, and, as I had never visited these grounds before, I deemed it advisable to investigate thoroughly by making a complete round of the lake, so that I could cover all the possible spawning-grounds. I found an old dug-out canoe and started with my men down the west shore to the south end and back up the east shore to where the Meziadin River flows down over the falls, and nowhere did I see what I would consider an abundance of sockeye in the lake. I reached the fish-ladder and did not see many fish passing up, although the few I did see going up seemed to have no difficulty in passing up with the assistance of the ladder. After spending a few hours at the upper falls I went down to the lower falls, and was very much surprised to see the thousands of sockeye salmon below them apparently unable to get up. Upon investigation I found the explanation of this, and my Indian guide, who for most of the time makes his home in these parts, confirmed my views. The river this year, from there being less snow on the mountains to feed it and very little rain during the summer, was much below its usual level; consequently the water formed one main fall in mid-channel which was almost impossible for salmon to negotiate. While there I saw, on the other hand, when the river is sufficiently high, it spreads out and forms on the same side as the ladder at the upper falls a passage of water so gradual in its descent that the salmon get up with ease. My Indian guide stated that as a rule this passage, which was then quite dry, is full of water and forms the main route for the up-going fish, and that they get up that way with very little difficulty. Below the lower falls were hundreds of dead sockeye, several of which I examined and found them all spent. I also picked up live ones and found" them ripe and ready for spawning. The difficulty in ascending the lower falls could very easily be overcome by another small ladder, and this could be built at a much lower cost than the ladder at the upper falls. I might mention I had been told by a good authority that the white-nosed sockeye did not spawn in Meziadin Lake, so I was on the look-out for them, and was rewarded in my search, as I pulled out five of this kind, both male and female, from amongst the other sockeye at the foot of the falls, proving that this species also spawn in the lake. I also found out from the Indian that the sockeye go even farther up the Nass River than the Meziadin, as the Indians from the Upper Skeena River cross over the mountains and catch them in the upper reaches of the Nass. I was told by an Indian whose hunting-ground it is that there is another lake on the right bank of the Nass River nearly opposite Bowser Lake, but he did not know if it was a sockeye spawning-ground. . On my return trip I followed up the eastern shore of the lake. This looked to me quite suitable for spawning, as about 60 yards from the shore I found a depth of water of 6 feet and a gradual slope up to the shore. On my way back to Stewart I visited the small lake that lies between the Red Cliff Mine and Bitter Creek, and found many sockeye there, as it is a favourite spawning-ground for the Portland Canal salmon. In fact, it is the only one of which I know. The creek leading from this lake is very much in need of a cleaning-out, and this could be done at a small outlay, as it is only blocked by log-jams. These are, however, sufficient to keep many sockeye from reaching the spawning-ground, as I found many behind these jams which were quite spent, and, of course, all eggs lost here would be washed away by the autumn freshets. I have, etc., J. Maxwell Collison, Fishery Overseer. 6 Geo. 5 Life-history of the Sockeye Salmon. S 27 CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE LIFE-HISTORY OF THE SOCKEYE-SALMON. (No. 3.) By Charles H. Gilbert, Ph.D., Professor of Zoology, Stanford University. I. GENERAL SCOPE OF THE SEASON'S INVESTIGATIONS. •A comprehensive examination of sockeye runs throughout the Province was undertaken in 1915. This included not only the principal rivers, such as the Fraser, Rivers Inlet, the Skeena, and the Nass, but also the majority of the smaller streams which have runs of any commercial value. The more important river systems received the more detailed investigation, and were given tests at least once each week throughout the fishing season, while the smaller rivers and creeks which received attention—some forty-four in number—were tested only once, or at most twice, during the period of their respective runs. Some of the smaller streams were investigated for the first time in 1915, but in the case of others, data had accumulated from previous years and were at hand for comparison. One of the principal reasons for widening the scope of the investigations was to throw further light on the applicability of the Parent Stream Theory. The validity of this important theory has been conclusively demonstrated in the case of the larger rivers of the Province, as shown in the Reports of the Commissioner for 1913 and 1914. Examination of the scales had removed any possible doubt that the progeny of the Fraser River fish return to the Fraser at their maturity, and that this is true also of the fish of each of the large river-basins. It has now been shown, as the result of the past season's work, that this same principle holds in the case of all the rivers and creeks, however small these may be, and however near together they may enter the sea. The practical significance of this demonstration is entirely obvious. In order to maintain the supply of salmon in a given district, it will not be adequate to install a hatchery on any convenient stream, into which the entire output of the hatchery will be turned. On the contrary, each stream must be given separate consideration, and must receive its own quota of fry to feed and grow within its boundaries. The original source of the eggs is seemingly a matter of no importance. The destination of the adult salmon is determined by the locality in which the young were reared. To what extent the parent-stream theory holds for the tributaries of the larger river systems is as yet undetermined, and is a matter of the utmost practical importance. In the Report of the Commissioner for 1913 (page 19), Mr. J. P. Babcock, Assistant to the Commissioner, suggests for the first time that a portion of the Fraser River sockeye run may enter from the north through Johnstone Strait. This was based largely on the reported occurrence of large schools seen in 1913 south of Cape Mudge, and also on the testimony of Mr. W. E. Anderson, of Quathiaski Cove, who had captured some of the salmon on their passage and considered them Fraser River fish. In the early part of August, 1915, we were given an opportunity to examine a south-bound school of sockeyes, which was intercepted by Mr. Anderson at DeePwater Bay, shortly above Seymour Narrows. Critical study of these has proven beyond doubt that they were Fraser River fish, and has made it appear probable that a certain component of the Fraser run enters from the north in every year, and not, as might have been supposed, in the big year only of each cycle. In addition to further observations on the age-groups in the various runs, on the proportions of the sexes, and on the sizes of the different races in comparison with previous years, there were examined an extensive series of yearling migrants taken on their way to the sea, in the Fraser River, in Smith and Rivers Inlets, and in the Skeena. All previous investigations seem to have shown that the average size of migrants does not change during the month or more that migration is in progress; that the last to leave are of the same average size as the first, although a month or more has passed during which growth would be expected. It now appears that the Rivers Inlet race is even more peculiar in this respect, inasmuch as the later migrants not only do not increase in average size, but they actually exhibit a smaller size on the average as the season progresses. With them the larger sizes pass out at the opening of the downward movement, and each successive day is marked by the appearance of smaller migrating fish than the preceding days. This occurrence has not beeii noted elsewhere. S 28 Report of the Commissioner of Fisheries. 1916 II. THE FRASER RIVER SOCKEYE RUN OF .1915. (1.) General Characteristics. In the Annual Report of this Department for 1914 (page 47) an attempt was made to forecast the season of 1915 in the following terms: "The gaps in our knowledge are too extensive to warrant safe prediction, but such factors as we have been able to determine favour the belief that 1915 will in a measure resemble 1911, when a very small pack was accompanied by a large proportion of five-year fish." The experience of the year completely verified this tentative prophecy. The pack was even smaller than in 1911, and the proportion of five-year fish (39 per cent.), while not equal to that of 1911 (46 per cent.), was far heavier than in normal years. The prediction was based, as shown in the report, on the fact that the year 1911—the brood-year from which were derived the four-year fish of 1915—was one of the poorest ever known, both as regards its pack and, what is still more important, the number of breeders that escaped to the spawning-beds. The year 1910, on the contrary, was a prosperous season, and could be expected to deliver its full quota of five-year fish. Along this line of reasoning, we should be justified in assuming that the five-year fish of 1915 were present in normal numbers, aud that the sole reason why they formed an excessively high proportion of the total run was that there existed a serious deficiency in the four-year fish. If this be true, we should be able to compute the amount of the deficiency on the basis of the five-year fish present, and by adding the deficiency to the total catch produce the proportions of a normal run. We should add enough four-year fish to our total catch to bring about a reduction in the proportion of five-year fish from 39 to about 18 per cent, 18 being the average of the Fraser River during the period of our investigations. To effect this reduction, we find it necessary nearly to treble the number of four-year fish present, and we increase thereby the total catch, given in round numbers, from 156,000 to 338,000. To compare with this estimate, we have 327,000, which is the average catch for the years 1906, 1908, 1910, and 1912. These years will be accepted as fair representatives of the last two Fraser River cycles, for 1907 and 1911 were phenomenally poor, and 1909 and 1913 belong to the constantly recurring series of big years. We make no claim that a similar computation can be successful in accounting for each year's run, and that the size of the run, together with the relative proportions of the four- and the five-year fish of which it is composed, can be fully explained by the apparent success of the spawning four and five years previously. Such an attempt fails notably in the season following the big year of the cycle, when we should expect an overwhelming proportion of five-year fish. There must be modifying factors we have not yet ascertained. But the only way we may hope to obtain a clue to these is to attempt an explanation on the basis of factors which we should know to be valid, and to note where and when and to what extent these prove inadequate. This discussion is based on the characteristics of the main run, which begins in July and culminates early in August. In addition, there is a diminutive run of early fish, which appear each year in varying abundance along the usual channels of migration of the Fraser sockeyes. They are often more numerous about the middle of May, and may decrease in numbers towards the latter end of that month and throughout June. In 1915 they were unusually abundant along the southern shores of Vancouver Island. They are recognized as smaller than the sockeyes of the main run and are of inferior quality, both as regards colour and amount of oil. At the canneries they are kept distinct from the product of the later run. The destination of these early fish is unknown. The eggs are very small, so there is no reason to suppose they will spawn at an earlier date than will the later fish. They may be the product of some definite portion of the Fraser basin to which they will return, or they may distribute themselves widely. Their inferior size seems due to their earlier departure from the feeding-grounds. The same cause may account also for the poor colour and the lack of oil. Their scales bear witness to the fact that little or no growth had been made since the winter check of the previous year. This check is marked on the scale by the production of a "winter band " of rings, these being densely crowded together and indicating the almost total cessation of growth during the period of their formation. In the four-year fish of the later run the scales exhibit a broad band of widely spaced rings outside the winter band, which is therefore well within the margin of the scale. But in four-year fish of the early run the band is either at the margin or shortly within it. There are either no wider rings representing the new growth of the year or the number of such rings is greatly reduced. 6 Geo. 5 Life-history of the Sockeye Salmon. S 29 Whatever may be the history and destination of the four-year fish of the early run, the five-year fish quite evidently have had a different origin from the fish of the same age which run in July and August. The probability of this was pointed out in our report for 1914 (page 50), and is amply confirmed by our investigations of the early run of 1915, based on a more extensive material. As will appear on a later page, the five-year fish which run in May (and this is probably true also of June) have scales with very small nuclear region. As this portion of the scale records quite accurately the amount of growth during the first year's residence in fresh water, we must assume that the individuals in question have developed from yearlings of extraordinarily small size, and that such yearlings must have been the product of some unfavourable lake or group of lakes within the Fraser basin. The only alternative theory which offers is to the effect that these fish have originated in various parts of the basin, and for some reason connected with their small size as yearlings have segregated themselves from their fellows to constitute a part of the early run. Such a theory seems improbable in the extreme, and wholly inadmissible. In so far as the evidence extends, we must consider the presence of a peculiar body of early-running five-year fish as an argument in favour of localized runs within the basin, in favour of extending the parent-stream theory to the tributaries of a large river system. The general characteristics of the Fraser sockeyes exhibited no change in 1915. Both in length and weight within each age-group they averaged as high as in any previous year of record. The sexes occurred again in equal numbers, as has been the case in the Fraser in each year during which our investigations have been in progress. This is noteworthy in view of the fact that other important streams of the Province show marked inequality in proportions of males and females, an inequality which may shift violently in successive years. A very small proportion of individuals of " sea-type " were present, and a somewhat larger proportion of those which spent two years in freshwater before passing down to the sea. As noted in previous years, those of the latter category had not in any case matured at the age of four. By far the larger number matured at five, and a rare individual at six years. (2.) Age-groups and their Significance for the Runs. The Fraser River is the only large stream of the Province possessing a race of sockeyes which mature principally in their fourth year. As previously stated, the average number of four-year fish for the past four years comprises S2 per cent., and while no high degree of accuracy can be claimed for this figure, it doubtless gives a rough approximation to the fact. Violent oscillations in the proportions of the two principal age-groups are constantly appearing, as is evident in the following table :— Table I.—Percentages of Four- and Five-year Fraser River Sockeyes ir, with Broods from which they icere derived. Runs from 1911 to 1915, Run of the Year. Percentage, Four and Five Years old. Brood-year from which derived. 1911 (190,586 cases) 1 1912 (325,451 cases) j 1913 (2,402,389 cases) I 1914 (555,557 cases) - 3 1915 (155,714 cases) j 5 yrs. 4 yrs. 5 yrs. 4 yrs. 5 yrs. 4 yrs. 5 yrs. 4 yrs. 5 yrs. 4 yrs. 46% 54% 10% 90% 0+% 99+% 15% 85% 39% 61% 1906 (365,248 cases). j-1907 (159,591 cases). I 11908 (236,802 cases). J-1909 (1,590,555 cases). I il910 (367,482 cases). 1911 (190,586 cases). Taking the proportions of four-year fish in the above table in ascending order, we have the following percentages: 54, 61, S5, 90, 99 + . If we associate with these the catches of the same S 30 Report of the Commissioner of Fisheries. 1916 years, they present the following sequence: 54 (190,586 cases), 61 (155,557 cases), 85 (555,557 cases), 90 (325,451 cases), 99+ (2,402,389 cases). The evidence available indicates clearly that in the Fraser River basin a high percentage of four-year fish accompanies a large pack, or, stated conversely, a small pack is occasioned mainly by a deficiency in four-year fish. If further observation confirms this principle, it will be possible closely to estimate the success of a given pack at the very beginning of the run by determining the relative numbers of four- and five-year fish. The higher the percentage of four-year fish, the larger will be the run. But predictions of this nature will not be feasible unless the proportions of the age-groups prove fairly constant throughout the fishing season. It is not yet certain to what extent the May-June run on the Fraser is available for purposes of prediction. In 1915 the correspondence was not exact. The following table shows the variation among the age-groups as determined in 1915 at different times and places :— Table II.—Relative Proportions of Fraser River Age-groups as independently determined for Different Localities and Dates. Locality. Date. Four-year Fisb. Five-year Fisb, South shore of Vancouver Island South shore of Vancouver Island Deepwater Bay Bellingham May, 1915 July, 1915 August, 1915 July and August, 1915 Per Cent. 70 65 65 61 Per Cent. 30 35 35 39 From the above it appears that, although considerable variation was found among the different groups examined, part of which may be explained by the inadequate number of individuals investigated in certain of these apparent groups, nevertheless it was apparent from any of the samples taken that four-year fish were in abnormally low proportions, and indicated, therefore, a poor run for the season. The Bellingham lot comprised over 1,200 fish taken during the height of the run, and is accepted as giving the closest approximation to the proportions of the age-groups. (3.) Comparative Lengths and Weights. The main run of July and August was examined in greatest detail at Bellingham, Washington, where the salmon are principally obtained from traps and purse-seines and contain the smaller individuals in their proper proportion; 1,208 specimens were investigated, taken without selection, on the following dates :— July 26th 261 specimens. August 3rd 255 „ August 9th 250 August 16th 255 August 23rd 187 Of these, 1,113, or 93 per cent., belonged to the prevailing Fraser River type, and had remained in the lake until the second spring after hatching. One of this class, a male, 28 inches long, weight 8 lb., had delayed maturing until its sixth year, while the remainder came to maturity at the close either of their fourth or fifth year. The 8 per cent, which did not belong to the prevailing type were divided nearly equally between the group that spends two full years in the lake and the group that proceeds directly to sea as fry of the year. Of the latter group—the sea-type—there were found forty-six individuals, or about 4 per cent. Three of these matured in their third year, forty-two in their fourth, and one individual in its fifth year. Of the two-years-in-lake type, thirty-four were five years old and fifteen were six years old. The following table gives the length frequencies among 1,000 sockeyes of the prevailing type; that is, those that spent one year in the lake after hatching and matured in their fourth or fifth year. They were secured at Bellingham during the height of the run. 6 Geo. 5 Life-history of the Sockeye Salmon. S 31 Table III.—One Thousand Fraser River Sockeyes, Run of 1915, July 26th to August 23rd, grouped by Age, Sex, and Length,. Length in Inches. Number of Individuals. Four Years old. Five Years old. Males. Females. Males. Females. 21 21% 22 22% 23 23% 24 24% 25 25% 26 26% 27 27% 28 28% 29 29% Totals Average length in inches 1 1 i o 8 6 16 1 i 14 41 25 66 2 2 28 67 3 5 81 65 11 17 60 27 20 31 51 11 37 59 22 4 31 34 11 41 24 4 13 5 1 25 9 9 1 5 307 307 203 183 25.5 24.4 26.7 25.9 Similar tables are here presented of some 500 specimens taken in traps along the southern shore of Vancouver Island in the month of July, and of 198 in Deepwater Bay, near Seymour Narrows, early in August. The Deepwater lot were proceeding south from Johnstone Strait to the Gulf of Georgia. To facilitate comparison with the previous table the numbers have been reduced to the basis of 1,000. It will be noted that the Deepwater Bay fish agree very closely in average size with those from the Vancouver Island traps, and both lots average somewhat smaller in each group.of individuals than do those from the Bellingham traps and seines taken throughout the season. But if we consider separately the first Bellingham series which was taken, those of July 26th, we find an almost exact parallel to the Vancouver Island lot. The averages of July 26th are as follows :— Four-year males 24.9 inches. Four-year females 23.9 ,, Five-year males 26.4 ,, . Five-year females 26.0 „ It must be kept in mind that an unknown proportion of the school which sweeps past the south coast of Vancouver Island reaches the mouth of the Fraser through Haro Strait, while the Bellingham fish all skirt the Salmon Banks and pass north through Rosario Strait. Whether choice between these two routes is purely fortuitous, or whether a more definite selection is made by salmon from different parts of the Fraser watershed, remains to be determined. The same question arises with regard to fish which enter from the north. S 32 Report of the Commissioner of Fisheries. 1916 Table IV.—Fraser River Sockeyes captured July 6th to 28th, 1915, along Southern Shore of Vancouver Island. Length in Inches. Number of Individuals. Four Years old. Five Years old. Males. Females. Males. Females. 22% 23 23% 24 24% 25 25% 26 26% 27 27% 28 28% 29 29% 30 Totals Average length in inches 8 12 14 24 2 30 62 60 96 2 6 62 38 4 6 94 28 22 22 62 6 14 30 40 42 44 10 24 26 4 48 12 12 S 2 14 8 "2 378 | 274 192 156 24.8 23.9 26.5 25.8 Tattle V.—Fraser River Bocloeyes taken at Deepivater Bay, North of Seymour Narrows, August 8th, 1915. Length In Inches. dumber of Individuals. Four Years old. Five Years old. Females. Males. Females. 20% . 5 11 6 16 11 16 32 48 43 59 32 27 11 5 11 16 5 5 32 91 38 49 2 54 ] 27 '. 1 t ] e 5 !7 Ll !7 13 !7 16 !7 5 21 d Ll 21% . 22 22% 23 23% 24 24% 25 38 16 38 32 5 11 25% 26 26% 27 27V, 28 317 333 IS 38 162 24.2 23.8 26 .0 25.7 6 Geo. 5 Life-history of the Sockeye Salmon. S 33 We have still to consider the relative sizes of the early-running school, and present below a table giving length frequencies of the salmon taken in the Vancouver Island traps in the month of May. As will be noted, the range in length is extreme, some of the four-year females being no longer than ordinary three-year grilse, and several of the five-year fish being only 20 and 21 inches long, whereas the five-year members of the later run are seldom shorter than 24 inches. At the same time there are included with these distinctly undersized fish, especially among the five-year males, a group of individuals of ordinary stature, ranging from 24 to 29% inches. The frequency curve of the male five-year-olds is thus clearly bimodal. We are unable to draw any distinction between these two groups, save in the matter of size. The undersized individuals seem to have made little or no growth since the previous fall-winter period, while the larger ones evidently began the new growth well in advance of their departure from the feeding-grounds. No further growth will take place in any of these, so a thorough survey of the Fraser River spawning-beds should succeed in locating them. Table VI.—Fraser River Sockeyes captured May 11th to 26th, 1915, along Southern Shore of Vancouver Island. Length in Inches. Number of Individuals. Four Years old. Five Years old Males. Females. Males. Females. 17 .. 17% 18 .. 18% 19 .. 19% 20 .. 20% 21 .. 21% 22 .. 22% 23% 24 .. 24% 25 .. 25% 20 .. 26% 27 .. 27% 28 .. 28% 29 .. 29% Totals Average length in inches 24.1 22.4 4 4 7 ii 4 15 ll 7 15 78 8 18 52 15 30 108 18 41 41 26 74 11 8 74 4 8 60 7 26 5 11 4 7 22 7 7 "•4 7 3E 3 >4t M 0 1 24.9 4 19 7 37 11 15 15 14 141 23.9 The following tables give the frequency distribution of weight in the various groups already treated, with the exception of the Deepwater Bay lot, in which it was not feasible to take weights. It appears from these tables that the May fish in every group average lighter than those of the later run, and that the July fish from the Vancouver Island traps are slightly lighter as regards the four-year group, and practically identical with the Bellingham lot in the five-year group. 3 S 34 Report of the Commissioner of Fisheries. 1916 Table VII.—One Thousand Fraser River Sockeyes, Run of 1915, July 26th to August 23rd, Bellingham, Wash., grouped by Weight, Age, and Sex. Weight in Pounds. 4 4% 5 sy2 6 ey2 7 7% 8 sy2 9 9% 10 10% ' 11 Average Four-year males . . Four-year females. . Five-year males . .. Five-year females .. 1 5 8 20 i 23 43 3 3 45 88 5 6 58 87 12 28 77 50 33 44 54 13 48 44 30 1 36 36 8 26 12 2 15 8 1 11 1 8 5 1 6.3 - 5.7 7.4 0.9 Table VIII.—Fraser River Sockeyes captured July 6th to 28th, 1915, along Southern Shore of Vancouver Island. Weight in Pounds. 4 4% 5% 6 ey2 7 7% 8 8% 9 9y2 10 ! 10y2 Average Four-year males . . Four-year females Five-year males . . Five-year females . 6 12 30 "2 38 70 2 66 88 2 10 110 54 24 32 72 18 20 22 44 2 3S 46 30 6 42 26 4 38 12 18 4 2 4 4 2 6.1 5.4 7.4 6.S Table IX.—Fraser River Sockeyes captured May nth to 26th, 1915, along Southern Shore of Vancouver Island. Weight in Pounds. 2% 3 3% 4 jy2 5 5% 6 6% 7 7% 8 8% 9 9 % ! Aver Four-year males .. Four-year females. . Five-year males . Five-year females 4 19 11 37 85 115 67 78 164 67 4 11 22 26 19 22 11 15 19 45 22 26 8 4 19 4 11 11 7 4 15 11 3 5.4 4.3 6.0 5.6 The tables already given, dealing as they do with fish which have obviously left their feeding-grounds -at different dates, afford some clue to the amount of growth that takes place during the season in which they mature. Further light is thrown on this subject by the comparative table which follows, giving average length and weight taken at weekly intervals at Bellingham during the height of the run. A small increase is apparently shown in the size of the four-year fish, but no increase whatever among the five-year group. Table X.—Fraser River Sockeyes, Run of 1915, Average Length and Weight on Successive Dates. Dates. 4-year Males. 4-year Females. 5-year Males. 5-year Females. Length. Weight. Length. Weight. Length. Weight, j Length. Weight. July 26th August 3rd August 9th August 16th .... August 23rd .... 24.9 25.3 25.2 25.4 25.4 6.2 6.4 6.3 6.5 6.4 23.9 24.4 24.5 24.7 24.5 5.4 5.7 5.8 6.0 5.8 26.4 26.6 26.5 27.0 27.0 7.3 7.3 7.4 7.5 7.6 26.0 26.1 26.1 26.1 25.9 7.0 7.0 6.8 6.8 6.9 As in the case of the average lengths, so also in the weights, we have accepted as standard for the season those obtained from the Bellingham material. These are contained in Table VII., and should be strictly comparable with the results in previous years at the same time and place. 6 Geo. 5 Life-history of the Sockeye Salmon. S 37 average at 15.7; while in 1915 the range is from five to twenty-one, with the average at 13.7. This striking difference seems to be due to the different dates at which the two lots were obtained. The 1914 sample was secured July 2Sth and seems to represent a pure strain, unmixed with any other. A larger number of specimens would have increased the range somewhat, but there is no reason to suppose it would materially have altered the results. The 1915 lot was secured July 6th (sixty specimens) and July 28th (forty specimens). There is evidence that we have here a mixture of the two forms, one with the mode at ten, the other with the mode at sixteen. Comparison of the following two tables with Table VIII. of the 1914 report ■will make this evident. As will also the progression towards the unmixed later form observed in the three collections in July, 1915. Table XII. Date. Range of Variation. Average. July 6th July 20th July 28th 6 to 21 5 to 19 10 to 19 13.1 13.6 14.9 The males of the July 28th lot include a single specimen with ten rings, the remainder being distributed between thirteen and eighteen. The females range from eleven to nineteen. Table XIII.—Nuclear Rings on Scales of One Thousand Fraser River Sockeyes, Run of 1915, July 26th to August 23rd. Numuer of Nuclear 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 Average. Rings. 1 1 Four-year fish ... 5 21 31 411 55 I 68 42 49 43 60 63 57 37 IS 16 4 3 1 15.4 Five-year fish .... i 2 5 10 18 25 23 25 35 62 j 64 43 34 24 9 5 1 15.9 Table XIV.—Nuclear Rings on Scales of Five-year Fraser River Sockeyes taken in 1915 along the Southern Shore of Vancouver Island. Number of Nuclear Rings. 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 1 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 Average. Specimens taken in May Specimens taken in July 6 6 6 25 9 70 15 101 102 18 36 57 18 76 54 38 60 25 45 52 85 51 27 12 3 3 10.1 13.7 We add also tables to show distribution of nuclear rings in four-year fish from the Vancouver Island traps, and of both four- and five-year fish from Deepwater Bay. The evidence in favour of the identification of the latter as part of the Fraser River run is complete. The close correspondence in average length, in the number of the nuclear rings on the scales, the colour and quality of the flesh, the direction in which they are moving, and the time when they appear—that is, early in August, when all other runs in this district are over—excludes any other possibility as to their destination. In minor matters, too, there is agreement. We find among the limited number which we were able to examine three individuals of undoubted sea-type, maturing in their fourth year; and fourteen which had spent two years in the lake, one maturing at six years, the remainder at five. Furthermore, when the nuclear rings are tabulated for those which spent two years in the lake, we find complete agreement with those of the 1914 run given in Table XV., page 53, of the report for that year. The first-year rings in the Deepwater Bay material range from five to thirteen, the second-year rings from eight to seventeen. S 38 Report of the Commissioner of Fisheries. 1916 Table XV.—Nuclear Rings on Scales of Four-year Fraser River Sockeyes taken in 1915 along the Southern Shore of Vancouver Island. Number of Nuclear Rings. 9 10 11 14 15 16 IS 19 20 21 22 23 24 Average. Specimens taken in May Specimens taken in July 5 43 35 24 24 19 29 48 61 61 48 42 29 19 8 3 2 5 16 27 45 72 61 87 45 43 19 27 22 18 8 3 2 15.3 13.1 Table XVI.—Nuclear Rings on Scales of Fraser River Sockeyes taken in Deepwater Bay, North of Seymour Narrows, August 8th, ,1915. Number of Nuclear Rings. 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 Average 3 9 11 32 14 | 9 43 14 60 23 57 50 46 45 46 59 60 118 51 41 31 54 17 17 50 9 11 14 6 14.4 Five-year fish 15.6 (5.) Young Migrants in the Fraser River. During the season of 1915, collections of Fraser River fingerlings taken in their downward migration were made in the Chilcotin River and at the foot of Quesnel Lake. For comparison with these, we have the 1903 collections at Lytton, reported in No. 1 of this series, page 54, and Seton Lake material obtained in 1914, described in No. 2 of this series, page 55. Of these, the Seton Lake specimens are the most valuable, as they are the product of a single locality and may throw light on the effects which local conditions may exert on the growth of young within a single watershed. No migrants were obtainable in Seton Lake in 1915. We were also unsuccessful in securing them from the Harrison Lake District. Chilcotin River Migrants. Sixty yearlings were secured from April 20th to May 6th, thirty-one of which were males and twenty-nine females. They ranged in length from 61 to 93 mm., with one very exceptional individual, a female, 118 mm. long. Included with the yearlings were three individuals which had spent two full years in the lake, and measured 104, 109, and 117 mm. (see Fig. 1). The exceptional one-year female is thus not only separated by a wide gap from the next largest of the yearling series, but is even larger than any of the two-year-olds. Examination of the scales indicates a very large growth (sixteen rings) during the first season, followed by a conspicuous strong new season's growth of four rings (see Fig. 2). This is, as we shall see below, a very unusual combination; for those which attain large stature in the spring-summer growth of their first season usually delay further growth the following spring until they have reached the sea (see Fig. 3). Excluding the two-year fish, the others average 75.8 mm., with the mode at seventy-four. Excluding also the HS-mm. yearling, the average is 75 mm. They are thus distinctly smaller than the Seton Lake yearlings of 1914, which ranged from 73 to 102 mm., with the average at S6.5. And, as will appear below, they are also distinctly smaller than the Quesnel fish of their own year. The size stands in direct relation to the number of rings on the scales, when we are considering fish from the same brood and the same locality. This appears in the following table, although the number of specimens available is much too small to produce an even curve. 6 Geo. 5 Life-history of the Sockeye Salmon. S 39 Table XVII. Number of Specimens. Range in Millimetres. Average Total Rings on Scales. 7 | 60 to 69 33 70 to 79 16 80 to 89 3 90 to 99 1 ! 118 8.6 11.1 13.2 13.0 21.0 Average total number of rings in all specimens, 11.4, including the rings of new growth. - The rings of new growth formed during the migrating season are not included, however, in the enumeration of nuclear rings on adult scales. The boundary-line taken in these is the one which is best defined, and marks the outer limit of growth of the first season. It becomes of interest to place ou record the frequency distribution and the average number of scale-rings in yearlings from each of the lakes of the Fraser watershed from which we can obtain material. Fifty-eight yearlings from the Chilcotin exhibit the following:— Table XVIII.—Scale-rings in Chilcotin yearling Migrants, not including the Rings of the New Season's Growth. -. Number of Rings on Scales. 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 4 1 9 17 5 1 5 3 1 6 I--6 J" 2 1 .. j 1 The average number of rings is 10.7, while those from Quesnel average 14.6. It is worthy of note that the scales of the Chilcotin migrants agree closely with the nuclear area of the five-year-old adults which run in May and June (see Table XIV.). More than half the Chilcotin yearlings had begun the new growth of the season when they were captured, the widely spaced rings which register the new growth varying from one to four in number (see Fig. 4). This agrees closely with the conditions which were obtained in Seton Lake at the same dates of the previous year, where from one to five_rings of new growth had appeared in a considerable number of specimens. Among the Chilcotin yearlings we note that the individuals which have produced no new growth on the dates captured are those which reached the largest size during their first season, as shown by the number of rings which they had formed on their scales (see Fig. 3). This is apparent in the following table:— Table XIX. Number of First Season Rings. 13 Number of individuals Number of individuals with new-growth rings Average new-growth rings 4 8 17 7 5 3 6 6 4 6 15 6 2 2 2 2 2 2 Quesnel Lake Migrants. One hundred and eighty fingerlings were obtained at the outlet of Quesnel Lake, 110 (61 per cent.) of these being males and seventy (39 per cent.) females. They range from 74 to 114 mm. in length, fifty males averaging 89.5 and fifty females 87.7 mm. No two-year-old individuals were included with the yearlings. In size they agree very closely with Seton Lake yearlings of the previous year (males, 86.7 mm.; females, 86.4 mm.), but the Seton Lake fish, in a considerable proportion of their number, had initiated the new growth of the year, while in only 5 per cent, of the Quesnel yearlings has any new growth appeared. S 40 Report of the Commissioner of Fisheries. 1916 The number of rings on the scales ranges from ten to twenty-two, fifty males averaging 14.8 rings, fifty females 14.5. Table XX.—Scale-rings in Quesnel Lake Yearling Migrants. Number of Rings. 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 3 7 10 17 12 19 16 5 1 3 1 5 i Average, 14.6. In this respect, again, there is close correspondence with Seton Lake specimens which possessed an average of 14.5 rings in 1914. There is nothing to indicate that the yearlings from these two localities can be distinguished. And if the adults which reach these two spawning districts were to return in each case to their parent stream, there would be nothing in the nuclear area of their scales by which this could be made evident. But the case may be different with the Chilcotin District. Here, as we have seen, the 1915 yearlings were notably smaller than in the other two districts, and the number of rings on the scales was materially reduced. Eliminating the new-growth rings, as was done with the Seton Lake and Quesnel averages above given, the Chilcotin rings average 10.7 instead of 14.7. This is a difference which could be readily detected in the nuclear area of adults returning to these several spawning- grounds, and, in case the differences among the young migrants are constant from year to year, would offer a practicable method of testing the parent-stream theory in its application to the several tributaries of a large river system. As in series of fingerlings from other basins, the Quesnel Lake yearlings show a direct relation between relative size of the individuals and the relative number of rings with which the scales are marked. It is important that the validity of this principle be investigated in a large number of instances. In working out the life-history of individuals from their scale- structure, it is a matter of importance to determine the relative size of the yearling at migration- time. The most delicate measure of this is found in the number of nuclear rings. Table XXI.—Relation between Size of Quesnel Lake Yearlings and Number of Scale-rings. Sex. Number of Specimens. Range in Millimetres. Average Rings on Scales. Male . Female Male . Female Male . Female Male . Female Male . ■i~: 29 10 9 1 79 79 70 to 70 to 80 to 89 80 to 89 90 to 99 90 to 99 100 to 109 100 to 109 110 to 120 12.4 12.2 13.8 13.9 15.8 15.3 19.0 19.7 21.5 III. THE RIVERS INLET SOCKEYE RUN OF 1915. (1.) Age-groups and their Significance. Experience with the 1915 run to Rivers Inlet has confirmed our opinion that the Rivers Inlet race matures normally at a greater age than the Fraser River race. In neither stream is the case complicated, as it is elsewhere, notably in the Nass, by prolonged residence in fresh water by any considerable number of individuals. Both in Rivers Inlet and the Fraser the vast majority of matured sockeyes have had the same history—the young residing in their native lake until the second spring after hatching, and passing out to sea in each case some eighteen to twenty months after the deposition of the eggs. The difference between the two races in age of maturing is confined to the period of their lives which they spend in the sea. The prevailing type of the Fraser River race spend two winters and three summers on the sea-feeding grounds 6 Geo. 5 Life-history of the Sockeye Salmon. S 41 and mature four years after the deposition of the eggs from which they have developed. The Rivers Inlet race, on the other hand, in a very large proportion of its members, remains at sea three winters and four summers, returning to fresh water to spawn and die at the close of its fifth year. The reason for this divergence in habit may not be assigned at this time with full confidence. When the facts concerning the growth, development, and maturity of a large number of races have been ascertained, and an attempt has been made to classify and to correlate the various factors, it may become evident that certain tendencies in the early history of a race are usually associated with late maturing. Such might well be the dwarfing due to relatively unfavourable conditions in fresh water, followed by a retarded growth during the first season of sea-feeding. This actually occurs in the Rivers Inlet race, as we have previously pointed out, and is found in like degree in the Smith Inlet race, which also matures largely at the age of five. The very limited growth in the lake during the first season is shown in Figs. 5, 6, and 7 of this report, which present greatly enlarged photographs of the scales of fingerling sockeyes captured on their downward migration in the Owikeno River. The figure 1 in each of these marks the outer margin of the very limited first season's growth. So diminutive, in fact, are the young at the close of their first growing period that the race has acquired the exceptional habit of starting its spring growth at an unusually early date the following season. Thus a substantial addition has been made to the stature of the'migrants before they finally enter the sea. In Figs. 5 and 6 the coarse rings between 1 and the margin testify to the vigour of this exceptional spring growth. The necessity which has led to the adoption of this early growth- habit in the second spring may well stand in relation to the fate that befalls young sockeyes which proceed to sea at a very small size. The migrating fry of the year rarely survive. A review of the age-groups in their relative proportions during the four years for which we have now secured a record appears in the following table, together with the brood-year which was responsible for each age-group. The four-year group of one year obviously spring from the same brood-year as the five-year fish of the succeeding season. From this table it appears that in each of the four years, with the single exception of 1913, there has been a striking preponderance of five-year fish. But 1913 was the poorest of recent years, if we may judge from the number of cases of salmon which were packed in Rivers Inlet during that season. The suggestion at once occurs that the partial failure of 1913 was due principally or altogether to the failure of the five-year group, and this suggestion gains force when we observe that the five-year group of 1913 was derived from the brood-year 1908, which was the poorest recent year with the exception of 1913. It appears then probable that the same principle holds with Rivers Inlet that we have already discussed for the Fraser River, with the very material difference that in Rivers Inlet we must substitute a five-year for a four-year cycle. Table XXII.—Percentages of Four- and Five-year Rivers Inlet Sockeyes in Runs from 1912 to 1915, with the Broods from which they ivere derived. Run of the Year. Percentage. Four and Five Years old. Brood-year from which derived. 1912 (112,884 cases) 1913 (61,745 cases) j 1914 (89,890 cases) | 1915 (130,350 cases) j 5 yrs. 79% 4 yrs. 21% 5 yrs. 4 yrs. 20% 80% 5 yrs. 65% 4 yrs. 35% 5 yrs. 87% 4 yrs. 13% 1907 (87,874 cases). 1908 (64,652 cases). '[■1909 (89,027 cases). 1910 (126,921 cases). 1911 (88,763 cases). J It is of interest to ascertain what variation occurs during the period of the run, whether there is any evident tendency in Rivers Inlet for the five-year fish to run more heavily during S 42 Report of the Commissioner of Fisheries. 1916 the first as compared with the last of the season. In 1915 examination of the run was made at approximately weekly intervals from July 5th to August 2nd. The following percentages of five-year fish were observed on each of these dates:— Table XXIII.—Percentages of Five-year Rivers Inlet Sockeyes occurring at Different Dates in the 1915 Run. Dates. Percentage of Five-year Fish. Number of Specimens examined. July 5th . . July 15th . July 21st . July 28th . August 2nd 79 84 84 88 92 166 245 274 231 246 From this table it appears that there is a noticeable increase in relative numbers of five-year fish towards the latter end of the run. It becomes of special interest to ascertain the amount of variation in this respect which occurs year by year, in view of the possibility of predicting at the beginning of each run, from the proportions of five-year fish present, whether the run will be of normal size or will be a comparative failure. In 1,300 specimens of the 1915 run there were no individuals of sea-type, and but five that had spent two years in the lake. Of these five, two were maturing in their fifth year and three in their sixth. There are four to six rings in the first year's growth, ten to thirteen in the second, the sum of the two in each scale ranging from fifteen to eighteen. (2.) Lengths and Weights. The average size of the sockeyes constituting the 1915 run to Rivers Inlet scarcely varied from the average for the preceding year. Taking separately each sex of the four- and the five-year fish, we find that no one of the four groups thus formed differs in average size from the same group in 1914 by more than xla inch. The following table gives the average lengths as we have determined them for the last four years :— TaMe XXIV.—Average Length in Inches of Rivers Inlet Sockeyes for Four Successive Years. 1912. 1913. 1914. 1915. Four-year males . Four-year females Five-year males . . Five-year females 23.2 22.8 25.8 24.6 22.9 23.0 25.9 25.2 23.0 22.8 25.9 25.2 22.9 22.8 26.0 25.1 It appears that size is practically constant throughout the fishing season. Averages taken at intervals of about one week apparently show a faint tendency towards decrease in size as the season advances, a tendency which recalls that shown by the migrating yearlings, as shown in a later section. But this needs verification in a series of years. The numbers of five-year fish at each date gives promise of a fairly reliable average, but the numbers of the four-year fish are far too scanty. 6 Geo. 5 Life-history of the Sockeye Salmon. S 43 Table XXV.—Average Lengths in Inches of Rivers Inlet Sockeyes on a Series of Dates during Run of 1915. July 5th. July 15th. July 21st, July 28th. August 2nd. t-, , f Number of specimens Four-year males < . n r, J \ Average lengths .... „ . , f Number of specimens 1 our-year females { A . %. (Average lengths .... ^. , f Number of specimens i lve-year males i , i i-u ( Average lengths .... ,-,. , , f Number of specimens h lve-year females < . , r. (Average lengths .... 26 22.9 8 23.1 81 26.4 51 25.6 19 22.8 19 22.8 98 26.4 109 25.3 24 22.8 19 22.7 106 25.6 125 24.9 16 23.7 12 22.6 85 25.9 118 25.1 12 22.6 8 22.7 53 25.5 173 24.9 The following tables give detailed statements of the length and weight distribution of the 1,300 sockeyes of the 1915 run which we have examined. In the tables the proportions have been maintained, but the numbers have been reduced to the basis of 1,000. Table XXVI.—One thousand Rivers Inlet Sockeyes, Run of 1915, grouped by Length, Age, and Sex. Length in Inches. Number of Individuals. Four Years old. Males. Females. Five Years old. Males. Females. 19 19% 20 20% 21 21% 22 22% 23 . '.'. 23% 24 24% 25 25% 20 26% 27 27% 28 28% 29 29% Totals Average length in inches 14 5 11 12 14 5 2 1 22.9 1 11 14 12 8 4 51 22.8 3 3 11 16 30 39 34 58 69 59 29 16 2 1 1 371 26 1 2 9 30 61 73 103 90 76 35 16 5 2 503 25.1 S 44 Report of the Commissioner of Fisheries. 1916 Table XXVII.—One Thousand Rivers Inlet Sockeyes, Run of 1915, grouped by Weight, Age, and Sex. Weight in Pounds. 3% 5% 6% 10 Average. Four-year males .. Four-year females Five-year males . . Five-year females 15 22 11 11 8 2 8 18 17 2 2 1 2 6 17 32 45 69 2 17 57 99 110 99 64 74 70 30 43 14 4 5.3 5.1 7.3 6.6 (3.) The Nuclear Area of the Rivers Inlet Scales. In correspondence with the very limited size attained by the Rivers Inlet fingerlings during their first season, the nuclear area of the adult scale is one of the smallest known. It is usually easy to distinguish the nuclear area proper from the intermediate band of rings formed during the second spring preceding the seaward migration. In the migrating fingerling the distinction is usually clear and sharp, as is shown in Figs. 5 and 6, where 1 marks the boundary between the two areas. And although the adult scale has the nuclear area considerably thickened and obscured, the lines of growth can be followed and the nucleus proper of the first season can be distinguished from the intermediate zone. In Fig. 8, reproduced from our report for 1913, the line 1 marks the outer limit of the intermediate zone, while the nucleus proper terminates some five rings nearer the centre. The same figure shows well the small extent of the first year's growth in the sea, included between lines 1 and 2. In the 1914 report on the Smith Inlet race of sockeyes (page 63), attention is directed to the occasional loss of the fingerling scale at the close of its first season, and the regeneration of a new scale with blank centre in the old scale-pocket. The fact that this has occurred can always be detected in races which produce large fingerlings and have, in consequence, a large nuclear area to the scales. But where fingerling growth is very limited, and the nuclear area in many individuals may be reduced to two, three, or four, rings (see Fig. 7, where the true nucleus is inside line 1), the matter is more difficult to ascertain, and the age of the fish may be misjudged by a whole year. Usually, however, careful observation develops the fact that the innermost ring on the scale is abnormally large, and a prolonged search among other scales of the same fish will discover the missing centre. In a later chapter we record an identical experience with the scales of yearlings. The following table gives the distribution of the number of nuclear rings in 1,000 specimens examined. The difference in average between the four- and the five-year fish is no greater than we have found between the yearling scales of two succeeding years. Table XXVIII.—Nuclear Rings on Scales of One Thousand Rivers Inlet Sockeyes, Run of 1915. Number of Nuclear Rings. 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 ll 12 13 Average. i 2 9 1 123 20 269 35 250 31 138 13 64 12 16 5 3 4 1 1 2 7.0 5.S (4.) Relative Numbers of Males and Females. The returns for the 1915 Rivers Inlet run exhibit again an excess of four-year males over four-year females, and a similar excess of five-year females over five-year males. So far as concerns the percentages, the one about neutralizes the other, but from the fact that five-year fish are so much more numerous than four-year fish (87 per cent, of the run), a considerable excess of females must result. From the standpoint of propagation of the race this cannot be considered a disadvantage. 6 Geo. 5 Life-history of the Sockeye Salmon. S 45 A comparative statement follows of the percentages of males and females of different ages during the last four years :— Table XXIX.—Percentage of Males and Females in Rivers Inlet Sockeyes of Different Ages. 1912. 1913. 1914. 1915. Percentage of four-year males Percentage of four-year females Percentage of five-year males . . Percentage of five-year females 39 74 71 61 26 29 33 37 37 67 63 63 60 40 42 No better explanation seems to offer than the one already suggested in our report for 1914 (page 60), " that the broods started out with approximately equal numbers of males aud females, and that the results observed were due to inequality in the age of maturing for the two sexes. According to this theory, if the males should on the average mature earlier than the females, we should have an excess of males among four-year fish and an excess of females among five-year fish." Or, stated in other terms, the precocious maturing of four-year males leaves a corresponding deficiency of five-year males. But, as the relative number of four-year fish is small, the deficiency in five-year males would be less proportionately than the four-year excess. Thus, in 1914, 35 per cent, of the run consisted of four-year fish, and of these 71 per cent, were males. If we assume that the four-year fish represented not only 35 per cent, of the 1914 run, but also 35 per cent, of their brood (involving a probable source of error of greater or less extent), then 24.85 per cent, of the brood matured as four-year males and 10.15 per cent, of the brood as four-year females; leaving 25.15 per cent, of the brood to mature as five-year males and 39.85 per cent, as five-year females. The expectation, on this basis, for the five-year fish of the 1915 run (65 per cent, of their brood) was 39 per cent, males and 61 per cent, females. The actual experience, as we have stated, was 42 per cent, males and 58 per cent, females. In view of the various sources of error which we cannot eliminate, this discrepancy is not unexpectedly large. One source of error which we have not previously considered lies in the possible shifting in the proportion of males and females at different periods of the run. Determinations made separately for each of the observation dates in the 1915 season seem to indicate a decided increase in the proportion of five-year females towards the close of the season. We do not have represented in this series either the earliest fish to run or the latest, but these would not materially affect the result, inasmuch as they represent proportionately so small a part of the run. The proportions of the sexes in the 1915 run are given below by dates. The four-year fish were so limited in number on each date that the results are not in their case reliable. Table XXX.—Percentages of Males and Females in Four- and Five-year Fish at Different Dates, Rivers Inlet Sockeye Run of 1915. July 5th. July 15th. July 21st. July 28th. August 2nd. Four-year males . Four-year females Five-year males . Five-year females 76 24 53 47 50 50 47 53 56 44 46 54 57 43 42 58 60 40 24 76 (5.) Yearling Migrants in Rivers Inlet. In 1915, 900 fiugerlings were obtained on their downward journey to the sea by Fisheries Overseer A. W. Stone by means of fyke-nets operated in the Owikeno River from May 14th to the 26th, inclusive. S 46 Report of the Commissioner of Fisheries. 1916 Twelve lots were taken of seventy-five each. In nine of these lots the males are in excess of the females, while in the remaining three the females are slightly more numerous than the males. The percentage of males varies from 44 to 63 on different days; of females, from 37 to 56. The percentage of males in the total number captured is 55; of females, 45. The lengths range from 50 to 73 mm., there being no appreciable difference in size of males and females. The average of both sexes for the entire series is 58.6 mm., while in 1914 the average was 59.7. We have no clue to the causes for this slight fluctuation in size. The 1915 fish appeared plump and well-nourished, and the stomachs of all were distended with a minute crustacean on which they were abundantly feeding. No inconsiderable numbers were infested with an external copepod parasite,* which seemed absurdly large for the diminutive fingerling to carry about and nourish. The parasites were much more numerous in 1915 than in the previous year, but not more than 10 per cent, of the fish were infested. A few of these parasites attack the young sockeye in Smith Inlet also, but are much less numerous. We have not encountered them in other basins. The smallest Rivers Inlet yearling which we have observed was taken in 1914 and was parasitized by three copepods, one of which was attached to the gill- arch. The fish was only 40 mm. long, and had made no growth whatever since the preceding season. The scales were marked with six or seven rings representing the first year's growth, the outer rings narrowly spaced in characteristic fashion. Three other dwarfs were obtained in 1914, separated by a gap from the rest of the series. All agreed in not having initiated the new growth of the year when captured, their abnormally small size being associated with this fact. But only the one above mentioned was parasitized. None of these dwarfs were obtained in 1915, the series beginning normally at 50 mm. The following tables give for 1914 and 1915 respectively the sizes of the yearlings captured on successive days of migration. From these it appears that in both years the larger fish were the first to leave the lake, while the succeeding days are marked by the slightly diminishing average size of their migrants. The tables include males and females without discrimination, but the fact is equally well shown when each sex is considered separately. There is a slight shifting in the modal point as the season advances, and there is also a dropping-out of the unusually large individuals (68 mm. and over) and the appearance of the smaller sizes which were little or not at all in evidence at the beginning of the season. Whether this diminution in size continues throughout the migrating period cannot be determined from the material at present available. It is not improbable that a minimum average size would be attained, which would then be found constant as long as the fish were leaving the lake. No similar phenomenon was observed by Chamberlain in his investigations on the salmon of Alaska.f From an examination of the Naha River throughout the migrating season, he concludes: " The migration of salmon takes place in such a manner that the average size of the migrants is about the same throughout the season." A possible source of error in his figures lies in the impossibility, at the time he conducted his investigations, of distinguishing yearlings from two-year-olds among the migrating fingerlings. The range in length, according to Chamberlain, is from 49 to 115 mm., a range which would seem excessive for fish of the same age. It will probably appear, when scales from a series of Naha fingerlings are examined, that the larger sizes have remained two full years in the lake. If so, their presence in varying numbers on different days might obscure the trend of events among the yearlings. * Through the kindness of Professor Charles B. Wilson, this parasite has been identified as Salmincola (Lernmopoda) falculata. f Some Observations in Salmon and Trout in Alaska. Bureau of Fisheries Document No. 627, 1907, page 37. 6 Geo. 5 Life-history of the Sockeye Salmon. S 47 Table XXXI.—Yearling Sockeyes, Rivers Inlet, 1914. Lengths in Millimetres on Successive Days of Migration. Mm. May. 13th to 21st. 22nd, 23rd. 24th to 27th. 28th. 29th. 30th, 31st. June. 1st, 2nd. Sth to 7th. 40 42 44 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 6S 69 70 71 72 73 ... Number of specimens Average mm. 4 8 4 12 8 12 17 11 6 7 2 3 i 1 100 64.1 3 7 8 11 12 13 6 9 9 5 4 100 61 3 4 4 12 18 19 10 9 9 5 2 4 8 7 12 9 11 15 14 18 15 12 10 12 8 5 6 6 2 5 1 o 2 3 4 100 100 100 1 2 4 7 15 13 22 13 9 3 4 2 2 1 59.2 59.6 57.9 100 58.9 2 1 5 14 13 12 13 13 9 7 4 2 1 100 2 6 13 IS 20 18 7 7 1 5 2 100 5S.3 When the curve is smoothed by averaging each number in the last line of the above table with the adjacent number to the left, the series reads as follows:— May. June. 13th to 21st. 22nd, 23rd. 24th to 27th. 28th. 29th. 30th, 31st. 1st, 2nd. 5th to 7th-. Average mm. 64.1 62.5 60.1 59.4 58.7 58.4 57.9 57.6 S 48 Report of the Commissioner of Fisheries. 1916 Table XXXII.—Yearling Sockeyes, Rivers Inlet, 1915. Lengths in Millimetres on Successive Days of Migration. Mm. Dates in May. 14th. loth, 16th. 17th, 18th. 19th, 20th. 21st, 22nd. 23rd, 24th. 26 th. 50 51 '. 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 6S 69 70 71 72 73 Number of specimens Average mm Smoothed curve . . 1 1 2 2 2 5 4 1 3 1 4 1 2 1 2 5 7 3 4 1 4 10 11 9 13 1 3 14 21 21 18 14 5 8 11 20 17 13 11 5 6 18 17 15 26 5 8 16 20 20 19 22 11 7 15 22 13 12 9 3 7 17 19 16 13 14 6 8 23 14 12 9 11 2 4 13 5 5 7 8 2 5 16 4 3 3 4 8 3 3 2 4 6 8 3 1 1 4 7 2 5 1 1 2 2 2 1 2 i l 1 1 6 1 2 1 1 i i 75 150 150 150 150 150 75 61.2 61.2 59.3 | 5 7.2 57.5 57.6 56.6 j 61.2 61.2 60.2 58.2 57.3 57.5 j 57.1 The number of Individuals which spend two full years in the lake before migrating is very limited among Rivers Inlet fingerlings. Five were found in the 1914 series, ranging from 69 to 81 mm. in length. The first year's growth in these contains four to six rings, the second year's growth six to twelve rings. Usually there are one or two rings of the new season's growth at the margin. Four similar specimens were discovered in the 1915 series (see Fig. 7). The great majority of the 1915 yearlings had made a vigorous growth during the season in which they migrated, as indicated by the widely spaced scale-rings, from one to six in number, which lie outside the narrowly crowded rings of the previous season. The amount of new growth has varied widely in different individuals and stands apparently in inverse ratio to the stature attained at the close of the first year. In general, the smaller the individual at the close of its first season's growth, the earlier it begins the growth of the next year, and the greater the amount of this growth will have been made by the time it leaves the lake. (Compare Fig. 6 with Fig. 5 in this regard.) Here, again, as we found with respect to the adult stature, there is a standard size which individuals of the race seek to attain, and a compensatory law of growth, in accordance with which laggards are spurred on to accelerated growth and the precocious are retarded. The following table makes this sufficiently evident with regard to the yearlings. We may assume that the number of rings produced on the scale during the first season is in general proportionate to the size of the fish at the close of that period, while the number of rings of new growth adequately represent the amount of such growth. 6 Geo. 5 Life-history of the Sockeye Salmon. S 49 Table XXXIII.—Relation between Amount of New Season's Growth in Rivers Inlet Yearlings, 1915, and Size attained during First Season. Individuals with First Season Rings numbering 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 4.4 3.6 3.5 2.3 2 0.7 The number of first-year rings ranges from three to twelve, with an average of 8.08. Those of the new growth range from one to nine, with an average of 3.41. The sums of the two on each scale vary from nine to sixteen. Conspicuous exceptions occur to this rule of growth, but they are few in number. At one end of the series stand a few scattering dwarfs 40 to 44 mm. long which do not connect up with the rest of the series. In spite of their small size at the close of the first year, some influence retarded the onset of the active period and they show no new growth whatsoever. At the other end of the series stand a few exceptional giants, which also fail to enter a regular frequency curve. Examination of their scales indicates that they were large vigorous fish the preceding fall, but contrary to the usual procedure had made another vigorous growth early in the new season. We have assumed above that the number of rings in the scale up to the point representing the close of the first year's growth is in general an indication of the relative size of the individuals. We cannot test that directly in the Rivers Inlet yearlings, but we have enumerated the total rings (the first-year rings plus those of the new season) in a number of yearlings covering the total range in size, and present the results in the following table:— Table XXXIV.—Showing Relation of Size to Total Number of Scale-rings in Rivers Inlet Migrating Yearlings, 1915. Number of Specimens. Range in Millimetres. Average Total Nuclear Rings. 9 50 to 54 55 to 59 60 to 64 65 to 69 70 to 73 9 5 30 10 6 43 111 15 12 6 2 15 5 IV. THE SMITH INLET SOCKEYE RUN OF 1915. (1.) Certain Characteristics of the Run. The first examination of a Smith Inlet sockeye run was made in 1914, when it was noted that a very large percentage of the fish—about 80 per cent, of the entire run—were delaying maturity until their fifth year. As the pack in 1914 was at least up to the average for Smith Inlet, we were justified in assuming that whatever group normally predominates in the Smith Inlet race was represented during that season in its usual proportions. Continued observation of a number of sockeye races for a term of years has taught us that violent oscillations in the proportions of the age-groups in any river system are occasioned by equal variation in the abundance of the prevailing group for that stream. On this basis we announced in the report for 1914 that the Smith Inlet race matured more generally at five than at four years. This conclusion is borne out by the experience of the run of 1915, which was probably one of the largest runs known in that district, although unfortunately no statistics are available. It is most instructive in this connection to note that the proportion of five-year fish is still greater than in 1914. A test was made near the beginning of the run, on July 3rd, when 97 per cent, consisted of five-year fish. Although 182 fish were examined, only six proved to be in their fourth year, and there were no females among them. A second test, taken July 27th, showed a somewhat larger number of four-year fish, forty- nine out of a total of 492. But, even at that, the percentages stand 90 per cent, five-year-olds S 50 Report of the Commissioner of Fisheries. 1916 and 10 per cent, in their fourth year. This apparent increase in the proportion of the younger generation toward the close of the season may not have been part of a progressive tendency. In Rivers Inlet the reverse tendency was apparent, the relative numbers of five-year fish increasing with the later dates. A weekly or semi-weekly test at each of these stations is much to be desired. Both streams form very simple systems, each with a single lake, and the races of sockeyes are extremely alike in their characteristics. If any general laws can be deduced from the movements of sockeyes, a detailed examination of such runs should make them apparent. (2.) Average Lengths and Weights. The two tests made July 3rd and July 27th differ so materially in the length distribution that it seems advisable to place them independently on record. Both are given in the table which follows. One hundred and eighty-two were examined July 3rd and 492 on July 27th, but for convenience of direct comparison each lot is reduced in the table to the basis of 500. It will be noted that the early-running five-year fish average larger than those running later. This result is in accordance with our experience in Rivers Inlet in a more extended series of dates (see Table XXV., this report). Unfortunately in both Instances the four-year fish are in such small numbers that no certain evidence can be had from them. The averages of the later lot of Smith Inlet fish in 1915 agree very closely with the seasonal average for 1914, the male five-year fish coinciding exactly, the females differing by VM inch only. Table XXXV.—Smith Inlet Sockeyes, Run of 1915, grouped by Length, Age, Sex, and Date of Capture. Length in Inches. Number of Individuals. Four Years old. Five Years old. Males. Females. Males. Females. July July 3rd. 27th. July 3rd. July 27th. July 3rd. July 27th. July 3rd. July 27th. 19 19% 20 20% 21 21% 22 22% 23 23% 24 24% 25 25% 26 26% 27 27% 28 28% 29 29% Totals Average length in inches 11 3 Ol M 3 19 8 30 61 60 22 27 3 1 8 28 41 32 30 26 4 6 1 1 17 30 20 247 184 236 266 3 25 36 49 68 33 19 3 1 1 2 1 5 16 35 56 70 49 19 8 3 22.9 23.4 1 22.7 25.7 25.5 25.3 24.8 6 Geo. 5 Life-history of the Sockeye Salmon. S 51 Table XXXVI.—Smith Inlet Sockeyes taken July 21th, 1915, grouped by Weight, Age, and Sex. Weight in Pounds. 3 3% 4 4% 5 5% | 6 6% .7 7% ) 8 8% 9 Average. Four-year males . Four-year females Five-year males .. Five-year females 2 6 10 8 6 24 2 4 14 8 6 6 2 12 48 74 6 12 38 106 194 2 88 84 40 12 6 4 98 50 14 12 5.3 4.9 6.5 6.0 (3.) The Nuclear Area of the Scales. In the 1915 run the Smith Inlet fish had obviously a larger nuclear scale region, provided with more numerous rings than had those from Rivers Inlet. This was true with both four- and five-year fish, while in each stream the four-year-olds had larger nuclei than the five-year- olds. The four-year sockeyes from Smith Inlet averaged 9 rings; from Rivers Inlet, 7; the five-year fish from Smith Inlet, 7.3; from Rivers Inlet, 5.8. Every effort was made to eliminate from the count the fresh-water new-growth rings of the second season, enumerating only those rings that lie within the first winter check. But the line of demarcation is often difficult to make out in the adult scale, because of the thickening and blurring effects of subsequent additions to the thickness of the scale, while such difficulty does not exist in the case of the yearling scale. Whatever the cause, a lack of agreement will be noted between the average number of rings in the 1915 migrating yearlings from each basin and the average nuclear rings in the 1915 adults from the corresponding stream. Thus the 1915 yearling record gives 6.1 for Smith Inlet and 8 for Rivers Inlet, and the yearling record for 1914 gave 5.4 for Smith Inlet and 6.3 for Rivers Inlet. The cause for this discrepancy is not clear, although it may be due to larger annual fluctuations than we have observed in the sizes of the yearlings from the two basins, and to a corresponding degree in the number of scale-rings. Table XXXVII.—Nuclear Rings on Scales of Smith Inlet Sockeyes, Run of 1915. Number of Nuclear Rings. 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Average. Four-year fish 2 27 3 116 5 193 10 178 14 164 24 124 8 72 6 31 10 10 3 9.0 7.3 (4.) Relative Numbers of Smith Inlet Males and Females. The run of 1915 was again marked by excess of four-year males over four-year females and a compensating excess of five-year females over five-year males. Table XXXVIII.—Percentage of Males and Females in Smith Inlet Sockeyes of Different Ages. 1914. 1915. Percentage of four-year males . Percentage of four-year females Percentage of five-year males . . Percentage of five-year females 60 40 46 54 In neither year for which we have record is the disproportion among the sexes as extensive as is shown in Rivers Inlet over a longer term of years. It is most instructive to note, however, that in both cases an excess in the males maturing at an early age is followed by a deficiency among the males maturing in the following year. It is equally significant that when, as in the Smith Inlet race, the excess of four-year males is less than among Rivers Inlet four-year fish, the extent of the deficiency among five-year males is correspondingly less. S 52 . Report of the Commissioner of Fisheries. 1916 In the 1914 Smith Inlet run we noted that the proportions of the sexes were similar on July 4th and July 28th, the only two dates when tests were made. The 1915 tests were on July 3rd and July 27th, but the results were quite different. On July 3rd the sexes were in nearly equal numbers—males 51 per cent, and females 49 per cent. But on July 27th the females were running in increased numbers, for among nearly 500 specimens, 59 per cent, were females and 41 per cent, males. This increase of females toward the close of the season agrees with the Rivers Inlet experience in 1915. We have taken as the average for the year for the five-year fish, the mean between the two dates. Among the four-year contingent we were compelled to use the percentage of July 27th, as no four-year females were secured on the earlier date. (5.) Young Sockeye Migrants in Smith Inlet , 1915. Migrating Fingerlings.—Young sockeyes in the fingerling stage, on their seaward migration from the lake in which they had spent their first year after hatching, were secured by Fisheries Overseer Stone on the dates from May 31st to June 6th. Two hundred and fifty specimens were obtained, and consisted of 132 males (53 per cent.) and 118 females (47 per cent.). The numbers involved are so limited that the slight excess of males cannot be considered conclusive. Males were more abundant than females in each of three separate lots captured on different days within the period mentioned, but the remaining two lots showed a slight excess of females. In 1914 a similar series of about 200 migrating fingerlings contained a few more females than males. The average size of the migrants was greater in 1915 than in 1914, and the total range in size varied accordingly. In 1915 the extremes in size were 61 and 88 mm., and all but a few scattering individuals were included between 65 and 77 mm. The average of the entire series is 71.7 mm.; of the males, 72.1; of the females, 71.3. Thus the males average slightly larger, and this is true also of each of the separate lots taken on different days. It was the case also in 1914, when the males averaged 67.2 and the females 66. It is probable, therefore, that the larger size of the male migrating fingerlings is a constant feature in the Smith Inlet race. Comparing Smith Inlet with Rivers Inlet for the years 1914 and 1915, it is seen that they varied in opposite directions in the sizes attained by their young migrants. While Smith Inlet produced a brood of larger fish in 1915, the Rivers Inlet fingerlings of 1915, as shown in a previous section, were slightly smaller than in 1914. Yet the two inlets are separated by a few miles only, and the lakes in which their respective sockeyes breed have short outlets and are elevated but a few feet above tide-water. From this it would seem that the annual variations to which these lakes are subject as regards temperature, rainfall, and other climatic conditions must coincide, and that they would produce an identical effect on the fingerlings of the two basins, in case they produced any effect at all. The fact that the lengths attained by the fingerlings of the two basins vary in opposite directions in successive years appears to indicate that climate is not the principal determining factor, and that other conditions must be sought which are local in their nature and vary independently within the limits of each lake or watershed. To determine these, a physical and biological survey of one or more lakes should be undertaken, which would make a comparative study in two successive years of all the elements of the environment favourable or detrimental to the young sockeyes, and with these should be correlated the varying rates of growth of the fry and fingerlings. The swarms of minute organisms on which the young fish feed may well vary ill abundance extensively in different years, but the Smith Inlet and Rivers Inlet fingerlings appear plump and well nourished in both years and afford no evidence of stunting due to lack of food. In another interesting respect there appears to be a divergence in the behaviour of the young migrants of the two basins, for the Smith Inlet fingerlings fail to show that decrease in average size on successive days of migration which is so characteristic of Rivers Inlet. Instead of a decrease, the Smith Inlet migrants show a small but constant increase during successive periods, and this is true of both males and females, and in about equal amount. The following table exhibits the length-distribution of all the individuals examined on successive dates, covering the period under investigation, the sexes given separately. The slight increase in size needs confirmation by a much larger series, which would adequately represent the entire migration at frequent intervals. 6 Geo. 5 Life-history of the Sockeye Salmon. S 53 Table XXXIX.—Yearling Sockeyes, Smith Inlet, 1915. Lengths in Millimetres on Successive Days of Migration. Millimetres. May 31st to June 3rd. June 4th. June 5th and 6th. F. M. F. M. F. M. 61 1 62 1 63 1 64 65 i 66 2 67 1 3 68 7 3 i 4 69 4 3 2 3 2 70 5 7 4 4 4 3 71 6 11 4 4 9 12 72 S 9 10 4 7 6 73 - 7 6 3 6 6 7 74 2 7 3 1 6 11 75 2 1 2 3 6 76 2 1 1 5 77 2 1 1 78 79 80 1 1 Number of specimens A"2rage mm Average both sexes . . 47 53 28 22 43 57 70.6 71.6 71.1 71.6 71.9 71.9 72.6 72.; None of the young migrants had spent more than one winter in the lake after hatching; all were in their second year. They had grown very slowly during the spring and summer of their first season, and had compensated for this by beginning a vigorous growth very early in the second spring. Thus, in each of the individuals examined, the scales contained an inner series of delicate thin crowded rings which marks the limited growth of the first spring and summer. As in the previous year, one transition ring usually lies between the two series, narrowly spaced and parallel to the inner rings, but heavy like the outer ones, and often extended laterally beyond the last rings of the inner series. The inner and the outer series are sharply distinguished. Often they are not strictly parallel, the outer rings frequently more wavy and irregular, the irregularities corresponding to the uneven margin of the rapidly growing scales, and parallel in all the rings formed at this season. The number of inner rings, representing the first season's growth, is slightly greater than in the 1914 yearlings, and shows an average of 6.1 instead of 5.4. This is compensated by a slightly smaller number of outer rings, which average 3.5 instead of 4.2. It will be noted that in both years the sums of the outer and inner rings equals 9.6'. As in the previous season, many scales in certain individuals fail to show any trace of the delicate inner rings of the first year, -and contain only the few heavy widely-spaced rings of the second season. Other scales from the same individuals often contain the missing rings and give the complete history of the fish. Fig. 9 represents the scale of an exceptional individual which made a very extensive growth, marked by thirteen rings, during its first season, and a moderate increase indicated by four rings in its second season before migrating. V. THE SKEENA RIVER SOCKEYE RUN OF 1915. (1.) The Age-groups. In this discussion we limit ourselves to the predominating type of Skeena River sockeyes, those whiclTspend but one year in fresh water and mature either at the age of four or of five S 54 Report of the Commissioner of Fisheries. 1916 years. We have failed to discover any grilse maturing at the age of three years, and if such are present in the run they must habitually escape through the meshes of the gill-nets which form the exclusive means of fishing at the mouth of the Skeena. As in other rivers, so in the Skeena, the relative sizes of the four- and the five-year groups vary widely in successive years. The significance of this variation, and its relation to the size of the run in any given year, can be determined only by an extended series of observations. Such data as we have, covering the last four years, are presented in the following table:— Table XL.—Percentages of Four- and Five-year Skeena River Sockeyes in Runs of Successive Years. Run of the Year. Percentage, Four and Five Years old. Brood-year from which derived. 1912 (92,498 cases) | 1913 (52,927 cases) j 1914 (130,166 cases) 1915 (116,553 cases) - J 1907 (108,413 cases). 1908 (139,846 cases). 1909 (87,901 cases). 1910 (187,246 cases). 1911 (131,066 cases). From this it would appear that the five-year fish in the Skeena run are normally in excess of the four-year fish; and that where the reverse condition obtains, and the four-year fish are most numerous, a smaller run results. The figures presented in this table are not wholly reliable, although they cover accurately the material to which we have had access. But through the continued neglect of the observer to whom has been entrusted the collection of data, our material has failed to represent in any year a complete cross-section of the run. The relative proportions of the age-groups may not remain constant from first to last of the season, and the figures may err accordingly. In 1915 tests were made on July 3rd, 10th, 21st, and 22nd. These seem to show a slight increase in relative numbers of the four-year group on the later dates. The percentages of four-year fish for the dates above given are 33.5, 30.5, 39.5, and 39.7. These differences are not sufficiently great materially to affect our results, but we are without representation of either the beginning or the end of the run. (2.) Average Lengths and Weights. The following tables present the frequency distribution of fish of different sizes among those which remained a single year in the lake and descended to the sea at the beginning of the second season. Of this prevailing group, we examined 738 specimens. For convenience of comparison, these have been reduced in the tables to the basis of 1,000. 6 Geo. 5 Life-history of the Sockeye Salmon. S 55 Table XLI.—Skeena River Sockeyes, Run of 1915, One Year in Lake, grouped hy Length, Age, and Sex. Length in Inches. Number or Individuals. Four Years old. Males. Females. Five Years old. Males. I Females. 21 .. 21% 22 .. 22% 23 . 23% 24 .. 24% 25 .. 25% 26 .. 26% 27 .. 27% 28 .. 28% 29 .. Totals Average length in inches 5 i 3 4 7 12 1 12 45 4 4 24 42 1 8 41 31 12 50 52 18 16 77 34 3 27 88 19 1 63 64 1 72 42 1 46 38 7 *2 1 18 2 1 199 I 157 24.2 23.5 289 25.9 355 25.0 Table XLII.—Skeena River Sockeyes, Run of 1915, One Year in Lake, grouped hy Weight, Age, and Sex. Weight in Pounds. 4% 5% 6 6% 7 7% 8 8% 9 Average. Four-year males . Four-year females Five-year males . . Five-year females 13 28 60 57 21 14 52 55 19 6 11 27 43 84 7 11 76 107 82 62 30 54 IS 21 7 5.7 5.2 6.8 6.2 Table XLIII.—Average Lengths of Skeena River Sockeyes, One Year in Lake, for Four Successive Years. 1912. 1913. 1914. 191C Four-year males . Four-year females Five-year males .. Five-year females 24.6 23.5 26.4 25.2 23.5 22.9 25.5 24.7 24.2 23.4 26.2 25.1 24.2 23.5 25.9 25.0 S 56 Report of the Commissioner of Fisheries. 1916 Table XLIV.—Average Lengths and Weights, Skeena River Sockeyes, Runs of 191,'t and 1915. Lengths. Weights. 1914. 1915. 1914. 191. Four-year males . Four-year females Five-year males . . Five-year females 24.2 23.4 26.2 25.1 24.2 23.5 25.9 25.0 5.9 5.3 7.2 6.3 5.7 5.2 6.8 6.2 (3.) Proportions of the Sexes. For comparison with the results of previous years we present the following table, giving percentages of males and females among four- and five-year fish during the past four years:— Table XLV.—Percentages of Males and Females in Skeena River Sockeyes of Different Ages. 1912. 1913. 1914. 1915. Four-year males . Four-year females Five-year males . Five-year females 54 46 42 58 69 31 47 53 60 40 47 56 44 45 55 The above results are sufficiently close for successive years when we consider the limited data available. This is the more regrettable in the present instance, as a somewhat extensive shifting in the relative proportions of the sexes seems to occur as the season advances. To what extent this shifting discredits the percentages given above, we are unable to state. A very similar change occurs in the Rivers Inlet run, as we have shown in Table XXX. of this report, wherein it appears that a decided increase in the relative numbers of five-year females occurs in the latter part of the run. For comparison we give below a similar table for the Skeena River, covering the four dates on which tests were taken in 1915:— Table XLVI.—Percentages of Males and Females in Four- and Five-year Sock- Dates, Skeena River, 1915. at Different July 3rd. July 10th. July 21st. July 22nd. Four-year males 60 Four-year females ' 40 Five-year males i 53 Five-year females I 47 48 52 50 50 57 43 36 64 57 43 38 62 (4.) Number of Nuclear Scale-rings. As is shown in the following table, the number of nuclear rings on the scales of Skeena River sockeyes of the one-year-in-lake type ranged in 1915 from five to twenty-two, resembling in this respect the Fraser River race (see Table XIIL, this report), but no other on the coast of British Columbia. The average number of rings is slightly lower in the Skeena race, but they are more widely spaced, indicate an equally vigorous growth on the part of the yearlings, which equal in size the yearlings from the Fraser. The table given below is based on 738 specimens, reduced to the basis of 1,000 :— 6 Geo. 5 Life-history of the Sockeye Salmon. S 57 Table XLVII.—Nuclear Rings, Skeena River Sockeyes, 1915, One Year in Lake. Number of Nuclear Rings. 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 j 21 22 3 3 7 4 18 5 12 18 19 18 43 19 52 48 114 59 95 45 96 43 78 44 59 18 27 22 15 3 7 .. 1 4 .. i Average: four-year fish, 13.5 ; five-year fish, 12.8. 05.) The Two-years-in-lake Type. In our report for 1914 we have included an account of the Skeena River sockeye runs for the three years, 1912, 1913, and 1914, and in discussing the racial peculiarities of the Skeena River group we have called attention to certain peculiarities in which it strongly resembles the Fraser River race. Among these may be mentioned the very vigorous growth in fresh water during the first summer after hatching, the equally extensive growth during the first season in the sea, and the prevailing habit of proceeding to sea in the fingerling stage in the spring of the second year. , • In the last-mentioned respect a strong contrast is found with the Nass River race, in which each year more than half of the yearling fingerlings fail to migrate seawards, and remain for one or two years' additional residence in fresh water. As we have previously observed, this habit exists in some degree in each of the river-basins which we have examined. But in certain streams, as in the Fraser, it is of comparatively infrequent occurrence, and affects so small a proportion of the individuals comprising a run that these are usually ignored in the tables representing frequencies of length and weight and other statistics of the run. In the tables given in our 1914 report (pages 66, 67), presenting statistics for the Skeena River runs for 1912, 1913, and 1914, we have in similar fashion ignored all individuals which had tarried two years in their native lake before seeking the salt water. Only 7 per cent, of the 1914 run had shown this history, the remainder having performed their downward migration as yearlings, and alone receiving consideration in the tables to which reference has been made. It appears, however, that in the Skeena race the number of delayed fingerling migrants is subject to a considerable annual fluctuation. In the 1915 run they were much more numerous, and comprised 15.4 per cent, of all the specimens which we examined. As in the case of delayed fingerling migrants in the Fraser basin and elsewhere, none of this class in the Skeena came to maturity at the age of four years, after two summers and one winter in the sea. They were divided almost equally between five- and six-year fish, and in each of these groups females were slightly more numerous than males. Thus, with a total of 133 individuals, the five-year group contained thirty-two males and thirty-five females; the six-year group, thirty-one males and thirty-five females. Here, again, it is evident that the additional 3'ear's residence in fresh water has had only a very slight effect on the period at which maturity will be attained. Those individuals which spend but one year in fresh water mature at the age of four or five, those which spend two years in fresh water at the age of five or six. The only accelerating effect of the second year in fresh water is observed in an increase, within the second group, in the percentage which mature during the first of their two years, that is at the age of five rather than six. These comprise, as we have seen, about 50 per cent, of the whole; while those of the first group (one-year-in-lake) maturing at the age of four comprised in 1915 but 36 per cent, of the group. The effect on stature of the additional year's residence in the lake can be ascertained by comparing individuals of the two groups which have spent equal times on the sea-feeding grounds, whatever period they may have spent previously in fresh water. Thus we compare four-year fish of the first group with five-year fish of the second group, and five-year fish of the first with six-year fish of the second. The results are shown in the following table:— S 58 Report of the Commissioner of Fisheries. 1916 Table XLVIII.—Comparative Lengths and Weights of Skeena River Sockeyes, 1915, with Equal Periods of Sea-feeding, but Different Periods of Residence in Fresh Water. Individuals that spent Two Winters in Sea. Three Winters in Sea. One Year in Lake (Four Years old). Two Years in Lake (Five Years old). One Year in Lake (Five Years old). Two Years in Lake (Six Years old). Males. Females. Males. Females. Males. Females. Males. Females. Average length in inches Average weight in pounds 24.2 5.7 23.5 5.2 24.5 5.9 23.4 5.2 25.9 6.8 25.0 6.2 25.6 6.6 24.4 6.0 It is thus apparent that in the Skeena River race an additional year's residence in the lake before descending to the sea neither advances to any considerable degree the period of maturing, nor adds anything to the stature of the fish. No advantage whatever accrues from it, whereas, on the other hand, during the entire additional year, the fingerlings are exposed to the attacks of predacious fishes which decimate their ranks. The facts may not be wholly similar, however, in other river-basins, as will be seen on reference to our report on the Nass. Examination of the nuclear region of the scale confirms our previous assertion that the group of yearlings which postpone migration is composed on the average of smaller individuals than those which migrate. In the 1915 run the adults which had migrated seawards as yearlings showed in the nuclear area of their scales an average of thirteen rings, formed in the lake during their first season. Those adults which as yearlings had postponed their seaward migration for another year had formed at the end of their first year an average of slightly less than seven rings. And the number of rings, we know, is roughly proportionate to the size of the fish. Those of the two-years-in-lake group which mature at five years have on the average a slightly greater number of nuclear rings than have those which mature at six. For the first year in the lake the averages are 6.9 and 6.5; for the second year, 13.7 and 12.7; and for the sums of all the nuclear rings on each scale we have 20.7 and 19.2. The differences are so slight that an accumulation of evidence will be needed before we can assert that the yearlings and two-year-olds which are to mature at the age of five show a slight but tangible superiority over those which will mature a year later. (6.) Yearling Migrants from Babine Lake, 1915. A series of migrating yearlings of the Skeena River race was secured by Fisheries Overseer K. F. Birchall in the outlet to Babine Lake on dates from April 30th to May 17th. This was a full month earlier than the collections made in 1914. The total number obtained was 389, of which 171 (44 per cent.) were males and 218 (56 per cent.) were females. The total range in size was from 68 to 102 mm., the males averaging S6.2 and the females 85.5. The correspondence is thus very close with the preceding year, when the total range in size was from 69 to 101 mm., the average for the males being 85.2 and for the females 83.5. It is evident that the size attained by a given race at the period of its seaward migration is as definitely standardized as is the adult stature of the race. In the one case, as in the other, slight annual fluctuations are to be expected, based doubtless on varying elements in the environment which we have not as yet determined. None of the specimens examined had spent two years in the lake, whereas in 1914 there were included with the migrants a few two-year-olds, of which the smallest was 101 mm. long. In both 1914 and 1915 the yearling scales terminate each in a winter band, thus indicating that the vigorous growth of a new season had not yet begun. They agree in this respect with the majority of the Fraser River migrants, which also belong to a vigorous race which attain a large size during the first season after hatching. Among the 1915 Babine specimens, only one 6 Geo. 5 Life-history of the Sockeye Salmon. S 59 had begun the new growth (see Fig. 10). This individual had evidently failed to develop in its first year as rapidly as had its fellows, for the scales contain but seven rings up to the time of the winter check, whereas the average for the yearlings is fourteen, and none of the others had less than eleven. In this exceptional specimen four broad rings of the new season's growth surround the seven which mark the first year. They indicate that growth was begun precociously to compensate for slow early development. That it had fairly succeeded is indicated by the length of the specimen, 81 mm., which is but little below the average. The number of rings on the scales of 100 yearlings averages greater than was observed in 1914. The range is from eleven to twenty, with the average (and also the mode) at fourteen. In 1914 the range was from eight to sixteen, with average and mode at twelve. Table XLIX.—Yearling Sockeyes, Babine Lake, Skeena River, Lengths in Millimetres. April SOth to May 1th, 1915. Millimetres. Males. Females. Both Sexes. 6S "i i i 2 4 1 5 5 5 5 6 6 4 9 11 15 18 9 8 9 12 5 6 4 6 4 2 2 2 i l i 1 i l "i 3 4 3 8 8 8 12 9 16 18 19 15 19 13 11 17 7 4 2 7 1 1 2 2 3 2 1 70 1 71 2 72 2 73 2 74 5 75 4 76 9 77 8 78 13 79 13 80 14 81 18 82 13 83 25 84 29 85 34 86 33 87 28 88 21 89 20 90 29 91 12 92 10 93 6 94 13 95 5 96 3 97 4 98 4 99 3 100 1 101 3 102 1 171 218 389 86.2 85.5 85 8 Table L.—Number of Rings on Scales in One Hundred Babine Lake Yearlings, 1915. Number of Rings. 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18- 19 20 4 17 19 22 21 8 5 3 1 Average number of rings : Males, 13.8; females, 14.5 ; total, 14.2. S 60 Report of the Commissioner of Fisheries. 1916 VI. THE NASS RIVER SOCKEYE RUN, 1915. (1.) Age-groups and General Characteristics. There have been previously enumerated seven distinct groups of mature sockeyes which comprise the Nass River run, distinguished by the age at which they mature, and by the period which they spend in fresh water in the fry or fingerling stage (of. B.C. Report for 1914, page 70). All the groups thus defined made their appearance again in 1915, except group (7), the individuals of which spend three years in fresh water and mature at the age of seven. These will rarely be encountered in the Nass, where only two specimens have been obtained in previous years; but farther north, in certain Alaskan streams, this group is by no means of rare occurrence. A single representative of another rare group, not heretofore reported from the Nass, was obtained in 1915. This individual had spent one year in the lake as fingerling, descending to the sea in its second spring after hatching, and had spent four winters and five summers in the sea, maturing at the age of six. It was a male fish, captured July 7th in the early part of the run, was 25 inches long and weighed 6 lb. It was thus distinctly below the average length and weight of five-year fish with the same early history, and must have been early dwarfed. Another group very sparsely represented in the Nass, as indeed in practically all the sockeye- streams in British Columbia, is the one we have designated the sea-type, the young having entered the sea as early fry, practically without residence in fresh water. Only nine specimens out of a thousand had that history in 1915. All but one of these were females, and averaged 24 inches long, with an average weight of 5.9 lb. All matured in their fourth year, and, as was the case in 1914, they exhibited an undoubted tendency to appear early in the run; four were taken July 7th, four July 12th, one July 20th, and none in August. The outstanding feature of the run of 1915 was its sharp division into an early and a late period, the two exhibiting very distinct characteristics. The second period was marked by a new run of conspicuously larger fish appearing after the middle of the season, in the final days of July or during the first of August. Examination of the scales indicates that the new run was made up in a very large measure of representatives of a single one of the numerous age- groups we know to be present. Over 80 per cent, had remained two years in the lake and were maturing at the age of five; while in the early period of the run, at no time were more than 25 per cent, of this group present. The following table, which indicates the percentages of each gronp running at different dates, emphasizes the abrupt change that appeared in August. Unfortunately we have not the exact dates on which the two August tests were made. They were almost certainly within the first half _of the month, for in the latter part of August the scales have suffered such extensive erosion that the determination of age becomes difficult. Table, LI.—Percentages in each Class of Nass River Sockeyes running at Different Dates in 1915. One Y'ear in Lake. Two Years in Lake. Three Yea -s in Lake. Sea-type. Number of Individuals Four Five Five Six Six Seven Four examined. Y'ears. Years. Years. Years. Y'ears. Years. Years. July 7th 26 38 24 9.5 0.5 2 197 July 12th 28 41 20 6 2 3 99 July 20th 30 30 25 13 1.6 0.4 250 August (1st lot) .. 2 10 82 4 2 258 August (2nd lot) . . 5 i 83 3 2 237 Not only did five-year fish of the two-year-in-lake type largely predominate in the August run, but those which appeared at that time were distinctively marked. They averaged larger than the members of the same group which were running in July, and, what is of even more importance, they exhibited in the nuclear area of their scales a larger number of rings, with conspicuously wider, more even, and regular spacing than had characterized the scales belonging to the fish of the July run. A glance was sufficient to distinguish the two types, and inasmuch 6 Geo. 5 LlFE-HISTORY OF THE SOCKEYE SALMON. S 61 as the nuclear area of the scale records that part of the life of the fish which had been spent in fresh water, the conclusion seems obvious that the members of the two runs had had a different early history, in different parts of the watershed. Only two lakes of importance are known to which Nass River sockeyes have access, Meziadin Lake and the one recently discovered on the initiative of Mr. Babcock, of this Department, and very appropriately named Lake Bowser. We have no present means of knowing to which of these lakes the later run belongs. That could be ascertained by collecting sufficient material and data at points beyond the forking of the streams which lead to the respective lakes. In this way, it is believed, complete evidence could be secured of a localization of distinct sockeye strains within the basin, and this w'ould render necessary the assumption that fish would in the great majority of cases return at maturity to the part of the basin in which they were spawned. It is interesting and significant that similar evidence of racial distinction could not be obtained from the four-year and the five-year groups that had spent only one year in the lake. The nuclear area of the scales in these did not differ among early and late running fish, and there was no wholly satisfactory evidence of an abrupt change in size of the later individuals, although this is probable in the five-year group. The following table presents average lengths in each of the different groups on successive dates. The numbers in brackets indicate the number of individuals available for each average. In many cases, especially in the six-year groups, these were wholly inadequate to give a reliable result. Table LIT.—Average Lengths of Different Age-groups of Nass River Sockeyes, 1915, on a Succession of Dates. 1915. Group I. Four Years old. One Year in Lake. Group II. Five Years old. One Year in Lake. Group III. Five Years old, Two Years in Lake. Group IV. Six Years old, Two Years in Lake. Group V. Six Years old, Three Years in Lake. Males. Females. Males. Females. Males. Females. Males. Females. Males. Females. July 7th .... 24.0 23.7 26.0 25.2 25.3 24.1 26.3 25.2 25.2 July 12th .... (34) 24.1 (18) 23.7 (39) 25.9 (36) 25.1 (39) 25.6 (8) 24.2 (12) 25.0 (6) 24.6 (1) 25.0 July 20th .... (18) 24.2 (10) 23.4 (13) 25.9 (11) 25.1 (4) 25.3 (6) 25.2 (2) 26.3 (4) 25.3 28.5 (2) 26.5 August (a) ■ ■ (38) 24.5 (38) 23.3 (35) 26.1 (40) 25.6 (25) 26.9 (38) 26.3 (15) 28.3 (16) 25.4 (2) 24.2 (2) 26.3 August (b) (4) 25.2 (2) 23.9 (ID 26.6 (14) 25.5 (111) 26.8 (102) 26.0 (5) 27.1 (4) 27.0 (1) 27.0 (4) 27.0 (3) (9) (4) (12) (99) (99) (4) (4) (2) (2) Group III. of the above table is of greatest interest in the present discussion, as it was principally through peculiarities in this group that the August run was characterized. The males of this group, as is indicated in the table, ran very uniformably during July, the average length for the three dates in July being 25.3 inches and contrasting sharply with the 26.9 inches shown by the August specimens. The females exhibit a similar difference, the first two dates in July giving an average of 24.1 inches, while the two in August show 26.2. But the last date in July (20th) gives an intermediate average for the females (25.3), while the males gives no indication of increase in size on that date. The females are also relatively more numerous on July 20th, being for the first time in greater numbers than the males. A careful scrutiny of the females obtained July 20th supplies the key to their peculiar behaviour, for not only were there included among them more numerous individuals of larger size, but these had also larger nuclei, with the rings more numerous and more widely spaced. In other words, there had been on July 20th an influx of females of the August form, whereas but few males of this form had as yet appeared. Stragglers of the August form were present throughout July, among both males and females, whereas in August the characteristic July form had practically disappeared. We have stated above that the nuclear rings of the August form were not only more widely spaced, but they were more numerous. This applies, however, only to the rings formed during S 62 Report of the Commissioner of Fisheries. 1916 the second year in the lake, those formed during the first year averaging about the same in both series. Where both strains are present at the same time, as notably on July 20th, that fact can be made apparent by forming a table wherein the number of second-year nuclear rings for each individual is checked against the length of the fish. These have been prepared separately for males and females and for the two periods July and August, and are given below. In those for July the smaller numbers of nuclear rings are rather constantly associated with the smaller fish, and the larger nuclei with fish of larger size, and the two lots are easily distinguished. But in the August run, when only one strain was present, both the number of nuclear rings and the size of the fish are large, but the smaller fish of the lot do not have an average smaller number of nuclear rings than do the large individuals. Six-year fish of the two-years-in-lake group show also two types of nuclei characteristic of the two runs. None of those running in August had less than ten rings in the outer nuclear division, while among those running in July were numerous individuals with nine, eight, seven, and even six rings, formed during the second year in the lake. But the size of the six-year fish is not so closely correlated with the characteristics of the nuclear area, and the total number of specimens available is too limited for purposes of tabulation. Table LIII.—Nass River Sockeyes, July, 1915, Males, Five Years old, Two Years in Lake. Lengths checked against Second-year Nuclear Rings. Number of Nuclear Rings. ■Lengths in Inches. Total. 22% 23 23% 24 24% 25 25% 26 26% 27 27% 28 i l i 'i l i 3 2 1 1 3 i l 2 1 1 'i 1 i 1 2 2 1 1 'i i 3 2 1 2 2 i "2 2 1 2 7 4 6 16 11 11 8 6 8 9 10 11 1 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 l 1 4 5 2 1 1 2 2 3 Table LIV.—Nass River Sockeyes, July, 1915, Females, Five Years old, Two Years in Lake. Lengths cheeked against the Second-year Nuclear Rings. Number of Nuclear Rings. Lengths in Inches. Totals. 22% 23 23% 24 24yi 25 25% 26 26% 27 28 5::::::::::::::::::: 9 i i 2 1 2 i 2 1 3 i 3 1 'i 2 1 i "2 1 i 3 1 1 i 2 2 1 0 i i 2 i 1 1 4 2 1 1 1 i 1 5 5 5 1 9 11 10 5 1 2 3 io 11 12 13 14 15 ' 16 17 18 6 Geo. 5 Life-history of the Sockeye Salmon. S 63 Table LV.—Nass River Sockeyes, August, 191.5, Males, Five Years old, Ttvo Years in Lake. Lengths checked against Second-year Nuclear Rings. Number of Nuclear Rings. Lengths in Inches. 22% 23% 24 | 24% 25 25% 26 26% 27 27% 28 28% 29 Totals. 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 1 3 14 6 15 4 4 1 6 23 42 39 24 9 3 Table LVI.—Nass River Sockeyes, August, 1.915, Females, Five Years old, Two Years in Lake. Lengths checked against Second-year Nuclear Rings. Number of Lengths in Inches. Totals. Nuclear Ring !. 22% 23 23% 24 24% 25 25% 26 26% 27 27% 28 28% 29 7 . . 8 .. 9 .. 10 .. 11 .. 12 .. 13 .. 14 .. 15 .. 16 .. 17 .. 18 . . i i : L > 1 1 i l 5 4 4 2 i i 2 8 5 6 1 2 5 9 22 15 12 2 i 4 6 12 14 4 4 1 1 i i 0 5 2 1 2 4 5 t i 1 1 3 4 14 23 60 54 35 9 (2.) Average Lengths and Weights. In the following tables are given the frequency distribution of lengths, and the average lengths and weights of the July run and the August run separately. As we have already seen on a previous page, the July run contained one element which ran exclusively in the early part of the season mixed with certain members of a second group which reached the apex of its run in August. The July averages represent, therefore, neither the early-running group nor the late one, but a mean between the two. But the August run was homogeneous, practically no strays were present, and the averages represent purely those of the second group. In both tables the number of individuals reported has for convenience been reduced to the uniform scale of 1,000. They do not include the few individuals of " sea-type," nine in all, which ran exclusively during July, nor the single individual which reached the age of six after having spent but one year in fresh water. S 64 Report of the Commissioner of Fisheries. 1916 Table LVII.—"Nass River Sockeyes which ran in July, 1915, grouped by Age, Sex, and Size, and by their Early History. Number of Individuals that spent Length in Inches. One Year in Lake. Two Years in Lake. Three Years in Lake. Four Years old. Five Years old. Five Y ears old. SixY nars old. Six Years old. Males. Females. Males. Females. Males. Females. Males. Females. Males. Females. 21 2 2 ... 21% ... ... 22 2 2 ... , ... 22% . . . 5 13 4 23 30 30 2 2 ii 10 2 23% ... 31 26 2 9 n 11 2 24 28 42 4 18 15 17 2 4 24% . . . 41 4 9 - 28 9 11 2 11 2 25 19 2 31 43 19 9 6 7 25% ... 7 2 33 30 20 15 11 11 2 3 26 2 47 20 10 9 9 4 26% . . . 35 13 24 9 7 4 27 13 8 15 11 6 2 27% . . . 4 5 2 2 28 4 4 3 28% . .. So. .. ... 2 Total 167 123 184 171 134 106 54 49 5 7 Ave. length 24.1 23.5 25.9 25.1 25.3 24.9 26.2 25.2 27.4 25.S Ave. weight 5.7 4.9 6.9 6.3 6.3 5.9 6.8 6.5 6.8 6.3 Table LVIII.—Nass River Sockeyes tchich ran in August, 1915, grouped by Age, Sex, and Size, and by their Early History. Number op Individuals that spent Length in One Year in Lake. Two Years in Lake. Three Years in Lake. Inches. Four Years old, Five Years old, Five Years old. Six Years old. Six Years old. Males. Females. Males. Females. Males. Females. Males. Females. Males. Females. 21 21% 92 4 6 6 6 6 2 ; 6 2 L4 L0 8 4 6 2 i. i l: i t 2 4 4 8 18 )4 L2 38 18 L2 6 l It \ J f ■ • 4 2 18 >4 !2 )0 58 !4 4 2 2 2 8 2 2 i i i i t 2 2 2 ; 1 t 2 4 22% 23 23% 24 24% 25 25% 26 26% 27 27% 28 28% 29 4 8 2 6 6 4 4 2 2 2 2 2 2 Total.No. .. 14 22 30 52 426 406 18 16 6 10 Ave. length 24.8 23.8 26.2 25.6 26.8 26.2 27.7 26.2 26.7 26.6 Ave. weight 0 .9 6 .5 <3 .9 6 .7 1 .3 6 .8 7 .8 6.' ■ 6 .5 6 .8 „-~ £3 h £ f£s '-■ Fig. 2. Fraser River sockeye fingerling, one year old. New growth of second year begins at 1. Female, IIS mm. long. Chilcotin River, April 21st, 1915. (Page 38.) III •eg 85 If *■« -III 3 »S o o3 f Fig. 9. Smith Inlet fingerling sockeye, one year old. Exceptional individual, showing unusually extensive growth during the first season. Male, 71 mm. long. June 5th, 1915. (Page 52.) 6 Geo. 5 Statistics of Halibut Fishery in Pacific. S 65 STATISTICS OF THE HALIBUT FISHERY IN THE PACIFIC: THEIR BEARING ON THE BIOLOGY OF THE SPECIES AND THE CONDITION OF THE BANKS. By William F. Thompson, Stanford University. INDEX. Page. Introduction 67 Discussion 68 Tables employed in Report 65 Nature of Data employed 71 Statement of Purpose and Outline of Paper 72 The Shifting of the Fishing-grounds 73 Charts showing Plotted Fishing Records 122-126 Length of Voyages 78 The Time spent in Fishing 80 Yield 82 Weight caught per Unit of Gear and Cargo 83 Number Fish caught per Unit of Gear and Cargo 88 Fluctuation in Sizes of Fish caught 92 Variations in Sizes of Fish from Different Banks 99 Chart of Areas of Fishing-banks 122-126 Relative Productivity of Areas 105 Summary 107 TABLES EMPLOYED IN REPORT. Page , No. 1. Average Depths in which Fishing has bee n carried on 76 2. Seasonal Variation in Depths at which Fishing is done 76 3. Annual Averages of Depths fished in 76 4. Averages for March and April of Depths in which Fishing was done 76 5. Number of Records given by Depth for each Year for which Average Weights were available 77 6. Number of Voyages according to Locality in which the Catch was obtained for the Five Vessels used in the Present Paper 77 7. Voyages of Vessel B in 1906 during the Period January to May 78 8. Average Number of Hours per Voyage 79 9. Annual Average of Hours per Voyage 79 10. Average Number of Hours per Voyage for each Month, showing Seasonal Variation 11. Average Number of Hours per Voyage spent in Fishing, by Months. Corrected for 80 Vessel Variation 81 12. Comparison of Length of Voyages and Fishing-time' per Voyage , 82 13. Time spent in reaching Banks and lost through Bad Weather 82 14. Comparison of Length of Voyages and Time spent Fishing- for the Period from 1903 to 1912 (inclusive) 82 15. Showing Correspondence of Estimated and Actual Weights of Cargoes 83 16. Weight of Halibut caught per Skate 84 17. Weight caught per Skate, showing Averages for such Periods as are best compared 84 18. Seasonal Fluctuation in Weight caught per Skate, by months 84 19. Seasonal Fluctuation of Weight caught per Skate. Contrasting Averages for Six- month Periods 85 20. Weight of Halibut caught per Skate. Corrected for Variations in Bank Productivity 86 21. Averages from Table 20 86 22. Weight of Cargoes landed. From Corrected Data, based on Table 61 87 23. Average Weight of Cargoes for Years and Seasons 87 24. Seasonal Change in Weights of Cargoes. From Corrected Weights (as given in Table 22) 88 25. Average Number of Fish caught per Skate. A Summation of Table 62 88 26. Average Number of Fish caught per Skate for Comparable Groups of Months. From Table 25 89. S 66 Report of the Commissioner of Fisheries. 1916 No. 27. Average Number caught per Skate for Seasons of Six Months, showing same Decrease in Both Seasons. From Table 25 89 28. Seasonal Variation in Number of Fish caught per Skate. From Table 25 89 29. Number of Fish caught per Skate, Areas I., II., III. Correct for Bank Variation. From Table 64 90 30. Number of Fish caught per Skate on Areas I., II., and III. Averages of Comparable Periods in Table 29 91 31. Average Number and Weight per Skate taken on Rose Spit Bank 91 32. Yearly Average of Number of Fish per Cargo 92 33. Comparison of Average Pounds per Cargo by Months with Average Number per • Cargo, to show Heavier Proportionate Average Weight in Winter 92 34. Average Weight of Fish in Cargoes, as weighed at Dock 94 35. Averages for Periods which are Comparable. Taken from Table 34 94 36. Comparison of Average Weights of Fish ■ 94 37. Average Sizes of Fish on Various Banks during Winter and Summer 95 38. Comparison of Seasonal Variations in Weight and in Number caught per Skate ... 95 39. Showing the Computed Ages of the Fish caught during Summer and Winter 96 40. Decrease in Average Size with Greater Depth , 96 41. Correlation of Size of Fish and Number caught per Skate, in Two Periods 98 42. Correlation of Size and Number on "Old" and "New" Banks (under and over 75 Fathoms) between 1911 and 1914 (inclusive) 98 43. Correlation of Size and Number on the " Older " Beds , 98 44. Correlation of Weight of Individuals and Number caught per Skate on Area II. ... 98 45. Weight and Number per Skate caught on Limited Areas, to show the Fluctuation . . 99 46. Records of Catches on Inshore Banks, Areas VI., VII., and VIII 102 47. Data to be taken from the Daily Log 103 48. Results of Computations from Table 47 , 103 49. Average Weight of Fish in Cargoes as weighed at the Dock on Landing, considering those from Single Banks 103 50. Number, Weight per Skate, and Individual Weight of Fish in Catches made in Inside Waters 104 51. Relative Productivity of Different Areas 105 52. Number and Weight per Skate caught on Area XII., off North Island 106 53. Number and Weight per Skate caught eta Area XL, West Coast of the Queen Charlottes 106 54. Weight and Number per Skate caught on the " Horshoe " 106 55. Average Number and Weight per Skate caught on Areas V., IX...and X 106 56. Average Number and Weight per Skate caught on Areas XIV. and XV., Virago Sound and Masset 107 57. Average Length of Voyages per Vessel for each Month, in Hours 110 58. Average Number of Hours spent Fishing per Vessel (data unmodified) Ill 59. Weight of Fish caught per Skate by each Vessel 112 60. Average AV eight caught per Skate on Areas I., IL, and III. (uncorrected for Bank Variation) 113 61. Average Weight of Cargoes as landed by each Vessel (data uncorrected for Vessel Variation) 114 62. Average Number of Fish caught per Skate, by Month and Vessel 115 63. Number of Fish per Cargo, by Vessel and Month 116 64. Average Number caught per Skate, given by Areas , 117 65. Average Size of Fish caught in Areas L, II., and III., by Months 118 66. Average Weights of Fish and Depths at which caught on Various Banks 119 6 Geo. 5 Statistics of Halibut Fishery in Pacific. S 67 I. INTRODUCTION. At the inception of the work on the life-history of the halibut by the Fisheries Department of the British Columbia Government in the spring of 1914, many voyages were made by the author on every class of vessel engaged in its capture. One of the things which first attracted attention was the care with which the masters and mates of the vessels kept their logs, or ships records, and the excellent nature from a scientific standpoint of the data kept in them. It was, therefore, soon one of the prime objects of the field-work to examine as complete a series of the log-books as was possible. In the course of this the logs for over 900 voyages were obtained, and from them the data herein presented were carefully extracted. The labour of doing this has been very great, yet the results have well repaid it. There are but few data extant, as far as the writer knows, which give in satisfactory fashion the effects on the banks of overfishing with lines.* From that viewpoint those given here should be valuable, for such knowledge is, without doubt, of the greatest importance in the consideration of the future of the fishery, the protection of the species, or the merits, from the standpoint of conservation, of various methods of fishing. These considerations alone would justify any trouble put forth to secure such data, but there are others which are as important. Thus the present condition of a bank is intimately related to its past history, and this must underlie the conclusions drawn from studies made on the biology of such a bank. Indeed, the contribution which is made to the knowledge of the natural history of the species by such detailed statistics is surprising in itself. Although this work is considered by the writer to be'simply an indication of what could be done, hardly an illustration, one of its aims is to prove what even imperfect data are capable of showing, and to urge the collection of whatever is available. It might be possible that those engaged in any extensive fishery could, without prejudice to their interests, keep such records as would throw light on their operations, when it has been done voluntarily in the present case. The most immediately important conclusion reached in this paper is the fact of depletion. It would seem improbable that any one who was at all conversant with the facts would deny it, yet this has been frequently done, and more often the statement has been challenged for proof.! It has therefore been thought to be of the utmost importance to advance irrefutable proof of the state of the banks. In considering the evidence here presented, it should be borne in mind that the banks oft the coast of British Columbia are but a portion of the total, on which but a part of the catch is obtained. As a matter of fact, vessels from Vancouver and Seattle now travel beyond Kodiak Island, as far as the entrances to Bering Sea, the principal yield for 1915 having come from the Gulf of Alaska (see page 75 for remarks on the shifting of the fisheries), and this fact is eloquent proof of the prevalence on the banks of South-eastern Alaska of the same conditions shown to exist on those treated here. It must be expected that the fishery would be carried, on to the new banks as soon as the increased difference in yield would offset the greater distance to be traversed. The principle of this is obvious, for all of the vessels must in a way compete for the fish to be obtained, being subject to the same economic pressure. Therefore, in considering the evidence, it should be remembered that the area covered by it is typical of the whole, save * Sec, however, the abstracts of Scottish Fishery Statistics by T. Wemyss Fulton and D'Arcv Went- worth Thompson, particularly in North Sea Fisheries Investigation Committee, Fifth Report (Northern Area) on Fishery and Hydrographical Investigations in the North Sea and Adjacent Waters, 1908-1911 (Fishery Board for Scotland), pages 67 and 205. f By Professor Arthur Willey, Investigation into the Pacific Halibut Fisheries, British Columbia, in " Contributions to Canadian Biology," 1914-15. Sessional Paper No. 38a ; pages 1 to 17. Issued in 1916. In this connection w,e may quote from the above paper issued by the Biological Board of Canada, which came to hand after the completion of this work : " Under these conditions we have to consider whether the stock of halibut will continue to stand the strain that is imposed upon it. Practical fishermen are sometimes apt to he pessimistic in this regard, although the aggregate catches do not as yet show auy sign of diminution. Up to a certain point the thinning-out of the banks by the capture of surplus fishes must be beneficial to the numbers and quality of those that remain. But this optimum standard of fishing intensity is vague and cannot be defined otherwise than arbitrarily. Recommendations to curtail the fishery are easily made, but they would be entirely ineffective unless there happened to be a clear case for the immediate enforcement of rigid restrictions. The fact is that there is no such pressing call for drastic action, and therefore this aspect of the question need not be discussed here. What we are asked to do is to devise measures for the expansion, not for the limitation of the industry." (Page 15.) Proof for no part of this statement is given. The meaning of " expansion " is problematic, for if it implies the necessity of finding new banks the depletion of the old is acknowled,ged. Conclusions such as are reached in this quotation are assuredly based on a lesser knowledge than is possessed by the fishermen, but materially strengthen the influence of those opposed to any control of the fishery. in so far as it is nearer to the markets than other areas, and that the depletion of the banks accessible to fisherman from a given port means the loss of the industry to that port and the region it serves. As may be seen by reference to the statistics of fish landed given by the reports of the United States Bureau of Fisheries, and in the " Year-book " of the Pacific Fisherman, a trade journal published in Seattle, there is no decrease evident in the total yield per year. No consideration is made, however, for accurately judging the increase of the fleet, save in the recent numbers of the Pacific Fisherman. It has been thought best, therefore, to frankly disregard all published statistics, save where they may be shown to explain incidental problems. It is unfortunate that the logs from which the data were taken had to be returned to the captains from whom they were borrowed, but the data have been copied on special blanks. It will be Impossible to print anything save the tables compiled from these, although in the event of a future study of the beds other questions may arise for which the copied data will be necessary. These have been, therefore, bound and preserved for reference. For the opportunity of examining their logs and records, thanks are due Captains Knighthall, Selig, Dave Candow, Robert Candow, Barry, Hansen, and Freeman, also to Mr. Greenwood, of the Skeena River Fisheries, and Mr. Hagar, of the Canadian Fishing Company. To Captain. Freeman and his interest is due a large part of the record, as well as a great deal of the perhaps limited knowledge the writer has of the fishing-banks. Captain Freeman has been on the Pacific Coast engaged in halibut-fishing throughout its phenomenal increase, and his well-balanced, acute observations have been of great assistance in the work which the writer has carried on aboard his vessel, the " Flamingo." His kindly courtesy, and that of his crew, has rendered working conditions pleasant where they might not have been. Great assistance in the laborious task of compiling and computing the statistics has been given by Mrs. Thompson, and several sections are based on her work. Thanks are due Dr. C. H. Gilbert for the privilege of working in the laboratories of Stanford University, California, as well as for his many kindnesses and his encouragement. II. DISCUSSION. Among the facts presented in the following pages, the one which stands forth most conspicuously is the great effect which the operations of the fishermen have had on the character of the halibut populations of the various banks. Not only have they been very extensively depleted, but the proportions of mature and immature, of large and small fish have been radically changed. The presence of the greatest numbers of immature fish on those banks which have been exploited for the longest time and most intensely would be extremely misleading unless the effect of overfishing were discounted. It is impossible in this connection to refrain from observing the striking parallelism between this condition and that prevailing in the North Sea in the case of the plaice. There, although it is known that the Bight of Heligoland and the Dutch Coast are regions most intensely fished, the presence of great numbers of immature fish and the absence of mature has been urged in support of theories of migration from these " nurseries " to the deeper water " spawning-banks."* However this may be in regard to the plaice, it is evident that migration in the halibut must be shown by other means. It is not intended by this to deny the occurrence of migration, but simply to call attention to the obvious importance of the history of a bank in the consideration of its biological problems. It is a corollary of this that the distribution of large and small fish is not a criterion of fast and slow growth unless the depletion of the banks is taken into account. Throughout the attempt to correlate the average size of the fish on a bank and its geographical position, the use of the terms fast and slow growing as synonyms of large and small has been avoided. The discovery of " spawning-banks " is often stated as an object of research, but, in the case of the halibut at least, this term is subject to suspicion as to its correctness. Those areas characterized by mature and spawning fish deserve rather the name of undepleted banks, in view of their history. It is customary among the fishermen to resort to these especially in winter, and by a coincidence they are always situated in deep water. The seasonal change in the depths at which fishing for halibut is carried on is shown on page 76 to be very considerable. This must, one would think, have some basis in the catch to be obtained, and the deep-water fishing * Garstang, in Vol. III., " Des Rapports et Proce's Verbaux du Conseil International pour l'explora- tion des la Mer, Aout 1905." Also in " International Investigation, Marine Biological Association, Report 1, 1902-3." 6 Geo. 5 Statistics of Halibut Fishery in Pacific S 69 must be more profitable, during the winter months, than that in shoal water. This is far from implying, however, that there are more fish caught per unit of gear during the colder months in deep water than during the warmer months. It might be assumed that the fishermen were " following the fish," as they say, if such an increase were evident; in other words, the large spawning fish caught would be supposedly migrants from the shoaler banks. Aside from the fact that there is no decrease in the average size of the fish caught on the latter banks at that season, there are reasons why the fishing in deeper waters should not decline as extensively as that in shallower. It is well known that the fluctuations in temperature with the seasons are less in the deeper strata of the oceans, and in the portions nearest the main body of water. A fall in temperature has been shown to cause a lessening of the activity and metabolism of fish, and the conclusion follows that where the fall is least the fish remain most active—namely, in the deeper waters. If this is true, areas which are but lightly, or not at all, fished during the summer may because of their depth compare favourably with inshore banks during the winter in so far as the way in which the fish take the bait. In the case of the halibut, these outer banks are those on which the intensity of fishing has been least, and which have been exploited last, with the result that their fish have been able to remain nearer maturity than the others. The objections to such a theory are certainly less than to one implying migration, although data as to seasonal fluctuations of temperature on the different banks are lacking, as are records concerning the yield (see Tables 52 and 53 for those which are available). In fact, the results given in the present paper confirm those of the previous one by the writer* in indicating the improbability of any considerable migration between banks. If, in the long time provided by the life of a halibut, which reaches an age of over twenty years and does not mature until twelve, the populations of adjacent banks do not become mixed to such a degree as to nullify differences in rate of growth, the extent of migration is of slight practical importance, or the differences exceedingly large. The close proximity of some of these banks has been remarked on in the text. It is perfectly possible, it must be recognized, that these evidences of isolation are due to the presence of barriers not visible above water, which may confine or limit movements, but this does not in any degree contradict the conclusion that the halibut is not an extensively migratory fish. The distribution of the banks characterized by large and small fish is not favourable to any conception of migration to explain the differences. The banks outside the entrance to Hecate Strait have smaller fish than those inside, whereas the reverse would be expected if the large fish migrated outward to deeper water to spawn. On the other hand, the migration cannot be to these inner banks, because they have been shown to be lacking in mature fish, the catch being to an increasing extent of small fish. The fact that there is a seasonal difference in the size of fish caught on all the banks, outer as well as inner, is not conformable to any conception of migration, but it may be difficult to explain in a completely acceptable way. A careful examination of the evidence has led to a possible theory which will serve to emphasize the importance of work along certain lines— namely, those of the effect of the seasons on the character of the fish population. It is a well- known fact that the principal growth of fish takes place during the warmer months, for it is on that basis that the age is deciphered from the markings of the otoliths and scales. There should be, because of this summer growth, an increase during the whole of the period of rapid growth in the number of fish which have reached the size suitable for catching with the hook, with a resultant depression of the average size. As is remarked on page 97, it seems probable that the halibut are found in " schools," or populations of various average sizes, and, as indicated in Table 43, the tendency is to constantly depend more and more on the fish of small size. Indeed, the larger fish form numerically an increasingly smaller part of the whole, and it has become a predominant characteristic of halibut- fishing that the large " schools " of small or medium-sized fish are sought out especially, and a set is rarely repeated where but few fish (generally large) are caught. It is hence very probable that the young fish are caught off to a great extent the first year they come of sufficient size. There cannot be many of them left in the fall, considering that the intensity of fishing is such as is shown to be the case. On the other hand, the large fish, scattered or in small schools, are scarcely worthy of attention while there are young fish to be caught, and their numbers do not form an appreciable part of the catches until it is necessary to take what- * Report of the British Columbia Commissioner of Fisheries for 1914, page 76. S 70 Report of the Commissioner of Fisheries. 1916 ever may be found. They therefore form a larger part of the winter catches than of the summer, with a consequent increase in the average size caught. Where the mature fish have been nearly all caught, or where depletion has been going on so vigorously that none have been allowed to grow to maturity, the larger fish on the banks would be represented by the remnants of schools of the preceding one or two years; but where there is still a considerable number of larger fish left from a number of years, the average age would be greater, with a consequent greater contrast in size between them and the new schools. It should be anticipated, therefore, that on certain banks a slighter seasonal difference will be found than on others, as seems to be actually the case. It is not to be expected, however, that each catch of larger fish would be of uniform size on the same bank, but considerable variation must exist between " schools," and where but few records are obtained from an area it may be possible that the apparent differences are due simply to imperfect data. An alternative to this explanation would be the simple assumption that during the winter the younger or smaller fish cease to take the bait as eagerly as the larger, or perhaps the smaller male ceases to take the hook. There seems to be no evidence in favour of this theory as far as the halibut .Is concerned. Neither is there any in favour of that of migration as an explanation, while there is much against. The winter increase in size is evident on all the banks examined, whereas through migration there should be an actual decrease in winter size on certain of the banks. It seems more satisfactory to assign the phenomenon to the periodical growth of young fish, due to the changes in temperature or food consequent on the seasons. It is possible that the differences in average size of the fish found on different banks also may be due to temperature or to some factor dependent on temperature, such as food. The distribution of the large and small fish, discounting the effects of depletion, is such as would conform to this, for the inshore waters are generally supposed to be warmer than the offshore, although they may fluctuate through greater extremes. This, of course, assumes that the average sizes are resultant from the rates of growth. In support of such a theory no evidence as to the seasonal changes in temperature in the North Pacific is available to the writer, while the question of food in the case of a carniverous fish is replete with difficulty. It may be pointed out, however, that the seasonal variation in the catch per skate would argue for a difference in the activity of the halibut, rather than a lack of food alone. Unfortunately there are no data at hand to show the fluctuations in temperature in any portion of the fishing-grounds, nor are there sufficient to indicate a lesser change in the catch per skate on the deeper banks than on the shoal. The correlation of the average size with the rate of growth is still to be accomplished, although partially indicated. When these things have been investigated it may be possible to discuss the bearings and meaning of the facts presented in this paper with more assurance. The intense fishery has, it is evident, made its influence felt throughout the whole biological appearance of the species, and in doing so it has rendered precarious the future of the banks, particularly the older or longer known. The numbers still found on them is so small, and the percentage of mature fish in this population has fallen so low, that it appears imminent that the halibut in the Pacific will drop to a minor position among the food-fishes. It may recede northward as it did from the shores of Massachusetts, and from the coast of England, until it exists only in the more remote and difficult to reach of the banks. It is very difficult to see wherein more proof than is at hand may be adduced to emphasize this tendency, save the final one of the catastrophe of commercial extinction itself. The rate of decrease shown, over 70 per cent, for each decade, is surprisingly large. Yet it must be remembered that the constant shifting to new banks has staved off a portion of the effects of impoverishment. This extension is, in its way, a measure of depletion. Just as a mine may be exhausted and its owners reduced to working over the discarded low-grade ore, so may the halibut banks. The progress from Cape Flattery to Hecate Strait, and from there to Yakutat and beyond, has been at a constantly accelerated rate as the total catch has grown from year to year. When the end will be reached, perhaps in the southern Bering Sea, perhaps on the Siberian Coast, is, of course, difficult to forecast. In the meantime the expenses of long voyages are gradually growing, and the necessity for vessels of large steaming radius is becoming greater, until it is a question whether the final reserves of halibut shall be exploited by vessels from our coasts. When expansion is at an end, as will inevitably be, the vessels must return to fishing on the older banks, which will then be depleted beyond their present condition unless 6 Geo. 5 Statistics of Halibut Fishery in Pacific. S 71 measures are taken to allow them to recuperate. They cannot support the fishery now existent, it is very plain, or anything comparable with it. There are many reasons why this depletion does not evince itself in the prosperity of the fishing business in direct proportion. The rising prices demanded of the consumer and the extension to new banks require no comment as to their effects. More important than these, however, is the fact that the time and effort required to obtain the fish is only a portion of that necessary to carry the fish from the ocean to the consumer, and a seemingly overwhelming increase in the fishing-time of the boats is but a moderate increase in the total. The length of the voyage, we shall see, does not increase in the same proportion as the actual fishing-time, and the length of the voyage is but a part of the whole journey over ocean and land. In fact, it is but just to assume that there has been a heightening of the efficiency in transportation during the development of the fishing industry. In other words, the increased expense of obtaining the fish is distributed between that of transporting and selling, and is felt correspondingly less. It is evident, therefore, that an automatic abatement of the fishery in direct proportion to the rate of depletion is far from what is to be expected, and those who rest content in the belief that it will not pay commercially to deplete the banks beyond the limit of recuperation are on unsafe grounds. Although a prophecy of the immediate commencement of a decline in the total yield would be out of place, the situation appears sufficiently serious to warrant the taking of immediate steps for conservation. The contemplation of experiments in hatching the halibut, however, must lead simply to ill-founded optimism on the part of the fishermen. The hatching of cod and plaice has been carried on by several Governments with results which are local and limited, and have been disputed. These species are much smaller, more easily handled, come to maturity at a smaller size, and the near-ripe fish are obtainable in greater numbers than is the case with the halibut. The ova of the latter are not found on the surface, and even with the spawning fish in breeding-ponds it would be difficult to obtain the fertilized eggs, although there is no doubt that they could be obtained. In the face of the wholesale reduction of the numbers of halibut on the banks, the establishment of hatcheries cannot be regarded as anything but exceedingly expensive experimental work. Nothing could be known as to its results for many years, unlikely as they are to be of value, and those years might mean the ruin of tjie industry if action were delayed pending the arrival at a conclusion. It is, therefore, necessary to regard the suggestion of such a remedy as of purely theoretical value, which might do great harm by misleading those with the interest of the fishery at heart. It is not the purpose here to discuss the steps which could be taken, but several facts vital to their formulation have been brought out in the present paper. The exhausted condition of the southern banks, with the exception of those off the coast of Oregon, has been shown. It must be borne in mind that the vital need of these is protection during that portion of the year when they are yielding their largest proportion of small and immature fish. That the main fishery has shifted to a position farther north is also evident, and there should be no great obstacle to the application of adequate measures to the older banks. That protection to a small area would have no effect on the whole is equally obvious, so that whatever is done must be applied to the whole of the depleted portion. The effect of close seasons in various months may be judged from the comparative statistics of yield which are hereafter given, the value of such closures being in direct proportion to the activity of the fishery at the time they are put in force. III. NATURE OF THE LOG DATA EMPLOYED. From the mass of data obtained from ships' logs it was thought best to select that obtained from five vessels of similar type. These were of steel construction, steaming approximately ten knots per hour, and operating from the same port in British Columbia. They were vessels which had long records in the halibut fishery, had been ably commanded and similarly provisioned, so that there is every probability that the data obtained are homogeneous. They are designated as vessels A, B, C, D, and E throughout the present work. The methods employed in fishing on these steamers have been ably, and more authoritatively, described by Captain H. B. Joyce;* and it will suffice here to give very briefly the necessary- facts for the proper understanding of the data. Recent years have seen the introduction of the In United States Bureau of Fisheries Document No. 763, page 6. Washington, 1912. S 72 Report of the Commissioner of Fisheries. 1916 " long-line " boats, or those which fish over the side—not from dories; but these vessels employ different units of gear than do the dory vessels, and their results are not comparable, hence they are omitted from consideration in the present description. The steamers usually carry twelve dories, sometimes ten, each manned by two men. These small boats are set in a long line a quarter to half a mile apart along the edge of the bank, and then run their long " ground-lines " parallel to each other across the bank, or area over which the captain has given them instructions to fish. The ground-lines are composed of bundles of gear called skates, usually from two to four of them being set by a dory at one time, attached in a single long piece and buoyed at either end, where there are also anchors to hold the lines in place. These skates are at present composed of eight lines of 50 fathoms each, with hooks set about thirty-two to the line. At the inception of the present records, in 1902, the skate on the vessels which are here considered consisted of ten lines, as stated by Captain Freeman,* but in recent years, since 1909, when deep-water fishing began, eight lines have been used. Since the short skate is often as effective as the long, especially on narrow banks, it has been judged undesirable to modify the data directly in proportion, hence no allowance has been made. Usually two sets or trials are made in a day, occasionally one or three. On the map on page 124 there is plotted in about 51° 30' latitude and 130° 45' longitude, the space covered by such a trial or " set," in order to graphically illustrate the great extent of territory. The line run daily by a single vessel Is about forty-eight miles in length, with more than 25,000 hooks. If such a set is not successful in obtaining a paying amount of fish, the ground is abandoned and a set made in a different place. The great desire is to find what is called a " pocket" or " school " of fish, usually composed of medium or small fish in considerable numbers. Some of the captains shift ground constantly in their search for good pockets, others are content with obtaining a paying quantity of fish. A pocket does not last very long after discovery, although large cargoes are caught. At first the fishermen were paid by the fish, the two in each dory according to the number their boat brought in, and as a consequence the fish were carefully counted. This had certain advantages, as the captains were able to tell in which part of the area covered by the set the fish were most abundant, and thus judge where it was best to work the next time. Therefore, when payment by the fish was discontinued and the men received " share and share alike," it continued to be the custom to record the number of fish, and is yet among the dory-vessel officers. At the same time, it has constantly been the habit of the captains to estimate the weight of fish caught at each set or on each day. All this information was set down in the logs, as a rule one or more features of it being neglected, according to the ideas of the mate or the captain as to what was necessary. The recorded data is treated in this paper. On page 121 is given a reproduction of a page from one of the pilot-house logs, and on page 103 an illustration of the data taken from the records of a voyage. As to the accuracy of these data the writer has satisfied himself, knowing that they are as close as the fishermen are able to give them—fully as carefully noted as are the statistics of fish landed usually given in governmental records. The errors found have apparently been constant in their extent throughout, not decreasing or increasing in any special way, and no hesitation should be experienced in accepting their value for the purposes for which they are used in the text. The accuracy of the estimated weights has been discussed on page 83, where the methods are given by which such estimates are made. In compiling and computing, the adding-machine has been used wherever possible, and the slide-rule has been employed throughout. As a result of the use of the latter, the figures were never carried to decimal points beyond those which were necessary. IV. STATEMENT OF PURPOSE AND OUTLINE OF PAPER. It will be sought to throw light on the following things:— (1.) The fact of depletion, which will be evident throughout: (2.) The rate of impoverishment of the banks: (3.) The biology of the species, and the effects on it of overfishing. * In a letter dated June 18th, 1916 : " The length of the skate now used on the halibut-boats has been reduced from ten lines to eight lines of 50 fathoms each, or from a former length of 500 fathoms to 400. This change took place on the steamers about seven years ago." 6 Geo. 5 Statistics of Halibut Fishery in Pacific. S 73 Since it would be difficult to follow the above order, for almost all the data have some bearing on each phase, the following sequence has been adopted in treatment:— (1.) The shift of the fishing-grounds: (2.) The length of the voyages: (3.) The time spent in fishing, as compared with the other parts of the voyage: (4.) Yield: (a.) Weight caught per skate and per cargo: (b.) Number caught per skate and per cargo: (5.) Sizes of fish obtained, fluctuations'in: (6.) Variations in average size of fish from different banks: (7.) Relative productivity of different areas. The summary will be found under the heading " VI." on page 107, and the discussion of the general bearing of the facts ascertained under " II." on page 68. Wherever possible the tables with detailed data have been placed at the close of the report, and those derived from them included in the text. V. PRESENTATION OF RECORDS. (1.) The Shift of the Fishing-grounds. The utilization of new banks and the partial abandonment of the old is one of the first evidences of impoverishment. It does not mean in itself the rapid exhaustion of the supply, but assuredly does indicate the fact that the process is under way. If it takes place soon after the beginning of the fishery, and while the fishing fleet is yet small, it is fair to presume that the depletion is rapid. Whatever evidence is available in the log data has therefore been considered, with additional notes from other sources. The five vessels under consideration sailed from British Columbian ports, and in consequence the banks to the south were exploited by them first, being largely abandoned only when the fishing became unprofitable. It is possible to trace the change which took place either through the depths fished in, or by plotting the fishing records on charts for the various years. It may also be seen in the data showing the yield, as will be pointed out, a temporary increase being evident, for example, in 1910 and 1911 in the weight caught per skate, due to the use of the North Island and Alaskan banks. It should be recognized, however, that the records of these five vessels are not identical by any means with those of the whole fleet, for the most active use of the banks off the coast of Alaska and of those in the inland straits was carried on by other vessels. In fact, the records here presented show the tendencies in a portion only of the total area. In Table 1 are given the records available as to the depths in which fishing was done. It will be noticed that an abrupt increase is to be found in 1910; also the winter months seem to be characterized by fishing in somewhat deeper water. The change in the depths between the early and later records is well shown in Table 2, which is a summation of Table 1. The averages for 1907 and 190S are in every case lower than those for 1911 and 1912. The seasonal change in 1911 and 1912 is evident, but in the earlier years its extent is not as clear as is desirable. In Table 3 the yearly averages for 1909, 1910, and 1911 are shown, although 1910 is incomplete, and the abrupt change seems evident. The records for March and April are comparable throughout a series of years, and are presented in Table 4. It shows in similar fashion the increase in 1910. This is due to the inclusion of records from off North Island, marking a change to deeper banks in general, although not the complete abandonment of the old banks. The reason for the existence of fishing on the older banks when they are apparently partly depleted is seen In the great seasonal variation in the yield obtained. It is evident from almost all the data presented that during the winter months the yield falls very greatly, but rises to its maximum in summer, during June and July. It is during these best months that it is possible to do profitable fishing on these banks, and that fact keeps a certain number of vessels on the impoverished areas. Notwithstanding this, it is common knowledge that even during the best season it now pays to go to the Far North. The number of records from various depths may be shown in Table 5, constructed only from those records having, in addition, the average weight of the fish caught, and hence somewhat limited in number. This illustrates the change in the banks particularly, because all the records under 75 fathoms are from the old banks—that is, those fished previously to the year 1910. In 1913, for instance, two modes may be seen, representing the old and the new banks. It is not meant to imply by this statement that no fishing beyond this depth was carried on previously to 1910, or that no fishing was done on the banks here called new. It is simply meant that a clear division has been made in the present case, representing the change that took place more gradually in point of fact. On the maps shown on pages 122-125 may be seen the plotted fishing records for two periods, one before the change in banks and the other after. In constructing these maps, the fishing which was done in Alaska was omitted from consideration. The extent of this, as far as the vessels here considered are concerned, may be judged from the figures given in Table 6, showing the distribution of the voyages according to the locality of the catch. The maps show that the banks off the outer coast of the Queen Charlotte Islands were not exploited in the early years of the fishery, but about 1910 and 1911 they were very extensively resorted to. By comparing Table 6 it may be seen that this change was accompanied by the use of the Alaskan banks. However, the near-by Alaskan banks were soon depleted, being already partially exhausted by other vessels, and it became necessary to go great distances for banks better than those off the coast of British Columbia. It is common knowledge that in the last few years the southern banks have been so completely impoverished that a good proportion of the voyages are to the far-distant northern banks. Proof of this condition may be adduced from what statistics are available for the Alaskan fisheries. From the reports of the United States Commissioner of Fisheries for the various years, the following statistical abstract may be taken, showing in pounds the total quantity landed in Alaska each year:— Lb. 1907 4,492,118 1908 5,692,000 1909 5,234,924 1910 21,630,289 1911 17,315,571 1912 16,896,743 1913 13,687,784 1914 ." 14,807,797 These figures illustrate the extension of the main fishery from the southern banks into the Alaskan in 1910, although, of course, if figures were available for the place of capture of catches landed in Seattle, they would doubtless show the same change. The change in Alaskan fisheries may also be judged by comparing the yearly reports of the United States Agents in Alaska, who have accompanied their statistical summaries with remarks on the condition of the fisheries. The use of the banks off South-eastern Alaska, the exhaustion of these, and the necessity for larger and better-found boats for the more distant northerly (or rather north-westerly) banks are all chronicled in turn. As the reports cannot here be quoted at length, the following references may be given for those interested. They are all contained in the reports of the United States Commissioner of Fisheries, or in the appendices thereto under the heading of " Bureau of Fishery Documents " for the given years. Ratbburi, Richard. Report for 1888, pages XLI.-CVII. 1892. Alexander, A. B. Report for 1904, pages 121-162. 1904. Cobb, J. N. Bureau of Fisheries Document No. 603. 1906. Marsh and Cobb. Bureau of Fisheries Document No. 632. 1908. Chamberlain and Cobb. Bureau of Fisheries Document No. 766. 1912. Chamberlain and Bower. Bureau of Fisheries Document No. 780. 1913. Bower and Fassett. Bureau of Fisheries Document No. 797. 1914. As bearing out these reports, and substantiating the fact that vessels now go as far as Yakutat and beyond for the greater part of the supply of halibut, the statistical bulletins issued monthly by the United States Bureau of Fisheries during a part of 1915 and 1916 may be quoted. 6 Geo. 5 Statistics of Halibut Fishery in Pacific. S 75 Halibut landed at Seattle. October, 1915— Lb. From Flattery Bank (3 trips) 1,930 West Coast of Vancouver Island (3 trips) 64,000 Goose Island Banks (2 trips) 50,000 „ Hecate Strait (16 trips) 479,000 Yakutat Bay (7 trips) 1,049,862 November, 1915— From West Coast of Vancouver Island (10 trips) 321,000 „ Hecate Strait (3 trips) 21,000 Forrester Island (1 trip) 12,000 „ Yakutat Bay (16 trips) 1,958,527 January, 1916— From Coronation Island 80,000 Yakutat 843,055 February, 1916— From West Coast of Vancouver Island (1 trip) 3S,000 „ Coronation Island (1 trip) 15,000 „ Yakutat Bay (5 trips) 653,931 March, 1916— From Flattery Banks (8 trips) 63,799 West Coast of Vancouver Island (1 trip) 7,000 Hecate Strait (2 trips) 113,003 Coronation Island (8 trips) 141,003 Yakutat Bay (10 trips) 222,404 Portlock Bank (2 trips) 268,000 The positions of banks not shown in the map on page 122 are:— Flattery Bank: At the entrance of the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Yakutat Bay: Latitude, 59° 35' N.; longitude, 140° W. Distant 1,025 miles from Seattle. Forrester Island: Near the Canadian Boundary in South-eastern Alaska. Coronation Island: Latitude, 55° 50' N.; longitude, 134° 10' W. In South-eastern Alaska. Portlock Bank: Latitude, 58° 20' N.; longitude, 150° W. Near Kodiak Island, distant 1,300 miles from Seattle via Cross Sound. It should be borne in mind, however, that the sharp classification of voyages under the heads of single banks is not as a rule possible save in an approximate way, and that these monthly lists undoubtedly present simply the localities from which the greater part of the catches came. It is probable that under the head of Yakutat are included fish from banks as far or farther than Cape Cleare. The changes in the location of the fishery may be summarised briefly.* In 1888 the fishery commenced, and grew rapidly, most of the fish coming from the Cape Flattery Banks, but about 1895 the banks in Hecate Strait were being exploited. In the early years of the first decade of this century the South-eastern Alaskan and British Columbian banks in more or less sheltered localities were being utilized, resulting about 1910 in their impoverishment. The fishermen then moved to deeper waters in more exposed situations on the outer coasts, fishing in more than 100 fathoms coming into vogue. Those banks lying off the coast of Alaska as far as Icy Strait were in great part depleted by 1913 or' before, and at the present date, 1916, the greater part of the catch comes from Yakutat and beyond. Mention should be made of the banks off the coast of Oregon which have been recently developed by the United States Fish Commission. This constant movement was not made because richer banks were being discovered, but because the yield from the older banks for the gear employed steadily fell the longer they were fished. It is unfortunate that fishing is still carried on best within these old areas during that season of the year when the young fish are to be caught in greatest abundance. In brief, the history of the fishery is that of a nomadic fleet, stripping the grounds as it goes, but leaving behind a sufficient number of vessels to prevent recuperation. S 76 Report of the Commissioner of Fisheries. 1916 Table 1.—Average Depths in which Fishing has been carried on.* Year. Jan. Feb. March. April. May. June. July. August. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec. 1902 . .. 1903 1904 1905 1906 . . . 1907 . . . 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 . . . 56-7 32-8 37-5 29-4 50-11 78-10 100-4 120-6 31-2 38-7 49-1 40-10 106-19 100-6 188-10 104-4 169-3 18-2 39-5 51-6 38-5 40-23 140-15 108-12 79-8 98-8 82-2 97-1 46-4 45-1 28-11 33-3 21-15 94-15 50-11 93-16 65-15 58-2 125-1 42-4 28-8 43-3 20-12 22-9 36-17 98-16 73-16 85-12 66-1 49-8 47-3 36-3 43-9 54-2 78-9 98-1.0 48-6 99-5 24-1 44-5 37-7 41-4 75-2 74-12 70-5 72-13 77-8 51-4 29-2 34-4 58-2 51-1 46-21 42-3 105-5 67-5 48-5 56-5 29-3 48-16 54-14 79-10 47-9 52-3 30-5 60-1 30-1 74-18 56-7 83-8 34-5 49-9 62-4 17-5 21-7 76-9 46-4 ... 40-3 24-10 50-2 27-3 54-6 110-5 94-9 135-1 * Number of records on which, each average is based is given after the hyphen in each case. Table 2.—Seasonal Variation in Depths at which Fishing is done. Year. Jan. Feb. March. April. May. June. July. August. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec. 1911 and 1912 110.0 1 ' 144.0 93.5 71.5 67.2 88.0 72.0 44.1 51.0 65.0 61.1 93.6 Ave. in group 1907 and 1908 115.8 40.3 75.6 ' 37.4 55.7 39.0 73.2 43.2 Table 3.—Annual Averages of Depths fished in. Fathoms. 1909 37.2 1910 81.1 1911 73.7 Table .'/.—Averages for March and April of Depths in which Fishing teas done. Fathoms. 1905 32.0 1906 42.0 1907 ! .» 39.5 1908 35.5 1909 30.5 1910 116.8 1911 7S.9 1912 86.2 1913 81.7 1914 69.5 1915 111.0 6 Geo. 5 Statistics of Halibut Fishery in Pacific. S 77 Table 5.—Number of Records given by Depth for each Year for w-hich Average Weights were available. Depths. 15 and 25 and 35 and 45 and 55 and 65 and 75 and 85 and 95 and 105 and 115 and 125 and 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 110 120 130 1902.. 2 <J 3 6 1 1904.. 1 2 2 2 1906.. 7 4 7 6 3 2 1907.. 1 1908.. 2 1 1 1909.. 14 7 6 5 4 1 1 1910.. 6 1 1 1 2 3 1911.. 2 6 14 12 4 4 o 1 13 8 1 2 1912.. 2 2 10 6 2 5 5 2 3 1913.. 4 1 1 8 4 4 9 11 5 1 1914.. 1 1 2 2 1 3 1 Table 6.—Number of Voyages according to Locality in ivhich the Catch was obtained for the Five Vessels used in the Present Paper. Year. OfP BC Bnnlrci At and South of Utt BA" ^anlcs- Cape Ommaney. At and South of Icy Strait. At and South of Yakutat. 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 8 20 40 43 28 57 85 101% SI 69 57% 39 34% 33 16 i 8 i 3% 2 2 1908 , 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 2% 3 19 35 4 1% 6 Totals 712% 74 8% 6 Grand total of voyages examined, 800. The figures in Table 2 illustrate a phase of this change in fishing-banks which is very illuminating. It will be noticed that 1911 and 1912 represent a period when both old and new banks were in use; in other words, shoal, inshore, and deep, offshore banks were available, whereas in 1907 and 1908 for all practical purposes the latter were unknown. The depths for 1911 and 1912 show a sharp seasonal fluctuation, which is not as evident in 1907 and 1908. The cause for this will in all probability be found in the relative fluctuations in temperature and the effect of this on the activity and metabolism of the fish. Deeper, outside banks fluctuate less than shoal, inshore banks in seasonal temperatures, and hence the latter are much wrarmer in summer, thereby presumably rendering the halibut more inclined to take the bait. The offshore, deeper waters, on the other hand, are supposed to be more constant in temperature, and are available for fishing when the colder weather, has rendered the shallower banks unprofitable. It would be highly desirable to prove this by observation on the banks of the Pacific Ocean, rather than by relying on comparison with the results found in the North Sea.* * A few of the references available which deal with the relation of temperature to the rate of growth, activity, and metabolism of fish are here given :— B'ulton, T. W. Rate of Growth of Sea-Ashes. In Twentieth Annual Report of the Fishery Board for Scotland, being for the Year 1901. Part III., pages 320-439 (see page 335). Shows the correspondence of rate of growth with the fluctuations in temperature. (Concluded on, p. 78.) S 78 Report of the Commissioner of Fisheries. 1916 (2.) Lengths op Voyages. The most complete portion of the data available is that dealing with the length of the voyages. In a way it is also the most satisfactory index of the depletion of the banks, because it represents very directly what is of most immediate concern to the dealers, the increasing difficulty of obtaining a yield. It should be considered, of course, in connection with the cargoes obtained. The conditions on the Pacific Coast lend themselves to the obtaining of uniform data in an admirable fashion. The voyage to and from the banks is not subject to any delay other than that of going successively farther afield. The banks lie comparatively close along shore, and the powered vessels universally used traverse the splendid inland passages characteristic of British Columbia and South-eastern Alaska. Thus it is that the voyages are made almost on a schedule to and fro, the only considerable delays being met with on the fishing-banks. In the days when a catch could be obtained in protected waters, the voyages were made with clock-like regularity as compared with those made in other seas. To illustrate this, the dates of sailing and arrival of vessel B for the early part of 1906 may be given (Table 7). Table 7.—Voyages of Vessel B in 1906 during the Period January to May. Voyage. Sailed. Arrived. Length. 1 Dec. 30 Jan. 11 25 Feb. 9 20 March 3 „ 15 „ 25 April 4 18 28 May 4 10 16 Jan. 9 23 Feb. 6 17 March 1 „ 12 „ 23 April 2 15 26 May 3 8 15 20 0 12 .. 16 3 12 „ 15 8 „ 14 9 „ 8 9 „ 8 8 „ 15 8 „ 15 11 „ 14 8 „ 11 5 „ 6 4 „ 15 5 „ 14 4 „ 5 4 6 7 8 9 10 ii : i 12 ' 13 ' 14 The first source of delay to come to mind, in considering the length of a voyage, is the weather, which varies from year to year and month to month, but which may simply be ignored in forming conclusions based on averages. It does not, as is shown above, affect to any appreciable extent the trips to the banks, or from them, but bad weather does result in a cessation of fishing and forces the vessels to lie idle in the many harbours adjacent to the banks. Other factors tending to lengthen the voyages are resultant directly from the depletion of the banks—namely, the constantly decreasing yield for the labour, and the consequent necessity for search or prospecting, and the use of banks farther afield. Any constant tendency to increase the length of the voyages must therefore be assigned to the effects of depletion, especially as the same vessels are used throughout. Fulton, T. W. The Rate of Growth of Fishes. In Twentv-second Annual Report of the Fishery Board for Scotland, being for the Year 1903. Part III., pages 141-241, Plates VI.-XII. (see page 142 and page 159). Sund, Oscar. Undersokelser over Brislingen i Norske farvand. In Aarsberetning vedkommend Norges Fiserier, 1910. Bergen, 1911. Shows the correspondence between the fat contents of herring and the temperature. The second paper by Fulton referred to above may be cited (page 170). From sufficiently extensive experiments with various fishes in aquaria he .reaches the following conclusion: " It appears that the influence of temperature is active in modifying the rate of growth by acting directly upon the metabolism of the fish and also by affecting the rapidity of digestion. In very cold water the fishes give up feeding altogether, because the ferments upon which digestion depends do not act, or act very slowly, at low temperatures, and in fishes, as in other animals, appetite waits on digestion, and this is, on the other hand, correlated with the metabolism in the tissues. It has been shown by Krukenberg that the pepsine or analogous body in the stomach of fish acts as well at 20 C. as at 40 C, at which, among mammals, digestion is most active, and that the rapidity of its action is closely related .to temperature ; and Knautiie and Zuntz have shown that the same thing applies to the metabolism in fish, the vital activities being more active iu the higher temperature, as shown by the excretion of carbonic-acid gas and other products of metabolism." Fulton kept fishes in tanks with very slightly different temperatures, and found marked differences in rate of growth. A sudden change of 7° C. served to kill some species immediately. 6 Geo. 5 Statistics of Halibut Fishery in Pacific S 79 As a table compounded from data for a number of vessels would naturally be more satisfactory than that for a single one, it was decided to make use of those for all five vessels. The variation in the records for any single vessel would thus be counteracted. But since statistics for the individual vessels do not cover exactly the same time, such a table would be affected by any inherent difference in the speed of the ship or other minor factors. These were measured by a comparison of the data which covered the same dates. Thus the vessel A was taken as the standard; B had a half of its records on dates for which records for A were also available, ■and the sum of these records stood to each other as 43 to 40, the latter being those of A. The same was done for the other vessels, the other proportions being 61 to 60 for C to A, 16 to 15 for D to A, and 21 to 20 for E to A. None of these changes was considerable in extent, but they were made nevertheless. The unchanged records are in every case given in separate tables so that the work may be corroborated. The resultant figures represent simply the rate of depletion when those on different dates are compared, this rate being present in the data for each vessel and remaining unchanged because of the uniform alteration. The record used for each vessel in each month is the average of the length of the voyages made during that month. During the later years of the period covered, the length of a voyage grew to be such that but a single one was made in the month. The following table is the result of the compilation (Table S), but the unaltered data are given at the end of the report (Table 57). The average length of the voyages per year -may be calculated from Table 8 for 1903 to 1914, inclusive, and are given in Table 9. It is evident that an increase began almost at the inception of the records. The voyages increased 2.1 times in length between 1904 and 1914; 1.96 times between 1903 and 1913; and about 1.5 times between 1909 and 1914, or 190S and 1913. This is much within the true rate of depletion, because It does not consider the decreased sizes of the cargoes or the use of new banks, and that the time spent in passing outward and inward bound has not increased in due proportion to the remainder. By comparing the monthly averages one with the other, it may be seen that the voyages are much longer during the winter months. The averages for each month for the period from 1903 to 1914, inclusive, are given in Table 10, showing that the voyages in January were 1.8 times as long as those in June. (See also Table 7.) Table S.—Average Number of Hours per Voyage. Year. Jan. J Feb. 1 March. April. May. June. July. Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec. 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 288 237 223 255 339 334 318 420 514 528 350 444 254 216 245 227 305 420 306 392 356 490 372* 409 204 172 283 198 297 314 272 297 288 327 393 359 120 104 162 188 219 281 197 369 297 299. 324 309 164 139 168 130 192 217 142 257 268 257 324 246 284 i55 89 156 112 154 210 174 212 259 246 288 262 292 145 117 153 163 169 161 161 228 259 255 372 291 269 108 115 151 187 191 160 250 154 288 289 372 327 335 90 135 143 177 181 212 216 217 272 301 328 359 355 302 157 222 275 217 250 259 219 333 344 332 368 410 569 452 214 279 307 343 214 258 246 344 376 390 410 526 504 221 218 223 206 279 351 292 362 413 384 480 410 426 Supplied by averaging the months to either side. Table 9.—Annual Average of Hours per Voyage. Hours. 1903 191 1904 17S 1905 207 1906 199 1907 245 1908 256 I S 80 Report of the Commissioner of Fisheries. 1916 1909 256 1910 311 1911 \ 328 1912 356 1913 375 * 1914 376J Table 10.—Average Number of Hours per Voyage for each Month, showing Seasonal Variation. Year. Jan. Feb. March. April. May. June. July. Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec. 1903 to 1914 (inc.) 354 333 284 239 209 193 206 216 241 317 350 337 / (3.) The Time spent in Fishing, as compared with the other Pabts op the Voyage. In studying the time spent in fishing, the days on which gear was run were regarded as fishing-time, and, expressed in hours, are given in Table 58 as averages for each month for the respective vessels. The latter are designated as in Table 57. As in the treatment of the length of the voyages, and following the same procedure, these data are corrected and combined to form Table 11. The time spent in obtaining a certain amount of catch in various years should represent fairly the relative variation in abundance during those years, but it may not be as evident on first consideration why the length of the voyages should not do so, and in fact should vary widely. The voyage is, however, utilized in doing several things—namely, passing to and from the grounds, fishing, and in suspended operations during those times when bad weather prevents fishing. As has been indicated, the passage to and from the banks is not subject to the effect of the weather, being accomplished through the inland straits that traverse the coast. Hence the time thus consumed does not increase save in response to a necessity for travelling to more distant banks. That lost on account of bad weather is, however, lost during the time spent on the banks or in the adjacent harbours, and naturally forms a definite proportion of the total time thus spent when averages for a suitable period are concerned. As the time spent on the banks is dependent solely on the necessity of obtaining a cargo, all the good weather is utilized in fishing. Hence the time lost on account of bad weather is as definitely related to that spent in fishing as the climate is stable, and must increase in the same proportions. In Table 12 in the last two columns are presented for the several years the average time spent per voyage on the fishing-banks, and the percentage that it forms of the average length of the voyages. It will be seen that between 1904 and 1914 the time increased two and three- quarter times, somewhat faster than did the average length of the voyages as indicated by the column of percentages. "An examination of the four winter months and of the four summer months in the same table shows, however, that the time spent fishing in summer has increased with great rapidity, approximately four times between 1904 and 1914, while it has not increased thus in the winter. Although the actual hours per voyage have increased to twice, the percentage does not seem to have altered radically. It is evident in that case that a portion of the impoverishment of the banks would evince itself through a more rapid decrease in the yield per voyage. In Table 23 and on page 87 it is proved that the average weight of the winter cargo is decreasing much more rapidly than that of the summer. In this case it is obvious that the winter months have become increasingly unprofitable in comparison with the remainder of the year. In accordance with what has been said concerning the time lost on account of bad weather, it may be seen that there is also an increase in the time spent otherwise than in fishing. In Table 13 the hours spent in fishing have been subtracted from the length of the voyages, considering the averages for the four summer and four winter months. This gives the time spent in passage to and from the banks, combined with that lost on account of bad weather. As little time is lost on account of bad weather in the summer months, it is possible to arrive at some measure of what is lost on account of increased bad weather during the winter, although the 6 Geo. 5 Statistics of Halibut Fishery in Pacific. S 81 time taken in finding the banks is perhaps increased during the winter, and cannot, unfortunately, be distinguished from the other. The resultant data is shown in column 4 of Table 13, and was obtained by subtracting the figures in the second column from those in the third. It will be noticed that the increase shown by this is almost the same as that of the fishing-time for the same -months, the time for 1904 being to that for 1914 as 10 is to 18 in both cases. This is in accordance with the expectation as noted in the second paragraph of this section. It is evident, in fact, that during the winter there is not a very great difference between the rate of increase of the length of the voyage, of the time spent in fishing, and of the time lost on account of bad weather. For the period from 1903 to 1908, inclusive, this lost time averaged 29.2 per cent, of the length of the voyages, and for the period from 1909 to 1914, 30.6 per cent. For the same periods the fishing-time was 43.5 and 48.4 per cent, respectively of the lengths of the voyages. These figures are, of course, approximate, but contrast sufficiently with those given for the summer. If a reason is sought for this, it is necessary to consider the steaming radius of the vessels, the preservation of the fish on the ice, and the market conditions. It is entirely probable that the fishing-time would be increased as much as possible to offset the decreased yield if such a course were possible or profitable. There is every reason to believe that the length of time consumed in passage to and from the banks has increased greatly in recent years, as will be indicated in the section dealing with the shift in the fishing-grounds. This is perhaps more particularly true of the winter, as indicated on the charts, even as early as 1911 and 1912. The effect of this will be commented on later. The distribution of time, considering the average for all the complete years in Table 11, shows that in the four summer months approximately 59.3 per cent, of the time was spent in fishing and 40.7 per cent, in reaching the banks. In the four winter months 30 per cent, of the total time for the voyage was spent on account of increased bad weather, 46 per cent, in fishing, and 24 per cent, in passage to and from the grounds. However, it is evident in Table 12 that the percentage of time spent fishing in summer is increasing rapidly, and if data for 1913 and 1915 are added, the average time spent fishing in summer rises to 62.6 per cent, of the total for the voyage. In Table 14 the average percentage of time spent in fishing each month has been calculated from data covering the years 1903 to 1912, inclusive. This serves to supplement the above tables. To summarize, it is evident that the time per voyage is not an adequate measure of the depletion of the banks; nor is the fishing-time per voyage, calculated for the whole year. That for the summer is shown to be more nearly adequate. There is no reason, however, which would prevent the fishing-time, either in winter or summer, in conjunction with the yield expressed in the average cargoes, being considered as giving a correct measure. (See page 86.) Table 11.—Average Number of Hours per Voyage spent in Fishing, by Months. Corrected for Vessel Variation. Year. Jan. Feb. March. April. May. June. July. Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec. 1902 124 112 1903 122 109 118 27 82 68* 55 44 75 150 82 68 1904 109 101 90 46 62 46 54 66 66 106 112 109 1905 123 137 118 109 82 82 91* 101 102 164 123 82 1906 137 137 145 101 85 57 84 110 123 123 124 118 1907 117 129 129 147 85 95 85 86 120 125 97 126 1908 179 136 120 126 129 129 92 74 128 111 108 147 1909 161 173 179 113 95 91 93 124 144 191 182 219 1910 199 167 218 185 117 114 119 88 162 177 177 164 1911 142 156 185 190 156 155 164 189 175 185 181 172 1912 270 220 198 175 212 168 147 209 207 184 184 264 1913 298 234 266 204 264 204 209 219 166 232 1914 233 207 220 142 183 214 216 276 264 228 216 300 1915 336 312 288 312 276 216 216 223 240 264 Supplied by averaging the adjacent months of the same year. 6 S 82 Report of the Commissioner of Fisheries. 1916 Table 12.—Comparison of Length of Voyages and Fishing-time per Voyage. Nov.. I>ee., Jan.. Feb. May, June, July, Aug. Whole Year. Year. 112 CD 3 d o >, a o a u m a GJ to ba u d P >» o o i—I U +-> a TO »a Ch m o a 2 C-l <D O bJD tH +2 a C2, W ■ M Ma to a XJ 02 IH% m Ph tn 3 o a 3 s d TO si o « 01 CH 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 95 108 116 129 117 143 184 177 163 235 239 260 246 254 244 313 323 333 400 411 477 446 36.5 43.9 45.7 52.9 37.4 44.3 55.3 44.3 39.7 49.2 53.6 62 57 89 84 88 104 101 110 166 184 .235 222 233 143 115 157 148 177 187 182 213 269 262 339 282 295 43.4 49.6 56.7 56.7 49.7 55.6 55.5 51.6 61.7 70.1 69.3 78.8 79.0 83 SI 110 112 112 123 147 157 171 203 225 43.5 45.5 53.2 56.3 45.7 48.0 57.5 50.5 52.1 57.1 59.9 Table 13.—Time spent in reaching Banks and lost through Bad Weather. Year. May, June, July, Aug. Nov., Dec, Jan., Feb. Increase in Winter. 1903 81 175 94 1904 58 138 80 1905 68 138 70 1906 64 115 51 1907 89 196 107 83 81 180 149 77 1909 68 1910 103 223 120 1911 103 248 145 1912 78 242 164 1913 104 1914 60 1915 62 Table lh.—Comparison of Length of Voyages and Time spent Fishing for the Period from 1903 to 1912 (inclusive). Jan. Feb. March. April. May. June. July. Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec. Length of voyages Fishing-time .... Per cent, spent fishing 346 156 45.0 321 146 45.5 265 150 56.6 224 122 54.5 193 110 57.0 177 100 56.5 181 98 54.0 189 109 57.7 218 130 59.6 282 152 54.0 317 137 43.2 321 147 45.8 (4.) Yield. In analysing the cause of the increase in the length of the voyage and of the greater time taken in fishing, the first factor to be met with is naturally the yield which is obtained for the work. As has been previously explained, it was possible to obtain data on this subject by 6 Geo. 5. Statistics of Halibut Fishery in Pacific. S 83 calculating the average yield per skate of gear fished, and by making comparisons between successive years. In the logs the yield is given in either or both of two ways, in actual counts of the number or in estimated weight of fish caught. The 'weight, naturally, is less accurate in separate instances, but there is no reason why it should not be sufficiently accurate when a great many records are utilized. In order to test this, the logs were carefully examined for voyages for which the total estimate was given or where it 'was possible to find the estimated weight for all the catches, and thus to arrive at an estimated weight for the cargo. These were compiled and compared with the actual weights for which the fishermen were paid. Considering that there is usually a certain amount culled from each cargo and not reckoned in the final tally, the estimates are fairly close. Different periods do not show any change in manner of variation of the estimates, so it is plain that the data are acceptable. It should be mentioned that the " small" fish, for which the men were paid but a portion of the price of large fish, are included in the tally totals. The following table (15) consists of records of cargo weights taken from the logs as they came in order of their dates, hence is without prejudice:— Table 15.—Showing Correspondence of Estimated and Actual Weights of Cargoes. 1906, 1907, and 1908. 1913 and 1914. Estimated Weight. Actual Weight. Estimated Weight. Actual Weight. 115,000 101.000 80,000 87,884 135,000 137,000 220,000 194,100 80,000 63,890 248,000 248,560 188,000 161,925 • 183,000 178,510 190.000 177,610 90,500 86,980 91,000 78,470 62,000 61.000 115,000 • 113.650 59,500 58,000 75,000 76,845 60,000 55,000 143.000 142,180 78,000 74,770 214,000 178,215 142,000 144.310 110,000 109.000 116,000 122,120 75,000 83,740 119.000 122.800 91,000 102,550 75,500 68,000 130,000 124,000 135,000 140,640 54,000 51.945 70,000 61.520 1,886,000 1,703,540 1,008,500 1,042,074 As is shown in the table, the variation of the estimates from the actual weights is not large, and in no case so distinct as to invalidate the comparisons made with their aid, in which the decrease in yield per skate is shown to be as high as 75 per cent, in ten years. The degree of accuracy attained is due to the methods used by the fishermen in judging the weights of the catches. The fish are, on dory vessels, thrown into " checkers " on the deck as they are taken from the dories. These " checkers " are pens formed by partitions, placed to check the sliding of the fish around the deck as the vessel rolls—hence the name " checkers." The fishermen soon become cognizant of the number of pounds it requires to fill these, and thus are able to arrive at the close estimates noted in their logs. The fish-hold is similarly divided into sections called pens, and the fishermen who place the fish on the ice are able to tell very closely what weight of fish is in each of these. It is, from these two sources, possible to form a fairly accurate judgment, for it is not in reality estimating, but rather measuring somewhat crudely. (4a.) Weight caught per Unit of Gear and per Cargo. The rate of decrease in weight obtained per skate may be reckoned from Table 17, which is derived from Table 16. (See Table 59 for details.) As shown by the column giving the annual averages, the yield in 1007 was 2.13 times what it was in 1912, a period of five years. This, multiplied by 2, gives 4.26 times for a period of ten years. The other two columns of the same table show the weight per skate in 1907 to be 3.25 and 2.S7 times, respectively, what it was in S 84 Report of the Commissioner of Fisheries. 1916 1914, seven years later. This, averaged, would indicate for a period of ten years an initial weight of fish 4.37 times the final. As would he expected, these two results for a period of ten years slightly exceed the figures obtained by considering the time spent fishing in summer, which was between 3.5 times and 4. One might easily explain this discrepancy by considering the smaller cargoes required in the later years; and the decrease in the length of the skate, which if applied in proportion would reduce 4.26 times to 3.40 (see page 72). It is evident, then, that there is in the yield per skate a true index of the productivity of the banks in general, when the use of new banks and all the modifying factors are included without being discounted. The amount per unit of gear was much less in winter than in summer, as shown in Tables IS and 19, being in January about half of what it was in July. The significance of this will be discussed later, although it is, of course, evident that it is of great importance in considering a close season. Table 16.—Weight of Halibut caught per Skate.* Year. Jan. Feb. March. April. May. June. July. August. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec. 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 3] 2' If 5( 5( Xi j .0 •o 59 10 S2 t5 >5 4( 2! 2', 3- 3? 1J i( >0 )9 27 14 54 !8 59 ( c f ] ] 183 !18 !29 !46 !00 !00 .17 .26 1 1 f ] ] >82 !08 >38 519 !76 !23 -31 L66 395 507 234 485 492 537 244 201 257 9 5 4 3 6 3 2 1 1 73 16 86 34 27 14 05 31 42 139 473 710 316 289 78 136 138 438 430 454 456 556 325 367 69 125 128 1,307 649 316 588 211 500 322 220 171 120 111 1,000 233 201 609 210 161 166 241 165 99 69 321 650 454 412 192 226 130 84 97 453 324 257 210 122 115 * These averages are based on the individual catches, not on the averages for each vessel. Table 11.—Weight caught per Skate, showing Averages for such Periods as are best compared. In Table 16. Year. Whole Year. Jan. to May (inc.). May, Aug., Sept., Oct. 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 455* 468 379 286 334 440 350 386 213 190 163 421 466 372 328 429 356 249 135 143 * Data for July supplied by averaging June and August. Table 18.—Seasonal Fluctuation in Weight caught per Skate, by Months. From Table 16. Year. Jan. Feb. March. April. May. June. July. August. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec. 1907. 190S, 1912 242 299 334 371 32S 439 491 417 375 32S 332 234 * December lacking. 6 Geo. 5 Statistics of Halibut Fishery in Pacific. S 85 Table 19.—Seasonal Fluctuation of Weight caught per Skate. Contrasting Averages for Six- month Periods. Year. Winter. Summer. 1907 440 294 150 106 471 190S 463 1912 276 1914* -. 156 To compare with the yield per skate as shown by the total catch on the fishing-grounds, the yield for a limited area was compiled, thus obviating the result of the use of new banks. (See Table 60 for detailed records.) The banks found in Hecate Strait (Areas II. and III.) and those off Goose Island (Area I.) were combined, utilizing the same methods as were employed in equalizing data from different vessels (see page 79). In general, the same results were obtained as for the more complete records, showing the sharp seasonal variation and the constant decrease. In combining the data, the comparative yield per skate was obtained for the three banks. This was done by utilizing those records which were simultaneous, the sums of such records giving what is presumed to be the nearest indication of the comparative yield. Thus the sums of records on common dates were:— Goose Island Banks (Area 1.) 4,415 Rose Spit-Bonilla Banks (Area II.) 5,572 East Coast of Queen Charlottes (Area III.) S.940 Rose Spit-Bonilla Banks (Area II.) 8,389 According to these proportions, the yield of the Goose Island Banks should be to those of the East Coast of the Queen Charlottes as 2,480 is to 3,332. There are but ten records in common between these two areas, and these give the proportions of 2,4S0 to 3,332, not a variation of any importance. If we consider the yield of the Rose Spit-Bonilla Banks as a unit, the yield from Goose Island would be 0.79, and that from the East Coast of the Queen Charlottes 1.07. This relative productivity may be the result of the difference in size of the fish or the capacity of the bank to support fish, which is the same thing in the end, theoretically, the latter condition leading supposedly to a slower growth. In view of the depleted condition of the banks it is difficult to see how competition for food could effect the relative size very greatly. Eliminating this difference in productivity by multiplying the yield from each by a factor derived from the proportions given above, the data given in Table 20 were obtained. The decrease is fully as evident as in Table 16, and the seasonal fluctuation is also. By comparing the months given under 1914 with the same months in 1907 and 1908 (see Table 20) and observing the rate of decrease, it is seen that the catch in the earlier years of a ten-year period would be respectively 4.4 and 4.77 times what it would be in the later, and by comparing 1907 and 1912 it would appear to be 4.71 times. (When modified in accordance with the decrease in length of skate, this would be 3.77 times.) It is evident that this rate of depletion is somewhat more rapid than the rate found when all the available records were used without correction for the different banks (4.26 to 4.37), but this would be expected. As was remarked on page 72, these banks were exploited until it paid to go farther to new banks, the old banks being fished on only when it paid to do so. We may consider, then, the difference between the rate of decrease for the whole fishery and that for the separate banks as a measure of the greater drain the latter are subject to on account of their position and characteristics. It would appear that the rates of depletion as found in the several ways are consistent and substantially corroborate each other to such an extent that there cannot be any doubt as to their approximate correctness. S 86 Report of the Commissioner of Fisheries. 1916 Table 20.—Weight of Halibut caught per Skate. Corrected for Variations in Bank Productivity. Year. Jan. Feb. March. April. May. June. July. August. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec. 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 . . 1911 1912 , , 1913 1914 i i 3 mi >S( ill 11] 91 k 3 I » 41 33 30 37 3 3 5 2 5 9 486 330 230 179 168 131 110 114 531 328 504 247 121 181 170 333 306 511 225 493 363 428 205 138 200 483 514 419 igi 157 *419 680 405 263 76 163 551 355 449 283 212 136 1,026 1,080 246 382 245 500 326 181 188 139 1,085 233 201 *343 219 53 208 230 198 76 97 324 701 439 363 198 195 96 136 95 342 322 206 1.54 92 * Supplied by averaging the adjacent months. Table 21.—A. Averages of the Years 1901 and 1908 of Table 20. B. Averages of the Years 1901, 1908, 1909, and 1914. Jan. Feb. March. April. May. June. July. August. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec. A B 272 213 374 272 408 290 429 383 368 357 498 393 549 402 314 253 281 401 264 The weights of the cargoes landed are of primary importance to fishermen and dealers, and, taken in conjunction with the length of the voyages, indicate to them the condition of the fishery. Hence, although it must be understood that they do not give an adequate idea of the actual state of affairs, the data obtained concerning them are of considerable interest. (See Table 61 for the records unmodified for vessel differences.) The constant decrease in the average weight of the cargoes is shown in Table 23, derived from Table 22, the data from the different vessels having been combined (page 87). The average for 1914 is seen to be slightly more than a half of that for 1905, but that for 1914 is not complete, lacking December, a month when the yield is lowest. Comparing the summer and winter months of Table 23, the decrease is seen to be less in the summer, due perhaps to the effect of the increased bad weather, or perhaps to the limitation of the voyage-length by the low steaming radius of the vessels. It is interesting to see how far this rate of decrease of the cargoes will explain the discrepancy mentioned on page 83 between the decrease shown by the yield per skate and that shown by the time spent in fishing per voyage. Taking the years 1907 and 1914, and considering the averages of 1914 for the several classes of data as units, in terms of which the others may be expressed, we may construct the following table:— Year. Catch per Skate (Weight). Fishing-time per Voyage. Cargo. 1914 1907 1.00 3.48 1.00 0.50 1.00 1.80 It may be seen that the catch per skate, as indicating the abundance of fish, multiplied by the time spent in fishing per voyage, should indicate approximately the size of the cargo. This expectation for the cargo of 1907 would be about 1.75 times* that of 1914, whereas it is found to be, by the actual data, as above, 1.8 times. When it is considered that there are many other * If the increased length of the skate were taken into consideration, this would be 1.89 times. 6 Geo. 5 Statistics of Halibut Fishery in Pacific S 87 small factors entering into any such calculation, the agreement is satisfactory, and indicates the essential correctness of the date. The difference is not as great as would be expected to ensue from the longer time needed to handle a skate of gear in the deeper water utilized in later years. Comparisons of other years for the same purpose as that above give slightly varying results, as would be expected. It was found that the cargo of 1911 should have been 1.3 times as large as that of 1908, instead of 1.1 times, as was actually the case. That for 1912 should have been 0.9 instead of 0.8, as was found in comparison with 1908. That for 1914 was 0.63 instead of 0.6. The results vary on each side of the expectation. It should be noticed that the comparison of summer and winter yields in Table 24 shows that the yield for January and December is between approximately a third and a fourth of that for the best summer months. This is of considerable importance in the discussion of a close season. Table -Weight of Cargoes landed. From Corrected Data, based on Table 61. Year. Jan. Feb. March. April. June. 1902 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 83,875 108,560 132,800 87,233 43,382 47,403 79,492 37,000 41,797 140,520 152,755 182,167 108,600 63,276 70,065 114,305 91,900 62,462 109,112 208,633 133,150 83,233 105,232 118,026 138,575 145,897 59,973 146,862 139,843 127,325 145,392 158,258 73,335 148,230 128,151 87,884 91,000 124,840 122,400 151,324 127,206 189,198 162,647 167,692 132,428 126,103 185,800 175,500 203,464 122,463 158,000 221,407 144,817 219,473 99,865 86,945 Year. July. Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec. 1902 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 152.400 127,640 154,670 153,550 167,178 172,521 76,085 113,400 114,392 99,828 151,100 177,695 167,633 134,000 122,056 104,223 146.953 182,857 124,098 77,508 90,000 138,000 120,739 142,618 104,150 170,762 195,495 160,340 149,779 127,078 83,422 77,815 165,000 90,705 101,675 190,000 111,702 113,510 150.237 128,675 62,365 58,000 23,985 78,947 113,288* 142,225 118,419 101,708 78,325 105,433 42,005 29,447 111,900 128.935 124,900 82,100 84,485 72,636 32,957 33,150 38,690 * Derived hy averaging adjacent months of same year. Table 23.—Average Weight of Cargoes for Years and for Seasons. Weight of Cargo, Weight for Six Weight for Six Year. Annual Average. Winter Months. Summer Months. 1905 148,174* 105,484 139,567* 1906 144,417 134,969 153,866 1907 140,591 143.740 137,441 1908 129,440 98,945 159,535 1909 114,898 83,291 146,505 1910 112,441 82,836 142,046 1911 133,431 99,938 169,923 1912 109,622* 75,833* 137,780 98,538* 42,046* 126,784 1914 77,490* 54,744* 97,781 * From incomplete data, see Tahle 22. S 88 Report of the Commissioner of Fisheries. 1916 Table 2-i.—Seasonal Change in Weights of Cargoes. From Corrected Weights (as given in Table 22). Year. Jan. Feb. March. April. May. June. 1906 to 1911 (inc.) 83,145 [ 115,195 131,142 132,064 146,269 177,772 Year. July. Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec. 1906 to 1911 (inc.) 154,660 142,093 153,857 132,633 109,900 71,705 (4b.) Number op Fish caught per Unit oe Gear and per Cargo. The number of fish caught per skate is given in Tables 25 to 28, as taken from Table 62. There is to be seen the constant evidence of depletion which pervades all the data utilized, but the comparable periods are somewhat irregular, and the complete years all follow 1907. The period covering March, April, and May is easily compared, as is that containing September, October, November, and December, but neither of these is extensive enough to give a thoroughly reliable average. Comparing these tables with Table 20, giving the weight per skate, the same variations are shown in 1910 and 1911, resultant from the heavy catches recorded from the newer banks, notably those offshore from North Island. The yield caught per skate in 1908 is shown, according to the annual averages, to be 2.43 times that for 1914, six years later, which would be equivalent to 4.05 times in ten years. When 1909 and 1914 are compared, this equivalent would be 4.07 times. Other years would give for periods of ten years: 1908 and 1913, 3.49 times; 1908 and 1912, 3.38 times; 1909 and 1913, 3.66 times. Whichever of these figures is nearest the average rate of decrease, it is evident that it is less than was found for the weight caught per skate (page 84), and in this fact is to be found the first evidence yet given that the average weight of the fish caught has steadily and extensively declined. Whether this is due to a shift to new fishing-banks, or is due to an actual change in the population of each bank, will be taken uip later. In Table 28 the seasonal variation in number caught per skate is shown, that for January being about a quarter of that for July, whereas the fluctuation of weight has been shown to be a half (page 86). This indicates that the average weight of the fish caught is heavier in winter, of which further proof will be given. Table 25.—Average Number of Fish caught per Skate. A Summation of Table 62. Year. Jan. Feb. March. April. May. June. July. August. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dee. 1902 51.5 34.8 31.0 33.7 1903 19.5 1905 21.9 24.3 32.9 27.2 1906 21.1 18.0 22.3 17.5 50.6 64.3 34.4 48.6 9.1 21.0 31.4 1907 8.6 13.5 11.5 33.9 19.3 47.2 17.7 9.3 1908 7.8 10.1 8.3 25.9 23.3 29.3 20.7 19.9 43.2 20.3 11.8 9.3 1909 7.8 5.5 7.7 17.3 22.4 20.8 36.1 30.2 19.6 12.4 7.6 5.9 1910 7.5 10.2 13.3 31.4 14.9 30.2 32.6 35.0 23.3 32.6 12.3 6.0 1911 7.7 20.9 10.6 13.1 26.3 20.5 24.3 21.6 21.3 10.2 . 11.8 4.0 1912 2.3 13.2 10.4 9.5 17.0 20.5 28.6 24.7 19.1 16.1 4.5 3.5 1913 9.4 13.2 12.8 26.3 7.7 15.0 9.6 5.7 5.8 4.3 1914 5.9 14.7 6.3 7.7 17.9 13.9 8.3 8.7 7.3 2.5 3.7 6 Geo. 5 Statistics of Halibut Fishery in Pacific. S 89 Table 26.—Average Numbers of Fish caught per Skate for Comparable Groups of Months. From Table 25. Year. Annual Average. March, April, May. Sept., Oct., Nov.,Dec. 1902 1905 1906 1907 19.2 16.1 21.1 16.0 14.2 11.0* 7.9* 28.1 19.3 19.2 15.8 19.9 16.7 12.3 11.8 10.6 37.7 27.5 23.4 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 21.2 11.4 18.6 11.8 10.7 1913* 6.4 1914* 4.5* * Not complete ; see Table 25. Table 21.—Average Number caught per Skate for Seasons of Six Months, showing same Decrease both Seasons. From Table 25. Periods compared. Summer. Winter. 1906, 1907, and 190 1912, 1913, and 191 8 31.1 14.9 16.5 4 7.6 Table 28.—Seasonal Variation in Number of Fish caught per Skate. From Table 25. Period. Jan. Feb. March. April. May. June. July. August. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec. 1908 to 1912 (inc.) 6.6 11.9 10.1 19.4 20.8 24.3 28.5 26.3 25.3 18.3 9.6 5.7 As in the case of the weight of fish caught per skate, the number caught per skate was reckoned for the same three areas (see page 85). The resultant table shows depletion in the same manner, and the seasonal fluctuation in the same degree (see Table 64). In fact, each individual bank showed the same tendencies, but the greater number of records from the combined areas allowed of more uniform results (see Tables 29 and 30 for the separate areas, and Table 31 for a single bank, Rose Spit). In the formation of Table 29 the same methods of correcting the data were used as in treating of the weight per skate (see page 85). The simultaneous records from the areas yielded the following sums:— Twenty-seven records gave— Rose Spit-Bonilla (Area II.) 3.905 East Coast of Queen Charlottes (III.) 2,794 Thirty-one records gave— Rose Spit-Bonilla (II.) 5.535 Goose Island Banks (I.) 5,811 These two proportions would lead to an expected proportion of: the yield of Area I. is to that of Area III. as 2,807 is to 2,055; but the actual proportion found from fifteen records is 2,807 to 1,920. This is not an excessive variation. By reference to page 85 it may be seen that this relation of banks is the reverse to that shown by the weight per skate, which must indicate, of course, what is really the case, that the fish from these three banks vary widely in size. This is not to be attributed to the effects of depletion, which would leave only the young, but to an actual difference in the rate of growth; for, as has been seen, there are actually more S 90 Report of the Commissioner of Fisheries. 1916 fish by number to be caught on those banks where the yield in weight per skate is the smallest. Although, in view of the small number of records available, no great significance should be attached to the exact figures, the reversed order of the two methods of counting the yield may be graphically illustrated by expressing them in terms of the Rose Spit-Bonilla Banks as a unit. Area. Weight per Skate. Number per Skate. I 0.79 1.00 1.07 1.05 II 1.00 TTT 0.71 The comparable periods in Table 29 are averaged in Table 30. It is apparent that the annual averages are too few to compare with advantage, but the groups of months supply a certain basis. It has been thought best, however, not to base the calculation of the total rate of decrease on anything but the annual average, and therefore it has not been given. A comparison between the rates of decrease shown by similar groups of months in Tables 26 and 29 has been thought permissible, the purpose being to show that the rate of decrease for the three areas is greater than that for the whole fishery. This is the same relation which was found above in the comparison of the rates of decrease in the average weight caught per skate, and illustrates the result of the constant exploitation of new and undepleted banks. The average for 1905 was compared with those for 1912, 1913, and 1914; that for 1906 was compared with those for 1913 and 1914; that for 1908 with 1914, considering the months March, April, and May, and the resultant rates of depletion expressed in terms of that for ten years and the whole averaged. The yield for the initial year of a ten-year period proved to be 3.22 times that for the final when the three areas were considered, and 2.63 times when the whole fishery was included. Utilizing the months of September, October, November, and December, comparing 1902 with 1910, 1911, and 1913, and 1906 with 1911 and 1913, the initial yield was found to be 5.03 times the final in the limited areas and 4.45 times in the whole. It is apparent that the rate of depletion shown by the number caught per skate on the Areas I., IL, and HI. is in harmony with that derived from the whole fishing-ground. In considering the seeming magnitude of the last rate found, it should not be regarded as contradicting the lower rates obtained from comparing longer periods, when the tendency toward variation found in such fishing statistics and the seasonal fluctuations are borne in mind. The averages for each month given below (Table 29) bear out the range of variation found from the statistics for the whole ground, and they show in their contrast to the weight caught per skate as given in Table 21 that the winter weights of the fish are heavier than the summer. Table 29.—Number of Fish caught per Skate, Areas I., II., III. Corrected for Bank Variation. From Table 64. Year. 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 Ave. 1908 to 1911 (inc.) Jan. 15.8 6.2 4.5 9.1 5.3 8.1 2.6 4.1 6.7 Feb. March. April. May. June. July. August. Sept. Oct 23.7 37.4 13.0 7.2 7.1 4.5 20.8 9.9 7.7 20.4 14.8 13.5 9.6 8.2 8.1 9.4 9.3 2.7 5.4 34.6 33.4 23.6 21.7 21.2 16.0 6.3 19.8 7.8 20.6 24.9 25.3 31.5 31.4 17.5 27.3 13.2 8.7 19.6 26.9 26.1 28.3 20.3 16.5 20.7 22.1 8.6 16.8 21.5 94.0 18.9 34.4 21.2 23.0 9.9 5.5 7.4 24.4 32.7 32.2 18.4 10.1 34.3 17.8 13.8 16.1 20.2 37.4 62.8 63.8 21.7 22.1 19.9 46.5 21.8 24.2 10.4 11.2 27.6 44.4 12.6 9.1 19.4 25.0 4.6 14.9 15.7 18.8 3.7 3.5 15.1 Nov. 31.0 26.8 20.5 17.5 12.3 10.1 14.9 6.7 16.4 4.6 ii.b Dee. 24.8 12.8 21.0 5.9 8.7 2.9 2.2 9.6 6 Geo. 5 Statistics of Halibut Fishery in Pacific. S 91 Table 30.—Number of Fish caught per Skate on Areas I., Periods in Table 2 II., and III. Averages of Comparable Year. Annual. March, April, May. Sept., Oct., Nov.,Dec. 1902 18.5 15.2 17.6 15.9 26.6 24.5 21.6 20.4 15.6 26.4 9.6 10.4 10.9 36.6 1905 1906 29.6 1907 17.8 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 20.1 10.1 21.2 11.8 1913 5.2 1914 Table 31.—A vcragc Number and Weight per Skate taken on Rose Spit Bank. Year. Jan. I 'eb March. April. May. June. July. August. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec. 1902, No. 62.2 51.3 „ Wt. 1560 1903, No. 16.7 „ Wt. 1904, No. 10.3 13.7 „ Wt. 250 361 1905, No. 16.5 47.0 „ Wt. 1906, No. 89.3 10.8 18.9 37.4 ., Wt. 1180 277 821 1907, No. 1 2.! ) 9.5 . . . 67.6 26.6 16.7 ., Wt. I 17: j 729 459 440 1908, No. 1 7.( ) 11.0 42.9 33.1 22.4 12.6 17.7 „ Wt. 347 U' r 308 389 430 1909, No. 13.2 3.: ; 1.7 19.9 7.9 5.3 7.1 „ Wt. 282 417 119 93 1910, No. „ Wt. 1911, No. 9.6 20.7 26.9 31.3 10.1 6.6 „ Wt. 277 400 247 151 184 1912, No. 17.7 23.3 17.8 ,. Wt. 208 336 287 125 1913, No. 5.2 14.7 „ Wt. 67 228 181 1914, No. 7.4 „ Wt. 83 iii 62 The average numbers of fish per cargo are tabulated in Table 63. In Table 32 are given the annual averages derived from these data after correction for vessel variation. It is noticeable that a marked decrease is not evident save in 1907 and in 1912, which may be simply a variation. In fact, there is no ground shown for believing that there has been either a decrease or an increase. However, if Table 23 is referred to, the years 1913 and 1914 show a marked decrease in the average weight, perhaps correlated, if complete statistics were available, with a similar marked decrease in number. What is presented in the unmodified table for these years surely seems to bear this out. The point to be emphasized is, however, the fact that, despite the increase in length of the voyages and the shifting to new banks, there has been no corresponding increase, save perhaps temporarily, in the number of fish caught per voyage. Table 32 is a comparison of the annual averages for the weight of the cargoes (from Table 23) and the number of fish in them, to show the decreased weight of fish. It will be shown later that this is consequent to a decrease in the case of each bank, rather than because fishing is S 92 Report of the Commissioner of Fisheries. 1916 carried on over areas characterized by smaller fish, although, to be sure, the shifting of the fishery to undepleted banks has counterbalanced the decrease to a certain extent. In Table 33 the monthly average weight per cargo is divided by the averages for number per cargo to give the average individual weights according to the season. In these there is somewhat of an error because of the comparison of periods which are not strictly contemporaneous. It will be seen from this table that there is a very decided fluctuation in average weight, that of the winter months being very much greater, the average for May, June, and July being but two-fifths of that for December. Table 32.—Average Number of Fish per Cargo. Year. No. of Fish. Average Weight.* 1904 6,027 6,520 4,996 6.834 8.004 7.268 5,967 Lb. 1905 22.7 1906 1907 29 2 1908 1909 16 8 1910 14.1 1911 18 4 1912 18.3 * As compared with Table 23. Table 33.—Comparison of Average Pounds per Cargo by Months with Average Number per Cargo, to show Heavier Proportionate Average Weight in Winter. Month. Monthly Average Weight per Cargo, 1900-11. Average Number per Cargo, 1909-12. Average Weight. January February March . . April . . . May June . .. July . . . . August . . September October . November December 83,145 115,195 131,142 132.064 146.269 177,772 154,660 142.093 153.857 132,633 109,900 71,705 2.386 3,940 5,094 6.501 10.202 10,131 11.073 11.292 10,333 7,535 3,921 1,959 34.8 29.3 25.8 20.3 14.3 17.5 14.0 12.6 14.9 17.6 28.0 36.7 (5.) Fluctuations in Average Sizes of Fish caught. In considering the changes in size of the fish caught by the vessels there are four factors taken into consideration. These are: First, the effect of the fishing on the average size; second, the seasonal fluctuations; third, the differences in the sizes of fish caught on the different banks and at the different depths; and, fourth, the possible schooling of fish in sizes and sexes. The most disturbing feature in the effects of the line-fishing for halibut is the marked lowering of the size of the fish obtained, as was indicated in discussing the number of fish caught per skate, on page 89. This has been, up to the present time, hidden to the dealers and in part to the fishermen by the constant extension of the fishery to new banks and the consequent influx of fish from localities in which the average size had not decreased to such a marked degree (see Tables 1 and 6). Therefore, for the clearest manifestations of the fact the records of the individual banks must be examined, preferably the older banks. It must be borne in mind, however, that these results giving the average size of fish caught are not strictly adequate to represent the real degree of change, as the records in which large fish are caught are given the same importance in the computations as are catches characterized by their small 6 Geo. 5 Statistics of Halibut Fishery in Pacific S 93 size, although the former are predominately light yields because of few fish, while the latter are heavy, with many fish. In Table 43 this is discounted and a truer picture given of the decrease in size. In Table 65 are given the average sizes of fish caught in three areas (I., IL, and III.), which are outlined on the chart, page —. The decrease in size is seen to be very marked. The data in this table are combined to form Table 36 by averaging the individual records within the six-month seasons. The decrease in weight is shown even more distinctly, although it must be recognized that the six-month periods into which the data are separated are not completely filled in every case. Table 37 also shows the decrease, though somewhat less clearly because of the paucity of records. It is not attempted to give figures for the rate at which the size was decreasing, because of the lack of sufficient data in suitable years. The seasonal fluctuation in the size of the fish caught is very noticeable, and represents what is one of the most interesting problems raised by the present data, and one which must be considered in treating the calculations as to average size. It bears on the probabilities of migration, as well as on the extent of depletion, and is of importance from a commercial standpoint. In Table 35.are shown the seasonal changes in the size of fish as brought in by the vessels without regard to the banks from which they came. These data are taken from records of actual counts and weights made on the docks, which, however, do not state the amount of fish culled out. It would be barely possible that the change was connected with more extensive culling in winter, if it were not true that the records for the individual catches show It likewise (Table 36). The average weights in the case of the cargoes were obtained bjT dividing the weight of the cargo by the number of the fish, but the records of individual catches were made while the vessels were on the banks, hence are not influenced by any question of culling. It may be seen that the seasonal fluctuation shown in the table is very plain and unmistakable. The records for the individual banks are not as complete as is the case with the records for the cargoes landed, so they have been grouped in winter and summer seasons of six months each (Tables 36 and 37). There is, of,course, a change from month to month within these periods, but it will not affect the validity of the comparisons save where two adjacent months are contrasted as summer and winter. In such cases, for example, under Virago Sound in 1909, where the months of September and October are thus used, the fact is shown in the table, and not much weight should be given to their seeming reversal of the ordinary seasonal relationships (Table 37). Even including these, in twenty-three cases the average for the winter is shown to be the heavier, while in but four the opposite is indicated, in each of them by a narrow margin. The evidence, then, is that there is an actual change in the average weight from season to season. This change, as shown by the direct evidence of the records, may be checked by a comparison (Table 38) of the average weight and the average number caught per skate in the different seasons. These data are taken from the tables for the three areas compared in Table 36. The weight per skate, (B) and (C), for each month from Table 21 was divided by the number of fish per skate for the corresponding month (A) from Table 29, and the proportions shown in the rows headed B/A and C/A. This is not, of course, indicative of the actual weight of the fish caught in any particular year and month, but represents merely the proportion of the average weight in each case to that of the other months. It is evident that the seasonal change is the same that has been shown for the cargoes and for the individual banks. In Table 36 are given the averages for all those years which have records for both seasons, considering only the three large areas there indicated. With regard to these it will be well to call attention to the age relationship. The lengths of which these weights are characteristic may be calculated from the chart given in a preceding paper by the present writer in the Report of the British Columbia Commissioner of Fisheries for 1914 (1915), page 78, using the "cleaned and headed " curve. These lengths may in turn be applied to the charts giving the average length at any age on page 80 of the same report. From these sources Table 39 is compiled. It is noticeable that in this case there is a year's growth, more or less, difference in size between the average seasonal weights. On examining data from other banks (see Table 37), the seasonal difference is very much greater than this, giving pause to any explanation based on age. This will be discussed later. S 94 Report of the Commissioner of Fisheries. 1916 Table 34.—Average Weight of Fish in Cargoes, as weighed at Dock. Year. Jan. Feb. March. April. May. June. July. August. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec. 1902 .... 1903 . .. 1904 1905 1906 1907 . .. 1908 . .. 1909 1910 .... 1911 1912 . .. 1913 1914 Ave. 1907 to 1912 23.3 22.3 18,3 17.8 17.5 22.9 19.5 33.3 15.6 21.6 19.8 20.0 24.2 25.8 33.5 36.0 21.9 24.0 19.2 27.6 22.7 32.9 27.5 32.4 30.1 23.2 24.6 27.8 19.2 27.6 18.7 23.3 17.3 14.1 16.0 17.0 21.2 22.3 18.6 18.6 16.4 14.1 20.4 13.0 12.9 13.0 11.7 16.0 15.0 15.9 13.4 14.3 12.9 12.4 22.3 18.3 13.6 13.6 15.6 15.2 14.7 15.3 12.1 18.5 12.5 12.4 17.6 20.8 14.3 18.4 13.8 17.0 22.8 11.0 14.9 16.8 14.7 24.2 13.5 16.2 17.3 18.2 17.3 13.4 13.6 15.5 17.4 14.2 17.5 16.0 15.2 32.8 23.3 19.9 15.6 18.0 11.9 18.4 12.1 20.0 11.5 16.0 27.3 23.6 28.0 25.8 16.9 21.0 21.9 18.4 22.8 14.6 21.4 33.4 24.3 23.0 16.9 20.2 16.0 30.6 16.5 21.7 Table 35.—Average Weights for Periods which are Comparable. Taken from Table 34- Year. Jan. to April. May to Oct. Summer. Winter. Annual. 1905 1906 1907 21.1 24.6 21.8 22.5 24.3 24.8 21.8 27.1 17.5 16.5 15.9 14.7 14.4 16.7 14.4 17.5 15.2 17.5 16.0 15.7 14.3 15.2 17.2 15.8 26.6 22.7 22.8 24.2 21.2 22.7 19.3 1908 1909 1910 19.3 19.3 18.2 1911 1912 19.9 1914 Table 36.—Comparison of Average Weights of Fish."' Year. II. Rose Spit-Bonilla Bank. III. East Coast op Queen Chablottes. I. Goose Islano Banks. Winter. Summer. Winter. Summer. Winter. Summer. 1902 1903 27.2-4 27.0-17 26.4-24 25.0-20 13.8-5 20.5-11 19.4-8 16.5-1 22.6 29.5-2 21.9-4 24.6-31 18.4-6 12.0-1 14.3-19 16.3-17 12.0-10 18.6' 28.5-1 32.5-9 34.4-10 17.6-4 27.9-3 28.1' 23.4-2 34.3-2 2619-22 17.9-21 14.5-4 23.4 16.8-11 10.2-1 10.7-2 12.6 19.8-2 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1914 14.7-6 11.6-1 13.3-1 14.6-9 . 11.2-18 9.1-10 9.0-17 10.4 * The number of records on which each average is based is indicated by the number following the hyphen in each case. 6 Geo. 5 Statistics of Halibut Fishery in Pacific. S 95 Table 37.—Avert Sizes of Fish on Various Banks during Winter and Summer.* lTear. Winter. Summer. Year. Winter. Summer. 1906 . 1909 . Area IV. Area V. 33.0-1 26.2-10 26.2-2 33.0-1 13.6-4 22.3-1 16.0-1 2S.7-4 Oct. 21.6-2 16.1-4 20.0-1 15.7-11 12.5-4 12.6-2 19.1-16 18.5-2 17.8-3 22.7-7 29.3-1 29.5-1 18.1-3 22.2-8 17.0-7 10.8-4 21.3-6 14.0-4 14.8-2 28.2-6 Sept. 12.7-2 10.2-1 Area XI. 1911 1912 39.1-1 25.8-S 17.1-5 21.1-4 23.5-3 11.2-6 Oct. 13.2-2 8.9-1 12.6-1 25.1-1 25.1-3 37.7-5 13.3-1 26.2-5 16.2-5 26.2-5 22.1-3 23.3-5 1910 1911 . 1912 . 1914 , 1912 1913 . Area XII. 1910 1912 1914 Area XIII. 1911 1914 Area XIV. 1906 1908 1909 1911 1912 12.6-3 13.2-5 34.9-5 1914 1914 . 1911 Area VI. Area VII. li.1-6 13.4-2 Sept. 1913 9.0-1 1914 . Area VIII. 1914 Area XV. 1909 1912 1913 9.6-1 Area IX. 9.4-7 10 8-4 1906 1908 . Bose Spit Part of Area 11. 1902 1904 1906 1907 1908 1909 1909 1911 1912 1913 13.2-1 1914 . Area X. 15.3-6 15 9 2 1911 1912 11.3-5 12 6-8 1902 . 1913 Average of years with records for both seasons 12.S-1 1911 1912 . 26.6 18.1 * The number of records hyphen in each case. on which each average is based is indicated by the number following the Table 38.—Comparison of Seasonal Variations in Weight and in dumber caught per Skate. Period. Jan. Feb. March. April. May. June. July. Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec. A. 1908 to 1911 (inclusive) B. 1907 and 1908 C. 1907-09 & 1914 6.7 272 213 9.9 374 272 S.S 408 290 20.6 429 383 26.9 368 357 21.5 498 393 24.4 549 20.2 402 27.6 314 253 15.1 281 11.0 401 9.0 264 B/A 40.5 37.7 46.4 20.8 13.7 23.1 22.5 19.9 11.4 18.6 36.4 27.5 C/A 31.7 27.5 32.9 18.6 13.3 18.3 9.1 S 96 Report of the Commissioner of Fisheries. 1916 Table 39.—Showing the Computed Ages of the Fish caught during Summer and Winter Area II. Area III. Area I. Winter. Summer. Winter. Summer. Winter. Summer. Average weight 22.0 37 9.4 18.6 35 y2 8.3 28.1 39% 10.2 23.4 37% 9.6 12.6 3oy2 9.4* 10.4 29 8 6* * Using the curve for Frederick Island, as more characteristic of the rate of growth found on Area I. t In the paper from which the rates of growth are taken, the Roman numerals denote the year in which the fish was at the time of being caught. The figures here given represent the number of years completed. It has been shown that there is a seasonal change in the size of fish, and also a constant decrease in size. It remains to be proved that these will not account for all the variations found, but the statistics at hand are unfortunately not extensive enough to give much light on the subject. Whether the distribution of fish within a bank is affected by depth is unsettled. Table 40 is presented in this connection, showing that there is apparently a connection between depth and size, but here it has been impossible to show that this is not due to the inclusion of different banks with different rates of growth and different depths. The number of records for each limited area are too few for an examination in this regard. The division into two periods, before 1910 and after, serves to separate the records from the older banks, and the data after 1910 is a mixture of those from old and new banks. It will be seen that in the case of the old banks the size seems to decrease with greater depth, but where the new and deeper but undepleted banks with their large fish are included the opposite seems to hold. The difficulty in reaching a safe conclusion is plain. Table 40.—Decrease in Average Size with Greater Depth. Fathoms. Before 1010. After 1010. Fathoms. After 1910 (Con.). 15 Lb. 27.7 27.4 35.5 29.3 20.6 22.3 23.9 20.5 17.4 26.0 17.7 19.6 16.7 Lb. 14.2 13.8 17.9 10.0 13.1 12.3 14.4 12.4 11.7 16.1 18.1 20.1 14.4 80 85 90 95 100 105 110 115 120 125 130 135 Lb. 19.2 20 . 23.3 25 26.8 30 23.1 22.0 40 22.1 45 50 55 60 65 . 19.9 25.0 21.6 13.9 70 28.6 The above table does not take into consideration those causes of variation which are of importance. The variation from exactness in the records, inevitable in dealing with estimated weights, renders it imperative that large numbers of such be used, but the depth is the class of data most frequently omitted, and there are in all only 150 records available for the older banks. The limits within which the fishing was done were almost always stated as between a maximum and a minimum, which are usually far apart. The variations in the average weight of fish caused by depletion and by the seasonal fluctuation cannot be eliminated without a sufficient number of records for particular times. The differences between banks in rate of growth are great, and are not known exactly enough to allow of correction. Hence it has been thought best to present the available records in an appended table (66) without attempting further conclusions. This, of course, leaves the question of the distribution of the fish (within strictly local limits) without presenting evidence and entirely undecided. It is a question, of course, distinct from that of migration between banks. 6 Geo. 5 Statistics of Halibut Fishery in Pacific. S 97 By arranging the records of catches in weight classes (Tables 41 to 44), the numbers caught per skate may be shown to be in direct correlation. This would indicate that every catch does not contain an equal number of heavy and light fish, but that there are catches which are composed predominantly of heavy or light fish; in other words, a catch is not strictly representative of the population of a bank, but of certain portions of it which may perhaps deserve the name of schools. However, we meet here the same objection that is met in considering other statistics—namely, that the records are from different banks. In order to remedy this, those from the Rose Spit-Bonilla Area (II.) were studied in the same way (Table 44), and the same conditions shown. Even in such a case there is the possibility of Including local areas of different characteristics. There are not enough records to allow of the study of finer divisions in the same way, but the fact that there are great fluctuations in the average sizes of fish in catches from strictly limited areas is shown in Table 45. It is worthy of notice that the correlation between size of catch and average weight proves that these fluctuations are not the product of chance, although they are obviously so great as to obscure that correlation when but a few records are considered. Table 41 illustrates the fact that in the catches in general there is a reliance on younger and smaller fish, but under the 1911 to 1914 totals there are included numerous data from the new banks opened in 1910. The division of these into old and new banks is the same as dividing them at 75 fathoms, as they are Indicated in Table 42. The comparison of the first sections in Tables 41 and 42 shows the increased dependence on small fish on the old banks and the more rapid proportional decrease of the large fish. By dividing the years 1902 to 1910 into two periods the same tendency of increased dependence on small fish may be seen (see Table 43). This takes for granted the equal distribution of fishing on the old banks. Since Table 42 shows the newer and undepleted banks to be characterized by a dependence on larger fish, it is also proved that it is not the change to deeper banks which has produced the decrease in size of fish. In the examination of the statistics from the Rose Spit-Bonilla Area (II.) (Table 44), it is evident that there is the same increased number per skate when the catch is made up of small fish, the same dependence on small fish in later years, and the same rapid failure of the supply of large fish. In it, as was not the case in the tables for the banks in general, the seasonal fluctuations in size, the changes in average size from year to year, and the differences in size between areas were guarded against. It is improbable that there has been any change in the location of the fishery within the same bank or area, as these are too small to allow of extensive changes when the great space covered by each trial or set of the lines is. considered (see chart on page 122). Theoretically, the supply of young fish would be kept up for some time after the mature fish had been so far depleted as to affect the number spawned. The hooks catch no fish before they reach a length of 15 inches, and it is probable that on the average a fish is not caught until it is over 24 inches long. This would allow the last full brood about three or four years at least before it was caught, and hence the depletion of young fish would lag that far behind that of the larger. In examining Table 44 it is evident that there is some question of depletion in the 5- to 15-lb. class at least before 1912, whereas there is none in regard to the 15- to 25-lb. class after 1909. There is no clear evidence for the 25- to 35-lb. class, unfortunately, but the fact that there are no records of average catches in that class after 1912 is eloquent of the state of affairs. It is not to be doubted, in view of the evidence given above, that the conditions on the older banks as a whole are based on the presence of similar conditions on the individual banks, and that the increased dependence on young fish is due to the effects of depletion on each local population. The corollary of this is that the number of mature fish on the banks has been disproportionately depleted on the overfished banks, and that their absence is not a natural condition, but a result of the commercial fishery. The fact is of the utmost importance in considering the state of the banks, for it must be urged with all emphasis that the future of a species ill any region is not dependent simply on the number of fish present, but rather on the proportion of those fish which are allowed to come to maturity. Granted that the total population has fallen each decade to a quarter of its initial number, as has been shown, the mature population must have fallen still more rapidly. As was shown in a preceding paper by the author,* fish from Hecate Strait do not begin to mature until they reach a length of 35 inches * Report of the British Columbia Commissioner of Fisheries for 1914, page 92, 1915. 7 S 98 Report of the Commissioner of Fisheries. 1916 (weighing 18 lb. cleaned and headed), and a comparison with Table 44 will show that there are no more catches made in Area II. averaging that high, although this was by no means the case in earlier years. To emphasize this it may be well to point out that 50 per cent, are not mature until they have reached a length of 43 inches (44 lb.). It is very evident from these figures that the longer these banks are subject to such a drain, the longer they will require for recuperation, if such be possible when adequate measures are taken to allow it.. Table 41.—Correlation of Size of Fish and Number caught per Skate, in Two Periods. Weight Classes. 5 to 15 Lb. 15 to 25 Lb. 25 to St Lb. 35 to 45 Lb. Average for 1902 to 1910 (all under 75 fathoms) Average for 1911 to 1914 (all depths) . . 37.5 (16 records) 23.2 (71 records) 24.4 (41 records) 14.4 (69 records) 18.0 (31 records) 16.8 (27 records) (12 (4 17.6 records) 12.8 records) Table 42.—Correlation of Size and Number on " Old " and " New " Banks (under and Fathoms) between 1911 and 1914 (inclusive). over 15 Weight Classes. 5 to 15 Lb. 15 to 25 Lb. 25 to 35 Lb. 35 to 45 Lb. 1911 to 1914, under 75 fatho 1911. to 1914, over 75 fathon 25.0 per skate (61 records) 11.8 (10 records) 12.1 per skat (30 records) 16.1 (40 records) e 8.0 per skate (2 records) 17.5 (25 records) (4 12.8 records) Table 43.—Correlation of Size and Number on the " Older " Beds. Weight Classes. 5 to 15 Lb. 15 to 25 Lb. | 25 to 3 5 Lb. 35 to 45 Lb. Average for 1902 to 1906 Average for 1907 to 1910 Average for 1911 to 1914 4S.S (9 records) 23.1 (7 records) 25.0 (61 records) 28.5 (15 records) 21.7 (27 records) 12.1 (30 records) 24,6 (16 records) 11.6 (15 records) S.O (2 records) 27.4 (5 records) 10.6 (7 records) Table 44-—Correlation of Weight of Individuals and Number caught per Skate on A rea II. Weight Classes. Season. 5 to 15 Lb. 15 to 25 Lb. 25 to 35 Lb. No. per Skate. | No. of Becords. No. per No. of Skate. Records. No. per Skate. No. of Records. 1908 S. W. S. W. S. W. s. w. s. w. s. w. s. w. 27.3 17.1 12.9 7.8 41.6 18.6 30.4 18.9 26.S 29.2 15.6 9.1 7.5 7 2 4 2 1 4 13 2 12 3 -8 4 3 20.3 15.2 27.5 12.7 7.9 15.5 9.5 13.2 8.5 8.5 8.4 9 8 4 10 2 5 4 5 2 2 i 20.7 10.5 6.2 4.8 8.5 15.1 11.5 5 13 8 1 4 1 4 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 " 1 s. 1 w. 23.7 17.0 49 i 18.1 16 12.1 25 27 17.6 92 7 29 * Based on the sum of the individual records, not on averages for the seasons of each year. Catches averaging over 35 lb. are omitted, as being too few iu number. 6 Geo. 5 Statistics of Halibut Fishery in Pacific. S 99 -Weight per Individual and Number per Skate caught on Limited Areas, to show the Fluctuation* Table 45.- Date. Average \Veight. Number. Date. Vverage iVeight. Number. July, 1908 (Two Peaks) .... 18.3 25.9 March, 1912 (Otter Passage and 17.0 5.9 23.1 33.1 Shrub Island) 24.1 3.9 24.5 18.2 26.8 16.6 32.3 18.0 26.9 7.1 34.1 16.3 • 27.0 10.6 36.8 22.6 27.6 7.1 39.1 15.9 • 28.2 10.5 41.9 14.9 28.3 6.3 42.4 33.4 April, 1912 (Cape Scott) 18.7 11.1 May, 1911 (Two Peaks) 33.1 8.4 19.0 4.8 - 35.3 9.5 20.3 10.2 38.2 9.7 22.2 4.2 38.2 10.9 23.5 17.2 45.6 10.9 24.1 11.1 Sept., 1908 (Virago Sound).. 10.5 71.4 Sept., 1902 (Cape Scott) 20.3 68.3 10.8 93.0 25.0 66.5 10.8 58.7 26.6 84.6 11.5 101.4 27.4 55.6 11.5 90.5 32.6 21.3 11.6 47.7 37.0 51.1 Aug., 1911 (Horseshoe) 11.4 27.5 Sept., 1912 (Atli Head) 9.7 14.3 13.4 24.8 11.7 27.3 14.0 33.4 12.2 15.9 15.5 40.3 14.2 87.8 16.0 41.7 14.9 16.7 17.3 12.0 ■ - 15.6 8.9 17.6 47.4 21.9 8.9 25.4 23.4 Aug., 1911 (Atli Head) 14.1 19.9 June, 1912 (Otter Passage and 13.7 49.4 15.4 33.5 Shrub Island) 14.7 8.5 16.6 16.8 15.9 12.5 16.7 10.8 17.6 14.0 16.8 43.3 17.6 20.7 18.7 22.3 1S.1 6.7 18.9 30.2 May, 1909 (Reef Island) . .. 16.3 12.7 April, 1913 (N.W. Corner of 6.7 15.4 18.1 28.7 Goose Island Bank) 7.8 22.6 • 22.5 39.2 7.8 17.8 30.7 13.6 8.3 42.8 • 32.1 13.0 9.3 19.0 37.0 16.1 9.8 17.0 38.5 15.5 38.7 13.5 * AU examples at hand which had more than five records for the same date, for the same limited locality, are presented. (6.) Variations in Average Sizes oe Pish from Different Banks. In the consideration of the preceding data it has been constantly evident that there are differences in the average size of fish obtained on different banks. In a previous paper by the writerf there has been shown a difference in rate of growth on different banks, but the ages of specimens from all the banks here treated have not been determined. The presumption would be, however, that difference in average size means a difference in rate of growth, hence the present data is of absorbing interest. If a correlation between the situation of a bank and the rate of growth characteristic of it can be established it will be of the utmost importance, both from the standpoint of the study of the halibut itself and of other marine animals, and it is here attempted to demonstrate a correlation at least between average size and situation. In the paper cited above it has been shown that the rates of growth are very divergent on different banks (page 80 et seq.), and that the largest sizes attained were in correlation with t Report of British Columbia Commissioner of Fisheries for 1914, page 76. S 100 Report of the Commissioner of Fisheries. 1916 these rates of growth. In considering the average size of the fish caught, however, we must discount the fact of the decrease in average size resultant from overfishing and of the seasonal fluctuations. There is presumably also a difference in the natural rate of mortality, but this is impossible to measure except after the elimination of all other factors, and it would not be expected that it would be a predominating influence. If it be possible to show that the rate of growth and the normal average size of fish caught on each bank stand in close agreement, it will be possible to more accurately measure the effect of depletion by a comparison of rates of growth and of existing average sizes. At the same time, our knowledge would be extended to banks where the approximate extent of depletion is known, but from which at present no specimens are obtainable in sufficient numbers' to determine the rate of growth. The importance of such facts in formulating general statements is obvious. On the chart of areas of halibut fishing-banks (page 122) are shown the various banks between the Alaskan border-line and Vancouver Island. In so far as the surveys available show them, the 70-fathom lines have been stippled to give the outlines of the banks. In the case of the banks off North and Frederick Islands (designated as Areas XII. and XIIL on the chart) the line shown is rather that of 110 fathoms, as that depth is nearer that utilized for fishing on those banks. In each case the most prominent landmarks from which the fishermen name the banks are shown. The areas treated as units in this work were chosen because the records of the fishermen lend themselves to such a division—not primarily because of the- apparent topography of the bottom. In fact, it would have been misleading to base divisions on such features of this as were available, because of their inaccuracy and incompleteness. Hence the conclusion must be guarded against that it is meant to imply in any way the essential unity of the areas. As a matter of fact, the records are not capable of being located with absolute accuracy.. The vessels in one set of gear may cover ten miles of bank, and hence may catch fish from widely different banks. Again, the position of the vessel is never certainly known unless the day is very clear so that landmarks may be sighted. And, finally, the exact position, if known, is not always recorded, the reference being merely to the bank and its depth, using the locality known to the fishermen, as " Horseshoe " or " Horseshoe of Two Peaks " (meaning two different banks). Hence it has seemed best to establish certain facts which apply to the average condition of the various areas, holding in mind meanwhile the possibility of a diversity within them. Even where the local conditions accurately discernible, the formation of averages for large areas would be a necessity to the discovery of the causes of variation. Examining the accompanying map, the various areas may be seen to be distinguished by Roman numerals, indicating the order of treatment. Of these, Areas I. to IX. (inclusive) have been fished from before the beginning of the records given here (Banks Island was fished about 1895), and the great development of the halibut fishery before 1910 took place, particularly on these banks. We may look, then, at them as capable of comparison year by year. But in regard to Areas XL, XII., and XIIL, the case is different, although fishing, to be sure, had been done there. Not until 1910 were many fish taken on them; hence their depletion should be reckoned from that date. As shown in Table 36, Area I. (Goose Island Grounds) is characterized throughout by a uniformly smaller-sized fish than the other two dealt with. Area III. has a larger size than IL, but it is plain that I. is distinctly in a separate class. The averages indicate what are the approximate proportionate weights. The differences in these banks are evident when the seasons are compared separately and when the decrease due to overfishing is indicated; hence should be indisputable. It is possible, however, to make a somewhat more thorough comparison. In Table 65 the monthly averages of the catches made in each area are given in each year, and the method used in correcting the variations between banks and vessels, on page 81, was used. Comparing Area. II. with Area L, all the months in which averages for both were obtainable were included, and the sums of the simultaneous records found. Prom this the average weight was again reckoned, giving, for eleven months, 14.9 lb. for Area I. and 20.2 lb. for Area II.; and for seventeen months, for Area II. 19.9 lb. and for Area III. 23.6 lb. By comparing these results with the averages in Table 36 there is evident some variation, but the general conclusions as to the relative sizes are the same. 6 Geo. 5 Statistics of Halibut Fishery in Pacific. S 101 Area IV., the bank famous among the fishermen as the " Horseshoe," is treated separately because it was thought that on it might be found fish intermediate in size between those on Areas I. and II. That this is perhaps true may be seen by comparing the data based on sufficient numbers of records in Tables 36 and 37, but no exact comparison has been attempted because of the paucity of records. The difference between I. and IV. is clear, and it is evident that the former is rather to be classified with II. and III. Areas V., VI., VII., and VIII. are known as " along shore " banks. Table 37 and the final column of Table 46 show that what records are available classify them as banks with large fish. Similarly situated and of similar character, the size of their fish might be expected to be nearly the same, and all the records so indicate them. They contrast sharply with Area I., where there is found a smaller fish. There is a distance of but fifteen or twenty miles of deep water between these banks. Area IX. (Table 37) was heavily fished in early days, and it is well within the limits of probability that the halibut have been allowed to recuperate on them. As has been shown on the maps illustrating the shift in the fisheries from year to year (page 122), a somewhat similar case of the recrudescence of fishing on the bank off the northern end of Banks Island may be found. Area IX. has been confused with X. in the records, and it is probable that a difference is present between them. The West Coast of the Queen Charlotte Islands (Table 37, Area XL) was rarely fished until 1911 and 1912; hence but little decrease in average size in the records is to be expected when the available data cover but these two years. The records on which Table 37 are based show very few fish caught per skate in this area in 1912, as follows: 16.1 per skate (average weight 15.5 lb.) ; 6.1; 7.8 ; 2.1; 5.4; and 5.3. The banks are extremely narrow, and the catches are made in reality in the mouths.of the inlets or almost among the rocks of the shore. (See remarks on " inside waters.") . In Area XII. (Table 37) the data are more acceptable, and it is distinctly shown that, considering that the data concern what is the early history of the bank, the average sizes are small. The years 1910 and 1912 in Table 37 should be compared with 1895 and 1897 for Hecate Strait. In the determination of the age of the fish taken in Area XII. (see Report of British Columbia Commissioner of Fisheries for 1914, page 80) it was found that this small size was based on the slow rate of growth, as compared, for instance, with fish from Hecate Strait. These areas on the western coast of the Queen Charlotte Islands are interesting in their revelation of the independence of the various areas by their existence in an undepleted condition so close to impoverished banks. The offshore banks of North Island (Area XIIL) are on the shoal grounds which extend southward from Forrester Island, and the records available are not sufficient to base accurate judgment on. Between North Island and Rose Spit are found three or four banks—namely, those off Pillar Bay, Virago Sound, Masset, and Tow Hill. They are combined in the text to form Areas XIV. and XV. (Table 37). The average size of the fish from these banks is decidedly smaller than that of those from Hecate Strait, corresponding in this regard to those from the Goose Island grounds (Area I.). The returns from Rose Spit, which is intermediate between these areas and Area IL, show a wide variation, small fish and large fish being caught—probably age-groups—although there is the possibility that Rose Spit is in reality two separate banks. Without considering Rose Spit, however, it is but thirty five-miles between banks with sharply different characteristic sizes. If the records of individual catches, which are given in Table 45 to show the fluctuation in limited areas, are examined, it may be seen that the bank differences are very well defined. The records of a single voyage in Table 47 illustrate the same thing, the Virgin Rocks (Area VIII.) having 20-lb. fish, while the Gravel Grounds (Area I.) have 11-lb. The data for the other records were not given in the log, as was too often the case. Other evidence that the average size in individual catches may be adduced to show the differences between the banks. In Table 49 the average weight of the fish in those cargoes which come in their entirety from individual banks is given. By comparing it with the immediately foregoing text it may be seen that the data bear out the conclusions when seasonal fluctuation and annual decreases are allowed for. For example, Areas XIV. and XV., Masset and Virago Sound, may be compared with Areas I. and II. S 102 Report of the Commissioner of Fisheries. 1916 It is evident, then, that the banks which are sheltered, if such a term is admissible, from the open ocean are characterized by larger fish, while those which are open to it have as a rule smaller fish. In the chart on page 122 these two types of banks are marked by differing lines. However, it should be remembered that the sizes characteristic of the sheltered banks also vary, as, for instance, those for Areas II. and III., and the conclusion should not be made so sweeping as to regard an area as uniform within itself. The significance of the results found are heightened when it is shown that there are closely situated banks which have widely different rates of growth. It is perhaps questionable whether the large average sizes of fish which are known to be taken in enclosed waters is due to the same cause as the increased growth and large size of fish from certain of the banks. In Table 50 are given records from such inside waters, for the most part portions of the inland passages frequented by the vessels on the way to and from the banks. It is noticeable that the number of fish caught per skate is very low; and the personal experience of the writer with halibut-fishermen in the small gasolene-boats which fish in such waters has led him to regard these fish as isolated individuals of considerable age and size. They are caught, as will be seen from the records, along what would correspond to the inner edges of the banks which lie along the shore. It is safe, in all probability, to regard them as fish which have drifted away from the banks—the chances of a fish doing this increasing directly in proportion to his age—or as the isolated survivors of unfavourable conditions. Table 46-—Records of Catches on Inshore Banks * Areas VI., VII., and VIII. Date. Number per Skate. Area VI. 1914, July ' ,, August „ September 1915, August Area VII. 1909, February 1910, January ,, June 1911, May 1912, January ,, February „ April „ September „ December 1913, June ., September 1914, June „ July Area VIII. 1905, May 1910, January „ April 1913, May „ October 1914, June „ July „ September 6.8-8 3.5-1 2 0 23 4 1 2 3 9-1 6-1 .9-2 .3-1 0-1 5-1 8-2 1.6-1 61.3-1 1.4-1 6.2-1 10.0-4 6.4-2 3.4-1 Weight per Skate. 143-16 133-1 133-8 125-1 83-1 156-3 133-1 729-1 56-1 104-1 1S8-1 167-1 23-1 219-6 105-5 73-1 Average Weight. 22.7-7 29.3-1 33.6-1 29.5-1 1S.1-1 22.0-5 23.0-2 21.6-1 * The number of records on which each average is based is indicated by the number following the hyphen in each case. 6 Geo. 5 Statistics of Halibut Fishery in Pacific. S 103 Table 47.—Data to be taken from the Daily Log. (Name of Vessel: Flamingo. Captain: A. Freeman. Home Port: Vancouver. Number of Dories: Twelve. There are eight lines to a skate.) Date, 1914. Locality. No. of Skates. Catch. No. Lb. Remarks. June 16.. 17.. 18.. 19.. 20.. 21.. 23.. S.E. of Virgin Rocks Gravel Grounds .... Tally-sheet totals . . , 48 96 96 84 36 48 96 84 623 977 901 613 12,000 22,000 20,000 16,000 838 1,093 1,028 12,000 12.000 6,073 103,685 Sailed June 15. " No fish.': Arrived June 24 (counted and weighed at dock). Table 48.—Records taken from Table 41* Catch per Skate. Date. No. Lb. Average Weight of Fish. June 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 13.0 250 19.3 10.2 229 22.5 9.4 208 22.2 7.3 190 26.1 17.4 11.4 125 11.0 12.2 143 11.7 Tally-sheet 17.1 * From the data in Table 47 the average number and weight per skate w-ere calculated by dividing the catch for the day by the number of skates utilized, and the average weight of the fish in each catch by dividing the pounds by the number. Table 49.—Average Weight of Fish in Cargoes as weighed at the Dock, considering those from Single Banks. Date. 1906, 1909, 1910, 1911, 1914, Area I., Goose Island. September May June May '.....'......'. July 'August ,» July May June Average Weight. 12.7 13.6 13.0 11.9 13.6 13.1 12.8 11.0 13.2 13.2 12.6 15.3 11.5 8.8 10.0 Area II., Exact Localities (?) 1905, February ,, March 1906, February „ March 1908, October „ December 1909, January „ November Area II., White Rocks. 190S, November 1912, October Area II., Broioning Entrance. 1908, Xovember Average Weight. 18.8 16.9 18.9 30.0 13.9 17.5 16.2 18.7 28.9 31.3 12.8 26.9 S 104 Report of the Commissioner of Fisheries. 1916 Table 49.—Average Weight of Fish in Cargoes, etc.—Concluded. Date. Area II., Rose Spit. 1908, April 1912, August Area II., Two Peaks. 1909, January „ February 1910, September „ December 1914, January Area II., Cape George. 1910, June Area III., Exact Localities (?). 1909, May Area III., Cumshewa. 1909, May Area III., Atli Head. 1906, April » July Area III., Ramsay Island. 1913, June Area IV., Horseshoe. 1906, July 1910, September 1911, July „ August Area V., off Otter Point. 1914, July Average Weight. 12.8 15.S 15.2 35.0 14.8 16.0 15.6 14.2 26.8 33.8 22.8 16.7 15.9 14.1 16.2 13.4 15.0 23.4 Date. Area VII., off Gosling Rocks. 1909, April Area VIII., off Virgins and Ganders. 1914, July Area IX., Cape Scott. 1905, April 1906, June 19'l2, March „ April Area XL, West Coast of Queen Charlottes. 1911, April „ May „ September 1912, January ,, February 1914, March Area XII., North Island. 1911, February „ June 1912, May ,, June 1914, February Areas XIV. and XV., Masset and Virago. 1910, October 1912, July Average Weight. 17.3 14.7 21.5 18.7 15.3 15.3 30.8 23.6 21.2 12.8 23.0 33.3 24.0 19.2 21.7 18.1 12.3 26.6 17.6 12.1 11.7 11.2 Table 50.—Number, Weight per Skate, and Individual Weight of Fish in Catches made in Inside Waters. Locality. Date. No. per Skate. Weight per Skate. Average Weight. Off Fort Rupert Near Cape Calvert* Inside Dundas Island „ Chatham Sound* „ Dundas Island „ Virgins Between Zayas and Du'ndas Island* Inside Banks Island ,, Round Island ,, Banks Island „ Aristazable In Laredo Channel „ Petrel Channel North of Stephens Island Beaver Passage Laredo Sound Inside Price Island . . . Principe Channel Inside West Rock . . . . „ Stephens Island Off Cape Caution Blackfish Sound Strait of Georgia 1909. 1910, 1911, 1912, March . . . September December . January . March . . . May October .. November i) December 1913, July 1914, October . . November January . October . . November 2.2 3.3 0.8 4.6 5.6 0.3 7.6 0.8 5.5 7.0 1.8 2.2 2.2 6.0 2.2 1.5 3.4 1.0 0.03 1S2 83 55 56 83 125 56 62 26 * In situations but little removed from the banks, hardly deserving the name of " inside waters." 6 Geo. 5 Statistics of Halibut Fishery in Pacific. S 105 (7.) Relative Productivity of Different Areas. The comparison of the productivity of the different banks is very difficult. The wealth of fish on a bank before it is impoverished may be altered widely by the intensity of commercial fishing to which it is subjected, both absolutely and in its standing in comparison with other banks. This is, of course, the essence of what is meant by depletion. Statistics which cover a period of years include several stages of impoverishment, and unless the process has been simultaneous on the areas the accuracy of the comparison is impaired. At the same time, banks which had an initially large stock of fish may decline much more rapidly than others with a small stock, and the comparison might result in a truer picture than would be given by a large number of records within a short time. The data obtained undoubtedly fluctuate widely with the varying intensities of fishing; they are sparse for certain banks, and have naturally a wide range of variation, as has been previously indicated. Hence the lending of much importance to the results tabulated is deprecated. The methods used have been given on page 89, where comparisons between Areas I., IL, and III. have already been made. The tables from which the averages used have been taken are indicated in Table 51, and the derived proportions are given in terms of Area II. as a unit. The columns headed " No. of Dates " give the number of dates the averages for which were utilized. In some cases the number of records used in obtaining each of these averages has been considerable, as may be seen from the cited tables. For the location of the various areas the chart on page 122 may be used. Table 51.—Relative Productivity of Different Areas. Area. Table with Data. Weight per Skate. No. of Dates. No. per Skate. No. of Dates. II Ill IV 60 and 64 60 and 64 RO and 64 54 55 46 46 46 55 55 53 52 56 50 0.79 1.00 1.07 1.35 1.20 6.56 0.73 0.25 1.18 1.00 3.54 1.23 0.51 21 30 10 11 4 3 3 12 7 6 16 8 1.05 1.00 0.71 0.97 0.78 0.72 0.46 1.28 0.42 0.85 0.56 2.89 1.49 0.26 31 27 9 V 13 VI o VII 6 VIII 4 IX X 8 19 XI XII 8 6 XIV. and XV 26 20 In comparing this table with the results in the preceding pages, certain facts may be seen to be corroborated. Thus the large yield of Area XII. is obviously the consequence of its late exploitation, mentioned on page 101. It would be expected that Area XL would show the same relative yield, but, as was stated on page 101, it is peculiar in its narrowness and steepness. In fact, it seems to bear a certain definite resemblance fo Areas VI., VII., VIII., and IX., which are along-shore banks and are also characterized by a light yield. It will be observed that, in comparison with these areas, Area XL has a heavy yield, in harmony with its late exploitation and its undepleted state at the time the records were obtained from it. To this class of banks those called " Inside Waters " should be added, judging from the yield and from their actual continuity. It is very probable that an examination of Areas II. and III. would show a differentiation of inshore and offshore banks, but in these cases it is well known that the heaviest yields have come from the banks which are not farther from the shore nor more discontinuous with it than is the case with Area VII., for instance (see charts on pages 123-125). Attention should be called to the striking fact that Area XII. remained undepleted for a considerable period of time after the impoverishment of the other banks was in evidence. It is proof that there is no systematic migration between it and other banks, and that there is a considerable degree of independence, at least, in so far as casual migration or diffusion is concerned. S 106 Report of the Commissioner of Fisheries. 1916 Table 52.—Number and Weight per Skate caught on Area XII., off North Island.* Date. No. per Skate. Weight per Skate. Date. No. per Skate. Weight per Skate. 14.2-7 15.6-12 29.7-7 48.3-3 36.1-1 19.1-1 630-3 404-11 951-4 1,326-4 1911, October 16.S-1 37.7-4 16.6-6 15.3-4 278-2 41-2 385-4 537-10 2S8-4 417-1 ,, April „ May 1914, February * Number of records used in reaching averages indicated in each case by figure following hyphen. Table 53.—Number and Weight per Skate caught on Area XI., West Coast of Queen Charlottes.* Date. No. per Skate. Weight per Skate. Date. No. per Skate. Weight per Skate. 1911, April 33.2-5 9.0-1 11.0-1 12.3-1 14.7-6 9.1-1 2.6-8 18.0-9 1,058-3 194-1 321-10 250-1 248-4 168-1 1912, March 13.6-5 16.1-1 6.9-2 3.7-2 5.3-1 6.0-1 236-2 202-2 ' 152-2 208-1 150-1 72-2 May „ July „ July 1913, October 1914, March * Number of records used in reaching averages indicated in each case by number following hyphen. Table 54.—Weight and Number per Skate caught on the " Horseshoe."* Date. No. per Skate. Weight pel- Skate. Date. No. per Skate. Weight per Skate. 1906, May 8.7-1 94.4-1 62.7-4 25.6-1 5.2-2 32.1-5 36.8-4 27.7-1 250-1 729-2 312-2 897-1 143-1 456-4 556-1 1910, September 14.2-2 13.8-1 50.2-5 2S.8-11 54.1-3 13.2-1 10.6-1 8.8-1 238-1 532-2 507-8 764-3 33-1 173-2 167-1 83-1 1911, April „ July 1907, March „ July 1912, June 1908, May „ July 1909, March 1910, July „ July 1914, August * Number of records from which each average is formed is given after the hyphen in each case. Table 55.—Average Number and Weight per Skate caught on Areas V., IX., and X* Date. No. per Skate. 1 Weight per Skate. -n„+„ No. per Date- Skate. 1 Weight per Skate. Area X., Cape Scott. 1902, September 57.9-6 32.5-4 7.3-1 31.3-1 16.8-2 47.2-6 11.2-1 4.1-1 33.7-1 1,571-6 916-4 973-1 238-1 333-1 Area X.—Continued. 1908, October 1909, February „ December 15.9-4 4.0-1 8.5-6 4.0-1 6.1-6 9.1-1 5.1-1 1.8-1 10.0-3 187-5 437-1 238-1 SOS-2 1.903, January 1905, April „ May 1906 June 1907 March „ May 1911. March 190S „ * Number of records from which averages are formed indicated in each case by figure following hyphen. 6 Geo. 5 Statistics of Halibut Fishery in Pacific. S 107 Table 55.—Average Number and Weight per Skate.—Concluded. Date. No. per Skate. Area X.—Concluded. 1911, April May 1912, April May „ September 1913, April „ August 1914, March May „ June ,, September „ October 1915, July Area IX., Hope Island. 1906, February 1908, January 1909, March ,, November 1910, April 1911, March „ April May 1912, May ...'. 1913, October 1914, August 7.2-6 13.0-1 11.9-7 3.9-1 19.5-5 7.0-1 17.4-1 7.8-3 0.7 2.8-1 5.3-1 2.9-1 3.5-1 14.7-1 9.4-14 5.4-1 4.9-1 5.2-1 1.5-1 Weight pei- Skate. 112-3 156-1 117-11 119-1 207-4 278-1 288-4 73-1 90-1 56-1 446-2 132-3 33-1 81-2 i'o'-i Date. Area V., Otter Passage. 1909, December 1910, March 1912, February March „ April „ May „ June July „ September ., „ November 1913, April May „ October ,, November ,, December 1914, January ,, February „ May ,, June „ August „ October No. per Skate. 2.2-1 3.2-2 9.7-1 S.5-8 15.5-5 12.2-2 18.6-6 12.9-4 2.8-4 3.0-1 5.S-1 2.1-1 0.5-1 7.2-2 4.5-1 12.3-1 7.0-1 6.5-1 0.7-1 Weight per Skate. 272-2 202-9 312-8 280-4 259-8 150-1 193-5 91-1 136-2 166-1 111-2 213-3 119-1 132-2 t Includes Otter Passage, Shrub Island, Haycocks, and Estevan. Table 56.—Average Number and Weight per Skate caught on Areas XIV. and XV., Virago Sound and Masset* Date. No. per Skate. Weight per Skate. Piute , No- per uate- | Skate. Weight per Skate. 1905, February 1906 'November 12.6-1 24.9-2 58.3-7 17.9-4 1.9-2 66.5-7 1.5-1 3.3-3 17.7-5 20.0-11 20.7-1 5.7-3 8.0-1 37.4-5 18.8-2 5.8-1 472-2 745-4 456-8 787-9 276-3 271-5 513-1 1911, August 10.9-1 24.6-1 4.2-2 2.9-1 0.3-1 21.6-3 53.7-2 31.1-4 34.9-1 i.a-i 4.7-1 21.9-8 7.6-2 440-4 1907, October 1912, February 135-2 1908, April ,, July 212-5 ,, December 1909, January 1,000-1 276-6 225-2 1913, April July 139-4 59-1 1910, March 125-4 120-4 1914, July 1915, June 78-6 100-1 138-7 * Number of records from which each average is formed indicated by figure following hyphen. VI. SUMMARY. The conclusions may be summarized first in the order in which they were reached in the text, and then, briefly, in that utilized in stating the objects of the paper. S 108 Report of the Commissioner of Fisheries. 1916 (1.) The Shift op the Fishing-grounds. The location of the most intense fishery is shown to have shifted year by year to a greater distance. The comparison of the average depths at which fishing was done indicates a change to deeper waters in 1910. The plotted fishing records for one period before and one after 1910 illustrate this change, which was to the coast outside the Queen Charlottes and Alaska. That a similar change took place in Alaska is shown by quotations and statistics from the reports of United States Government agents. Statistics as to the localities from which the fish landed in Seattle were obtained ,prove the extension of the most active fishery to banks still farther north. The voyages made by the five vessels whose records are utilized prove this constant extension by their distribution in successive years. The tendency to fish in deeper waters during the winter months than during the summer became apparent after the outer banks were utilized. (2.) The Length of the Voyages. The increase in the length of the voyages, due to depletion, was between 1.96 times and 3 times for a period of ten years. The voyages were much longer during the winter than during the summer, January having an average 1.8 times that for June. (3.) The Time spent in Fishing as compared with the other Parts of the Voyages. The length of the voyages is not a direct measure of depletion, as it is composed of the time spent in passage, in fishing, and that lost during bad weather while on the grounds. The time of passage did not increase save in response to the necessity of going to new and more distant banks. The fishing-time increased 2% times in ten years, but faster in summer (four times in ten years) than in winter. The time lost on account of bad weather during winter increased in the same proportion that the fishing-time did (1.8 times in ten years). Although the actual fishing-time was longer in winter, the percentage of the total for the voyage was less. The winter fishing, it is concluded from the above figures, tends to become increasingly more expensive than that in the summer. (4.) The Yield. (a.) The Catches by Weight. The rate of decrease in the weight caught per skate on all grounds was 4.26 to 4.37 times in ten years; that is, the initial yield was that many times greater than the final in each decade. The weight caught per skate was about half in January what it was in July, considering all banks. The rate of decrease in weight caught per skate was higher in limited areas, being 4.4 to 4.77 times in ten years, or, as expressed in per cent., 77.3 to 79 per cent. This would be 71.6 to 73.8 per cent, if full allowance were made for the decrease in length of the skate.) This is a truer rate than that for the whole fishing-ground. The seasonal fluctuation was the same for the limited areas as for all banks. The rate of decrease shown by the weight of the cargoes landed, when combined with that for the fishing-time per voyage (on the ground that they supplement each other), gives the same rate of decrease which is found for the yield per skate. Since the cargoes were weighed at the docks this fact completely corroborates the latter rate of decrease. The decreased size of cargoes in winter is shown very clearly, those for December and January being one-third to one-quarter of those for the best of the summer months. 6 Geo. 5 Statistics of Halibut Fishery in Pacific. S 109 (b.) The Catches by Number of Fish. The number of fish caught per skate were at the beginning of each decade 3.38 to 4.05 times what it was at the end. This rate varies slightly from that found from the weight caught per skate, showing the decreasing average weight of the individual fish. The seasonal variation in number caught per skate is proved to be very great, that for January being a quarter of that for July. In comparison with the lesser decrease or fluctuation in weight, this shows the increased weight of the fish in winter. In obtaining the preceding results the variance between the figures for the relative productivity of the banks, when calculated for the weight and for the numbers, foreshadowed the difference in the average sizes characteristic of the various areas. The decrease in numbers per skate is greater in the tables for separate areas than in those for the whole fishery, as was also found in the case of the weight. The seasonal variation in number caught on the limited areas shows, when compared with the yield in weight, the same indications of a fluctuation in average seasonal weight of the fish as did the yield for the whole fishing area, and also corroborates the extent of seasonal changes. There has been no distinct increase in the number of fish caught per voyage in response to the increase in the length of the voyages. The average weight of, and numbers of, fish in the cargoes indicates that the average individual weight of the fish has fallen. A comparison of averages for cargo weights and numbers also indicates that the average weight of individuals obtained in winter exceeds that of the summer fish. (5.) Sizes of Fish obtained, Fluctuations in. The average weight is shown to have been lowered very markedly when statistics either from limited areas or from the whole are considered, using direct data from the catches. The seasonal fluctuation is proved by the average weights of the individuals in the cargoes as a whole, by the averages for the separate records of catches, and by the comparison of average weight and average number taken per skate. It is shown that in the case of Areas I., IL, and III. the seasonal flucutation corresponds closely to a year's growth, while it does not seem to do so on other banks with fewer records. An explanation is suggested. The influence of depth on the size of fish caught remains unsettled. Although there is an apparent decrease with depth on the older banks, the introduction of newer and deeper banks results in a reversal of this relation. Records of catches in weight classes show a correlation of average weight with number per skate, small fish being caught in larger numbers. There is presented evidence of the presence of schools, or local populations of different composition as to sizes. Increased reliance on young fish is evident from the examination of weight classes, both in the records from the whole and in those from limited parts of the fishing-ground. The mature fish upon which propagation depends are shown to be depleted to a more serious extent than the immature or small. Their absence is shown to be due to commercial fishing, not being natural. (6.) Variations in Average Size of Fish from Different Banks. The average sizes in differe.nt areas are shown to differ markedly by comparisons of records of individual catches, in averages for months and seasons, and also in certain cases of cargoes which came from single banks. The banks nearest the open ocean seem to be characterized by small fish, while the more " sheltered " banks and the enclosed waters have large ones. (7.) Relative Productivity of Different Banks. The banks exploited last show the largest comparative yield. The inner or along-shore banks were characterized by small yields but large fish, being apparently less productive naturally. S 110 Report of the Commissioner of Fisheries. 1916 The fact of the impoverishment of the banks is evident in every phase of the above summary, the shifting location of the most intense fishery, the increased time and effort required to obtain a yield, the lowering of the average size of the fish on the banks, and the direct comparison of the productivity of depleted and undepleted banks. The rate at which this has taken place is definitely ascertained, and a careful examination of the possible ways of calculating it shows the correctness of that obtained through the yield per skate, while at the same time the evidence from every source is shown to concur in the result. It is therefore believed that the banks have depreciated in yield by weight between 70 and 80 per cent, each decade since their active use was begun. In so far as the biology of the banks is concerned, a correlation between their position and the average sizes of their fish seems evident, and there are recorded seasonal changes in the average weights and the catch per unit of gear. Certain indications as to the " schooling " of the fish are given. The relative abundance of mature and immature fish and the relative productivity of different types of banks are ascertained as far as possible. Table 51.—Average Length of Voyages per Vessel for each Month, in Hours. Vessel. Jan. Feb. March. April. May. June. July. Aug Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec. 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 S3 1908 1909 1910 1911 J) JJ 1912 J) )) 1913 1914 1915 B D B D B D B B D E A C D E A B O D E A C D E A B C D E A B C D E A B C D A B C A C A 319 246 219 298 298 255 232 184 240 263 304 274 244 213 370 303 283 363 277 320 329 375 329 360 310 360 337 369 348 425 394 319 262 672 271 342 327 254 258 308 275 366 320 320 351 312 280 397 328 353 432 531 429 421 516 335 450 304 473 470 220 479 376 345 241 608 469 540 464 213 589 271 335 499 480 276 403 588 508 332 405 350 372 456 360 434 45i 367 365 129 112 iii 202 198 261 228 247 340 289 286 199 242 176 340 187 400 457 334 290 274 285 330 324 299 344 336 395 318 31.4 176 iio iso 107 172 195 208 199 205 245 229 160 146 135 346 168 252 200 245 277 227 358 282 257 374 324 272 223 2S4 167 156 iio 96 126 132 114 168 165 162 164 187 120 186 211 219 192 ies 103 231 178 198 160 136 205 231 186 158 219 162 172 198 173 183 232 154 160 146 154 258 201 182 243 199 168 279 186 200 158 268 236 i6i 210 276 131 272 263 267 249 319 294 267 221 252 263 324 281 327 311 246 255 286 347 298 288 372 372 252 285 327 278 302 292 269 335 145 160 146 190 209 1.77 256 177 216 232 228 267 222 198 252 196 292 286 270 286 286 332 324 346 268 315 312 437 413 355 302 204 252 134 209 240 300 i68 360 419 298 233 369 253 226 278 229 147 227 368 304 300 280 260 244 242 305 199 275 204 193 301 258 310 426 420 382 3ii 367 378 412 389 340 403 316 429 348 374 349 458 395 432 348 396 420 576 460 408 483 569 504 452 260 216 234 240 221 293 298 463 247 376 364 303 320 337 372 410 3S8 410 493 504 275 264 537 480 384 443 426 6 Geo. 5 Statistics of Halibut Fishery in Pacific. S 111 Table 58.—Average Number of Hours spent Fishing per Vessel (Data unmodified). Year. 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 J) 1910 1911 )> )» 1912 1913 1914 1915 Vessel. | Jan. | Feb. | March. | April. | May. | Juue. | July. | Aug. | Sept. | Oct. j Nov. | De. B D B D B D B A B D E A B D E A C D E A .C D E A B C D E A B C D E A B C D A B C A C A 104 106 96 108 120 132 96 120 192 192 144 156 168 156 156 192 144 192 240 192 168 96 144 144 240 288 192 264 336 96 120 48 72 102 96 103 24 72 'is 38 66 132 72 89 79 ii 54 ii is '66 60 '72 48 '66 96 '66 84 i20 103 '66 72 '72 89 90 168 144 108 96 120 127 's6 '66 96 '54 '66 55 ii6 66 96 '66 ii3 iio 120 iii ios 120 ii6 96 72 77 72 144 108 96 84 '66 120 ies 89 65 72 72 132 ios 120 144 120 79 84 113 '66 144 96 108 120 144 144 151 ii6 72 108 96 137 96 89 120 120 90 i20 ii6 i20 66 89 108 120 120 180 144 113 120 113 65 60 9.6 84 96 192 192 96 82 79 84 120 144 168 144 144 180 144 168 192 144 168 156 96 96 ios 132 216 192 204 156 79 iii 96 144 168 240 192 161 96 i20 101 iso ies 192 192 264 113 108 144 144 216 132 240 '66 iii ios 89 iso i66 i68 168 216 132 84 96 127 72 120 204 .168 288 192 228 168 180 151 175 192 192 216 144 192 168 168 144 137 120 192 168 132 180 168 151 192 96 . 156 ISO 144 113 168 i68 iii 192 iio 72 168 168 161 144 168 204 168 180 168 216 192 185 192 168 144 192 216 216 168 216 144 204 216 156 120 216 216 120 iii 180 216 192 192 240 240 204 264 204 216 228 i68 240 336 144 156 288 180 168 240 240 i66 216 216 192 204 209 276 264 228 216 192 216 135 168 216 216 312 288 312 276 216 216 223 240 264 • ■" 1 103 96 60 '66 72 144 '66 113 120 iii 10s 180 156 144 96 228 216 192 ies 151 168 144 168 16S 264 72 264 216 iio 300 S 112 Report of the Commissioner of Fisheries. 1916 Table 59.—Weight of Fish caught per Skate by each Vessel.* Date. Vessel. Jan. Feb. March. April. May. June. 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 D D B D E E A B 0 D E A C D E A B C E A B 0 D E A B C A B 0 A 6 A SMKtO 375-4 270-12 2'66-5 146-10 263-5 500-4 787-3 226-2 10O-1 145-11 106-3 89-6 460-6 375-4 271-11 174-5 208-5 317-4 382-3 330-8 302-3 407-3 133-7 168-1 265-10 95-13 48'3'-15 302-5 326-11 454-2 181-4 176-8 262-5 287-4 238-1 333-2 226-6 148-3 217-22 164-7 83-1 117-8 136-8 122-26 f 582-11 375-4 281-10 476-1 646-5 483'-3 665-9 739-3 152-14 323-3 219-27 282-2 125-12 138-13 129-14 111-3 173-24 395-11 507-8 234^5 473-5 491-9 808-2 386^e 889-7 368-15 559-3' 291-26 164-15 206-16 207-14 170-6 204-13 299-16 202-2 973-1 1907 516-2 190S ' * 476-5 " 536-1 1909 ' '' 334-5 1910 " ' 1911 743-7 473-10 " 1,351-1 " 1912 287-25 1913 205-9 1914 171-14 100-18 1915 142-12 July. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec. 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 190S 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 D i> B D E E A B C D E A C D E A B C E A B O D E A B C A B C A C A 139 762- 692- 387-7 270-12 146-2 450-3 264-17 371-5 78-6 143-12 133-29 138-1S 438-2 430-5 454-12 456-4 556-1 320-19 290-15 414-7 414-18 290-11 69-1 125-14 63-1 128-18 1,307-10 649-3 315-8 594^-2 365-4 211 500 ■ 1,000-8 233-3 201-6 609-9 240-4 187-5 -12 161 208- 12 317-21 329-15 206-14 277-13 171-11 143^1 178-16 120-13 111-5 1.46-2 265-21 151-11 486-2 208-12 131-7 162-7 117-12 89-21 69-4 324-3 650-9 454-12 350-7 384-6 1,011-1 193-S 151-19 321-7 377-5 166-8 110-14 97-6 74-8 97-3 453-5 324-7 253-8 259-11 152-6 358-2 38-2 340-3 122-3 167-2 i66-7 * Number ol: records from which each average was obtained follow it, separated by a hyphen. 6 Geo. 5 Statistics of Halibut Fishery in Pacific. S 113 Table 60.—Avera Weight caught per Skate Van on Areas I., II., and III. (uncorrected for Bank ation).* Date. Area. Jan. Feb. March. April. May. June. 1902 1. II. II. II. I. II. III. 11. III. I. II. III. I. II. III. II. III. I. II. III. I. II. III. I. II. III. I. II. III. rl 413-5 417-2 269-13 313-7 311-3 375-1 39-2 333^1 104-1 490-4 317-2 546-6 241-5 521-1 496-12 388-6 337-3 335-7 559-3 254-11 88-3 143-9 195-4 42-1 276-21 56-1 159-12 1904 1905 1906 * 1907 341-8 187-2 347-4 240-7 212-16 lii-i 92-4 '95-5 292-2 726-7 335-4 347-8 229-11 101-2 319-3 179-1 168-1 S3-1 255-7 iiip-3 75-7 134-21 567-10 389-3 286-11 538^6 264-3 125-2 125-2 140-16 255-9 120-6 170-27 515-2 1908 526-5 ' 536-1 1909 417-1 312-2 1910 1911 1912 237-7 83-1 1913 1914 124-14 1915 Date. Area. July. Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec. 1902 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 I. II. II. II. I. II. III. II. III. I. II. III. I. II. III. II. III. I. II. III. I. II. III. ■ I. II. III. I. II. III. I. II. 437-2 Alo-A 250-1 694-1 514-17 694-1 321-5 105-2 393-4 75-2 83-1 129-17 129-S 449 134-7 270-4 438-10 42-1 371-23 165-7 63-1 135-8 889-2 931-2 854-2 381-6 118-2 382-3 245-4 500-1 194-1 336-10 424-8 33-1 160-5 363-8 188-15 106-3 185-4 129-3 83-1 1,085-4 233-3 201-6 219-4 11-1 92-1 20S-1 245-6 229-3 209-12 201-12 58-4 101-4 97-1 324-3 701-7 439^-6 363-9 223-3 186-5 195-4 115-7 83-5 136^12 95-2 342-5 322-3 148-9 281-8 154-4 92-3 424-4 * Number of records from which each average is formed indicated hy figure following hyphen in each S 114 Report of the Commissioner of Fisheries. 1916 Table 61.—Average Weight of Cargoes as landed by each Vessel (Data uncorrected for Vessel Variation) .* Date. Vessel. Jan. Feb. March. April. May. June. 1902 1905 1906 D B B C D A C D A C D A C D A A B C D A B C A B C A C A 83,875-1 108,560-2 80,975-2 153,515-1 68,882-2 63,725-1 36,955-2 42,000-1 40,660-2 47,403-2 53,985-1 105,000-1 37,900-1 29,700-1 41,797-1 140,5io-l 152,755-3 120,ii5-l 131,342-2 104,007-2 55,830-1 83,105-1 46,000-1 43,452-2 70,065-1 114,305-2 91,900-1 67,i92-2 43,653-1 109,ii2-3 208,633-3 126,737-2 85,517-2 8l',i38-2 39,375-1 128,397-3 96,000-1 49,260-2 118,026-2 138,575-2 145,897-2 42,620-1 56,500-2 146,862-3 139,843-3 95,644-3 153,655-1 160,070-1 111,840-1 108,665-2 161,887-2 73,335-2 223,460-1 73,000-1 128,i51-3 S7,884-l 74,885-2 121,3i3-5 101,6i5-2 104,826-3 89,033-3 181,548-3 104,826-3 89,033-3 123,289-5 104.i50-2 189,198-3 156,970-2 174,000-1 167,692-2 132,ii8-2 75,800-1 115,838-3 116,560-2 " 141,235-3 114,i86-4 169,600-3 221,594-3 1907 ' 190S " 141,063-3 1909 122,463-3 " 1910 1911 158,000-3 200.S14-2 198,000-1 " 217 400-1 1912 144,817-3 1913 219,473-2 1914 86,229-2 93,540-2 1915 86,945-1 Date. Vessel. July. Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec. 1902 1905 1906 D B B C D A C D A C D A C D A A B C D A B C A B ■C A 138,3i3-3 127,208-3 92,782-2 103,630-3 154,425-2 117,950-3 140,377-4 130,033-3 167,178-3 184,337-3 98,500-1 187,700-1 76,085-2 113,i6o-2 126,3io-3 79,500-2 99,828-2 15l',i6o-3 177,695-3 138,093-3 126,ii7-2 104,706^ 114,240-2 97,i20-3 104,223-4 146,953-3 199,000-1 182,857-2 124,698-2 77,508-2 96,66o-l 105,200-5 120.739-4 142,618-3 250,66o-l -85,250-2 172,i05-2 108,000-1 143,722-2 153,990-1 75,250-2 180,350-1 160,340-1 134.19S-2 181,000-1 127,078-2 97,i6o-2 68,590-1 86,980-1 76,175-1 77.S15-1 125,670-3 90,705-2 101,675-3 144,330-2 124,637-3 60,000-1 ioo',iio-2 115,000-1 150',i37-2 109,025-1 46,000-1 175,795-1 76,298-2 34,500-1 6l',si4-2 44,670-2 23,985-2 78,947-2 119,i95-2 106,076-2 132,032-3 130,000-1 74,017-2 76,562-2 125,000-1 78,3i5-l 101,650-2 113,000-1 42,005-1 35,3io-l 21,265-2 85,000-1 128,935-2 120,095-1 ' 78,150-1 1907 320,000-1 78,917-2 " 41,605-1 190S 68,137-2 54,000-1 ' 83,612-2 1909 72,636-2 1910 1911 32,957-1 33,150-1 17,500-1 1912 " 1913 48,180-1 24,065-1 1914 1915 * Number of records from which each average is formed indicated hy number following hyphen in each 6 Geo. 5 Statistics of Halibut Fishery in Pacific. S 115 Table 62.—Average Number of Fish c lught per Skate, by Month and Vessel.* Date. Vessel. Jan. j Feb. March. April. May. ..Tune. 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 D D D B A B D E A E A C D E A C D E A B C E A B C E A B C A B C A C 19.5-9 5.'3-8 17.3-3 3.7-9 3.4-3 2.1-5 6.4-13 12.7-12 5.9-18 5.1-2 13.3-6 7.7-7 2.5-9 i.4^-2 5.9-8 0.7-1 219-6 211-4 13.5-7 5.4^9 20.7-4 6.'<X10 3.4-2 4.5-11 6.1-15 3.6-4 14.3-6 10.5-8 20.9-8 20.8-3 13.7-10 12.3-8 14.7-9 1.4-1 2i.3-12 18.0-715 li.5-10 5.4^-10 13.2-6 7.8-16 7.9-5 7.7-14 7.6-14 9.8-11 2.6-1 6.6-2 22.0-8 9.6-10 10.3-6 li.8-9 10.1-19 13.5-5 9.2-9 2.7-6 6.3-7 2.5-1 32.9-11 22.3-S 14.5-10 42.2-7 25.9-9 9.3-9 16.6-9 19.0-11 48.5-8 27.9-10 10.1-14 5.9-15 14.2-12 9.8-16 8.3-5 7.7-2 13.9-13 10.O-2 2.1-1 27.2-9 17.5-12 28.3-6 24.6-6 8.4-2 22.8-15 21.&-11 12.1-3 16.4^6 44.1-12 26.S-15 19.4-10 15.3-14 23.3-17 10.3-16 li.1-18 11.0-14 17.9-12 50.6-S " 1907 1908 .. 1909 32.3-1 29.1-9 ' 19.4-1 1909 29.5-7 15.7-12 1910 30.3-11 1911 21.4-13 24.5-10 " 16.3-5 5.5-2 1912 20.5-18 1913 26.3-7 1914 13.9-15 1.5-1 Date. Vessel. July. Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec. 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 D D D B A B D E A E A C D E A C D E A B C E A B C E A B C A B C A C 643-6 55.1-1 26.V-IO 36.1-8 22.3-2 35.6-7 32.8-15 16.7-13 20.9-8 28.6-10 5.0-1 7.7-8 S.3-13 1.1-1 3i.4^2 33.9-7 23.7-2 19.2-11 25.3-2 3i.l-5 24.9-5 51.9-3 25.7-11 20.3-15 18.3-8 24.7-17 36.0-1 15.0-2 8.7-15 51.5-8 73.6-2 48.6-3 19.3-8 27.0-5 31.5-2 59.4^7 28.1-4 17.3-15 213-15 24.3-2 20.6-17 22.1-15 19.1-11 19.2-15 8.7-7 11.8-3 7.3-12 34.8-9 9.VU 9.1-6 47.2-9 18.6-1 23.2-6 15.9-4 li.9-13 12.7-14 35.5-9 27.5-5 13.9-10 9.7-12 16.7-1 20.3-10 9.9-7 17.9-1 5.7-11 2.5-8 31.0-2 26.8-3 2i.6-8 17.7-7 10.8-8 13.4-6 10.5-10 23.8-1 8.2-12 6.9-11 12.3-7 li.4^S 11.4-13 4.6-10 36.6-1 5.8-7 i.5-3 3.7-6 33.7-4 32.4-7 27.9-2 1907 9.3-7 1908 1909 11.4-8 6.5-4 8.9-13 1909 5.8-15 5.9-14 1910 4.9-6 7.7-3 1911 4.0-6 1.6-2 1912 3.5-8 1913 6.S-3 1.9-3 1914 * Number of records o n which averj iges are based indicated by figure follow ing hyphen ir each case. S 116 Report of the Commissioner of Fisheries. 1916 Table 63.—Number of Fish per Cargo, by Vessel and Month.* Date. Vessel. Jan. Feb. March. April. May. June. 1902 B D B D B D B B D E A C A C D A C D E A C E A B 6 E A B A A 3,492-2 3,483-2 6,219-2 6,457-2 4,817-2 1,207-1 3,681-2 1,471-1 3,729-2 1,345-1 1,745-2 3,279-2 2,139-2 2,764-1 1,139-1 2,686-1 6,795-2 3,929-3 5,819-2 7,699-3 5,'459-l 5,991-2 1,621-2 4,117-2 1,547-2 2,885-1 1,945-1 3,609-1 5,'206-2 3,827-1 3,503-1 8,137-3 6,12S-3 5,015-3 6,399-3 4,317-2 2,810-2 2,141-2 2,511-2 3,450-1 4,104-2 3,141-1 2,579-2 3,348-2 5,245-2 3,967-1 5,630-2 5,'447-2 4,15S-1 2,185-1 4,724-4 5,590-3 7,924-3 6,038-3 6,'288-2 2,206-1 5,956-1 8,514-1 9,347r2 4,184-1 4,692-3 7,243-2 6,128-1 10,553-2 4,526-2 3,397-2 5,865-3 2,768-1 6,059-4 5,625-4 5,777-4 6,759-5 4,938-3 6,424-3 9,151-1 5,378-4 4,362-4 14,865-3 5,095-1 12,091-2 14,431-3 11.353-1 5,628-1 12,929-2 6,150-1 11,948-2 11,422-3 1903 1904 3,395-3 1905 1906 :. 5,390-1 8,959-4 1907 7,481-3 1908 9,341-2 1909 10,809-2 " ' 7,021-1 1910 11,397-2 " 1911 9,253-3 9,094-2 " 4,812-1 " 1912 8,877-3 1913 1914 17,757-2 6,464-2 Date. Vessel. July. Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec. 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 B r> B D B D B B D E A C A C D A C D E A C E A B C E A B A A 4,573-5 6,292-2 9,'220-3 7,319-3 S.2S6-3 4,031-3 12,084-2 13,839-4 15,530-2 7,082-2 6,299-2 6,'647-2 6,39-6-3 5,060-5 6,794-4 5,741-3 11,354-4 4,385-3 7,928-3 4.871-4 11,465-1 11,006-1 7,520-4 9,500-1 9,071-3 12,651-1 12,408-2 6,004-2 5,764-2 4,108-5 6,185-4 4,917-3 5,300-1 7,265-4 7,817-4 4,228-1 4,916-2 1,339-1 11,352-1 5,443-1 11,999-2 8,235-2 11,608-2 10,007-2 8,051-2 3,912-1 5.605-1 4,636-3 5,434-2 1,770-1 2,731-2 4,5S0-^l 1,816-2 3,387-1 5,644-2 7,335-2 12,663-2 5,432-2 4,863-2 6,296-2 3.225-1 3,131-2 1,960-2 4.235-2 3,393-2 1,894-2 734-1 2,710-2 7,081-1 3,627-1 7,910-1 5,148-2 4,887-1 2,753-2 3,510-3 4,354-1 4,642-1 4,694-1 5,119-1 1,915-1 1,924-1 2.20S-1 4,535-3 5,674-2 3.06S-4 4,149-2 3,880-2 1,591-1 3,427-2 4,073-2 2,745«-2 2,902-1 2,075-1 1,243-1 2,085-1 974-1 2,922-1 * Number of records ou which each average is based given by figure following hyphen in each ease. 6 Geo. 5 Statistics of Halibut Fishery in Pacific. S 117 Table 64-—Average Number caught per Skate, given by Areas.* (See charts on pages 123-125.) Area. Feb. March. April. May. 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 .1912 1913 1914 I. II. II. II. I. II. III. I. II. III. I. II. III. I. II. III. I. II. III. I. II. III. I. II. III. I. II. III. I. II. III. I. II. III. 15.8-6 9.2-10 2.3-1 6.8-1 2.3-1 3.3-2 9.1-25 5.3 s.i i.'& i.i 2 -5 23.7-5 ,4-2 13.0-7 7.0-4 7.0-6 5.3-23 6.3-7 3.2- 20.8-3 7.7-1 i.i-i 30.9-8 18.9-2 8.9-2 12.8-5 12.9-1 12.6-8 7.4-6 14.6-5 5.1-1 12.8-12 3.9-6 6.0-18 13.3-2 7.9-1 2.6-1 14.1-4 3.3-2 8.2-1 10.7-9 2.7-1 3.5-2 7.4-1 46.7-3 35.3-5 17.1-5 18.4-1 35.3-3 10.7-2 36.9-11 25.9-9 13.'i-18 19.1-6 17.3-1 17.0-5 li.3-9 2.5-1 10.1-2 2i.4-6 1S.2-5 7.8-3 13.5-1 37.0-3 25.5-3 26.3-5 8.3-1 31.4-9 33.1-3 312-1 41.2-1 16.7-16 li.1-3 16.4-6 31.7-12 31.7-7 14.3-12 22.3-8 5.2-2 12.3-7 9.9-4 3.2-1 20.6-6 27.4-1 37.7-5 20.6-6 29.S-S 12.2-9 9.6-2 23.8-4 21.7-6 23.2-9 8.6-2 17.6-5 Date. Area. July Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec. 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 I. II. II. II. I. II. III. I. II. III. I. II. III. I. II. III. I. II. III. I. II. III. 1. II. III. I. II. III. I. II. III. I. II. III. 67.3 18.9 36.1 2i.3 24.1 10 -6 15.4-1 5.0-1 5.5-2 74-1 34.3-2 32.2-S 18.4-2 10.1-1 54S^4 16.3-2 6.1-2 12.3-5 25.3-7 1.8-1 26.0-14 16.9-5 44.7-2 32.2-2 62.8^-1 67.0-2 217-4 22.1-4 19.9-9 46.5-8 6.5-1 22.5-9 26.3-9 lii'-4 26.0-8 10.4^4 7.0-4 11.1-3 44.4-4 li.O-3 91-6 19.4-1 25.0^5 6.7-1 8.5-10 14.6-1 11.8-5 14.0-4 15.7-5 15.7-2 3.7-1 2.6-1 3.5-4 31.0-2 26.8-3 33.7-4 20.5-7 32.4-7 12.2-1 17.5-3 12.8-3 12.3-16 34.1-1 9.4-12 7.4^-6 9.1-12 7.6-17 3.5-1 14.9-8 *6.7-2 7.6-1 6.7-1 4.9-5 0.7-2 16.4^-3 4.6-4 i'i-i 15-2 * Number of records on which each average is based given in each case by figure following hyphen. S 118 Report of the Commissioner of Fisheries. 1916 Table 65.—Average Size of Fish caught in Areas I., II., and III., by Months.* Date. Area. Jan. Feb. March. April. May. June. 1902 I. 1904 . II. II. 1905 II. lh.S-1 1906 I. 18.9-1 1907 1908 . II. III. II. II. 218-2 114-5 21.9-4 33.9-1 20.4-3 23.2-1 25.0-5 1909 . III. I. 16.8-11 3i.3-2 11.0-1 1910 . II. III. I. 24.5-13 24.6-2 39.5-3 44.5-1 39.9-3 317-7 25.6^1 24.7-15 18.5-2 1911 . II. III. I. 21.5-1 9.9^-1 214-6 13.0-3 >, ■ 11. III. 14.2-1 15.7-1 31.2-1 26.1-3 10.2-7 21.4-3 1912 I. 10.2-1 10.9-8 il.5-8 1913 1914 . II. III. I. II. III. I. 27.8-3 10.7-2 14.3-2 8.3-6 11.0-5 10.4U 10.7-2 13.2-1 8.5-9 34.0-2 12.0-4 " II. III. •12.1-1 11.2-1 li.8-1 Date. Area. July. Aug. Sept. Oct. 1 Nov. Dec. Average.! 1902.. I. II. 19.8-2 29.5-2 27.2-4 19.8 27.9 1904.. II. 20.4-3 29.3-4 25.5 1905. . II. 18.8 1906.. I. 14.7-3 12.6-2 14.7 ■ • II. 22.9-7 29.9-10 ■ 26.1 III. 12.9-1 28.5-1 25.1 1907.. II. 20.4 190S.. II. 31.2-16 21.7-2 13.2-3 26.6-12 28.6-6 25.4 ,. . . III. 42.5-1 31.3-8 32.8 1909.. I. 16.3 „ . . II. 15.9-3 16.4-1 24.1-3 23.5 . . III. 26.4-4 29.2 1910.. I. 13.3-1 13.3 . . II. 12.0-1 13.9-1 li.1-3 13.5 '} III. 24.4 1911.. I. 11.1-2 15.4-2 29.8-1 14.6 „ . . II. 21.3-3 15.1.-9 20.4-5 19.1-2 28.1-2 16.6 .,, . . III. 16.7-7 14.6-8 12.3-3 17.8 1912.. I. 11.5-2 11.2 II. 18.2-11 12.2-4 li.9-3 1S.1-2 17.3 ,, . . III. 14.4-S 13.0-2 14.1 1913.. I. 9.1 „ ■ • II. 12.8-1 15.4-2 16.5-1 12.4 ,, . . III. 10.S-1 27.9-3 20.3 1914.. I. 7.2-4 9.2 5) " • II. 11.9-3 10.4-1 11.6 ., .. III. 15.5-3 15.5 * Number of records on which each average is based indicated by figure following hyphen in each case. f Based on the sum of individual records, not on monthly averages. 6 Geo. 5 Statistics of Halibut Fishery in Pacific. S 119 Table 66.—Average Weights of Fish and Depths at which caught on Various Banks. Date. Depth, Weight, Fathoms. Lb. North-west Corner, Goose Island. 1906, May . 1912, March 1913, April . May Gravel Grounds, Goose Island. 1906, Sept. 1909, June 1914, May . South-east Corner, Goose Island. 1906, Aug. . 1909, March 1912, Mav . . Cape Scott. 1902, Sept Oct. 1906, June Sept. 1909, March 1911, Mav . 1913, April . Horseshoe. 1909, Aug. 1911, „ Vicinity of Otter Passage. 1912, June March Inside Gulley, North Island. 1910, Jan. 51 56 53 52-56 51 52-56 51 51 51 51 58 57-67 28-41 30-38 32-60 42 65 60 60 45-55 48-6S 60 58-65 45-65 45-50 48 40-54 33-38 33-45 33-48 30 39-^9 48-60 30^0 50-65 60-75 55-90 55-90 120-45 50-120 105 70 18.9 10.2 6.7 7.8 7.8 8.3 9.3 7.0 9.3 10.9 12.0 13.2 11.0 8.9 16.5 20.5 8.6 20.3 26.6 37.0 22.6 25.2 31.4 35.5 15.2 15.3 15.3 15.3 21.3 23.0 22.3 12.0 20.9 16.0 14.0 13.7 14.7 17.6 24.1 26.9 28.2 23.4 29.1 Inside Gulley, North Island—Concluded. 1910, Jan. Feb. April Tico Peaks. 1904, Nov. 191.1, May Sept. . 1912, March Sept White Rocks. 1902, Sept. Oct. 1904, Nov. 1906, May 1909, Nov. Reef Island. 1909, March „ April May 1910, 1911, " 1912, Sept. 1913, May 1910, May 1911, March Atli Head. 1909, Feb May 85-95 200 50-60 80-106 100-200 120 140-180 40-45 35 25^10 16-30 16-30 38 15-57 48-70 90 90 18-40 45-55 40 26-30 11-14 35 14-20 15-50 40-80 20-25 17-25 15 17-19 16-17 16-17 15 19-21 17 15-17 17-24 52-60 18 17-20 16 17 14 15 20-25 30 20-30 17 18-40 33.4 16.5 18.4 30.2 31.2 12.2 12.6 26.1 8.4 9.5 9.7 10.9 10.9 11.4 20.0 26.3 29.5 8.6 28.5 31.0 33.7 32.8 13.2 29.7 39.0 45.0 26.1 29.8 32.6 16.3 18.1 22.5 38.5 27.5 28.0 16.6 17.1' 14.8 13.2 20.0 22.2 24.2 24.4 31.2 31.3 42.5 44 8 17.2 19.6 S 120 Report of the Commissioner of Fisheries. 1916 Table 66.—Average Weights of Fish, etc.—Concluded. Date. Atli Head—Concluded. 1911, Sept „ Oct 1912, Aug Depth, Fathoms. Weight, Lb. Sept. Oct. Flat Grounds North of Skidegate. 1906, Dec 1909, May Cape. George. 1902, Sept 1904, Oct „ Nov 1905, May 35 45-50 35 35-50 35 35 30-48 50-53 52-56 52 52 43-56 54 44-62 51 51 8-16 20-24 25-30 35-75 25-33 25 17.5 13.6 16.7 16.8 18.7 18.9 12.2 9.7 11.7 12.2 14.2 14.9 15.6 21.9 12.3 13.7 28.5 14.5 30.5 13.0 31.1 18.8 Date. Depth, Fathoms. Weight, Lb. Cape George—Con. 1906, Oct „ Nov 1907, Jan 1909, June Nov 1911, Aug Rose Spit. 1902, Oct 1904, „ " Nov 1906, „ JJ 11 1908, March .'. 1909, Jan 11 it 1911, Sept 7.7." 28-35 28-45 30-45 40 11 30 30 16-65 35-60 50-55 13-20 30-65 30-70 24-30 18 50 48-70 75 15-60 40-60 25-55 20-50 17.3 23.1 25.8 19.3 29.3 15.0 14.6 25.1 23.6 25.6 26.1 41.0 43.4 48.0 22.7 13.8 15.6 16.7 17.6 18.7 10.3 14.2 it Geo. 5 Statistics of Halibut Fishery in Pacific. S 121 0 0 m $ o j (-•J >c*~ X 'L 9% t\- ^ £ 1 A I ■"?•' s^ *a! Iii 83 3 2 0 S 122 Report of the Commissioner of Fisheries. 1916 6 Geo. 5 Statistics of Halibut Fishery in Pacific. S 123 xy^vj / XON FISHING RECORDS during WINTERS OF 1907 AND 1908 Off the Coast of L- BRITISH COLUMBIA Areas designated by Roman Numerals are treated in the Text. Fast-Growing, or Large .Sloiv-Growing, or Small Drawn bg Will F. Thompson S 124 Report of the Commissioner of Fisheries. 1916 \^ %J / XOrW FISHING RECORDS during ■ SUMMERS OF 1907 AW 1908 Off the Coast of BRITISH COLUMBIA f designated bp Roman Numerals ire. treated in the Text. . Fast-Growing, or Large . Slow-Growing, or Small Drawn by WW F. Thompson 6 Geo. 5 Statistics of Halibut Fishery in Pacific. S 125 \^ ^ / XON FISHING RECORDS during WINTERS OF 1911 AND 1912 Off the Coast of BRITISH COLUMBIA Areas designated bp Roman Numerals are treated in the Text. .Fast-Growing, or Large . Slow-Growing, or Small Drawn bp Will F. Thompson S 126 Report of the Commissioner of Fisheries. 1916 \^ M / XON SHING RECORDS during SUMMERS OF 1911 AND 1912 Off the Coast of BRITISH COLUMBIA Areas designated bo Roman Numerals are treated in the Text. -Fast-Growing, or Large .Slow-Growing, or Small Drawn bp Will F. Thompson 6 Geo. 5 Sporozoan Parasite of the Halibut. S 127 A NOTE ON A SPOROZOAN PARASITE OF THE HALIBUT. By William F. Thompson, or Stanford University. In considering the cause of what is known as " mushy " halibut among the fishermen, certain facts have come to light which may be recorded, although the investigation is not complete. They possess importance as steps towards an adequate knowledge of a subject difficult of approach. The work has been done in the laboratories of Stanford University, and the writer is under obligations to Dr. C. H. Gilbert for permission to do this, and also for calling attention to the problem. " Mushy " halibut are usually understood to mean those fish which are discarded by the dealers because of their softness. The number thus culled varies widely during the seasons, and also, according to the fishermen, between cargoes of vessels which have fished on the same grounds. It is said that the banks off the coast of Oregon yield an especially large percentage of this " mushy " halibut. In the course of the work the culling of a number of cargoes was witnessed. It was evident that under the head of " culls " there were included several different types—namely, those which were " white-meated "; those which were " yellow," or slightly spoiled; those which were " mushy "; and those which were " wormy." A fish which was in an advanced state of " mushiness " was termed " milky." In observing the culling at various establishments in the United States and Canada, it became evident that methods were used which varied widely, the proportion of fish which were culled on account of being " wormy " forming, however, but a small part of the total. It is not the purpose here to discuss other than the " mushy " and " wormy " halibut. The so-called " wormy " halibut are rare, relatively speaking, in proportion to the total culls, but are readily discovered by cutting into the flesh, as is done by the cullers. Thus far no cases have been observed in which a " wormy" or parasitized halibut was " milky" or " mushy," and the two types may be distinguished sharply by their appearance. There is no external evidence of the infection by the parasite which causes " worminess." A cut through the trunk muscles parallel to the grain exposes the parasites as silvery threads lying among the muscle-fibres. These threads lie with the fibres in a regular way, and extend from septum to septum of the myomeres, but not through them. The muscles of the head are apparently less liable to infection than those of the trunk, and usually none are to he seen in the head of even a heavily infected specimen. The density of infection varies somewhat in different individuals. Plate 1,* Fig. 1, a photo-micrograph of a cross-section of a portion of muscle, enlarged eighteen times, gives some idea of the size of the threads as compared to the muscle-fibres, and of the density of infection. These threads vary between 0.20 and 0.30 mm. in diameter, four or five times that of the fibres. In Plate 1, Fig. 2, is a cross-section of a single thread, enlarged about 185 times. It will be seen that the thread is actually a tube-like structure, containing a mass of fine granule-like bodies with an envelope formed by the fibrillse of the muscle, within which the parasite exists. The muscle-fibres are not degenerate in any way, the striations being as perfectly evident as in adjacent fibres. In Plate 3, Figs. A and B, are given reconstructions of the ends of two of these threads. It will he noticed that the threads are formed of several cysts or trophozoites disposed in no definite order—end to end or side by side. Small projections are frequent. The material when found on the wharves was not in the best possible condition, and, pending the discovery of specimens when freshly caught, the minute structure of the parasite is given in a provisional way. The sections which were made were stained in Hansen's iron haematoxylin and counterstained with eosin. There is no definite wall to the tubule, or trophozoite, the substance of the limiting layer being continuous with a reticulum which extends into the interior. Occasionally (Plate 3, Fig. 9) there may be seen a densely staining layer on the external surface, but this appears to be either an atrophied portion of muscle or a decomposition product, and not found over the whole tubule. In the meshes of the reticulum may be found various types of bodies. The more frequent ones along the immediate periphery are small bodies (0.001 mm. or less in diameter) which stain black with iron hematoxylin (Plate 3, Fig. 6). These appear to be * Plates referred to follow the text. S 128 Report of the Commissioner of Fisheries. 1916 surrounded with clear zones of protoplasm at times, and may be individual cells. The larger bodies, which may be termed spores until more is known about them, are about 0.003 mm. in diameter, are destitute of a spore-capsule, and apparently compound. There is always present a large eosinophyle body (Plate 3, Figs. 1 to 8), but whether there are more than the one in any case remains to be seen. This large body (polar capsule?) lies to one side, and in the crescent thus left are found nuclear-like bodies somewhat similar to those found in the periphery of the tubule. Occasionally (Plate 3, Fig. 3) it would seem undeniable that each of these is surrounded by its own zone of cytoplasm, and that there is in this case really a set of small cells partially wrapping the large eosinophyle body. Vacuoles which are sometimes present may indicate the commencement of degeneration, due to preservation so long after the death of the halibut (Plate 3, Figs. 2 and 4, ca.). In the centre of the tubule these spores seem to be surrounded by less reticulum than on the periphery. The great similarity between the tubules would indicate that the parasites had reached a definite stage in which they had halted, and that the infection was not progressing. This is. supported by the fact that all the fish affected were healthy specimens, as far as could be ascertained, and that the examination of "sick" fish when first caught does not show the presence of the parasite. In considering this, there may be mentioned a very curious modification of the muscle-fibre in which the parasite lies. In Plate 3, Fig. A, is given a drawing of a portion of a thread.. Around this, toward one end of the section shown, may be seen a band of fibrillse, like a sphincter muscle, outside of the longitudinal, fibrillse. In Plate 1, Fig. 3, is given a photo-micrograph of a cross-section of the same thread, in which the circular course of the fibrillse may be easily traced. Careful examination of these fibres show that they are definitely striated, as distinctly as the muscles in any other part of the section. The tubules seem to show the evidences of past constrictions. The origin of these circular fibrillse is obscure, of course, and no theory is. advanced to account for them. They are not present in any case in normal muscle-fibres, as. has been carefully ascertained. The conclusion which must be drawn from their presence is. that they are modifications produced by the presence of the parasites, and this indicates the probability that the parasitized tissues have not been vitally injured. It would seem that some time would be necessary for the production of such a reaction. In examining the " mushy " halibut, a spore was found which may or may not be the cause of that condition. It is evidently from a sporozoon. Its shape is somewhat like that of a four-pointed star, with four polar capsules. The investigation of this has not gone far enough to enable a connection to be made between it and the sporozoan responsible for the "wormy" condition. It is also not at all easily decided whether the "mushy" and "milky" fish are- the results of sporozoan or of bacterial infection. The inability of fishermen, as well as the writer, to distinguish mushy fish when freshly caught would seem to require explanation. Plate 2, Figs. 1 and 2, are photographs of slices made of a "milky" halibut after hardening in formaldehyde. It has been thought best to refrain from discussion of the systematic relationships of the species or the stages represented until more is known of the life-history. It is hoped that what is here described will be of use to workers in this field, and that it will be amplified by further work. The material is hard to obtain in good condition, and the study of the life-history may be slow to progress. Explanation of Plates. Plate 1. Cross-sections of Parasitized Tissue. Fig. 1. Showing density of infection, enlarged 24 times. Fig. 2. A single tubule, enlarged 185 times. Fig. 3. A tubule showing the circular muscle fibrillse, enlarged about 225 times. Plate 2. Slices of " Milky " Halibut, after Hardening in Formaldehyde, showing White Areas of " Milk." Fig. 1. Transverse section of trunk. The cavity between the three crosses is a typical result of advanced infection. Fig. 2. Sagittal section of trunk muscles. *&".<£». *# Fi g u re I Figure 2 ■tqur€i ^». Plate 1. - rai-» "WP**-*^ m„ i ii HiTfiMlii^BJWra^ Ik. ■ £lw^ki*-"..~',- r'!L ■ H^'J»wriuLm 1 I^^^^^J ^gg Figure i ■ni w?™*£* ;M 'PiKll mmf\m£ ^JmJm ' XtM fafafafafafafafafafafafafafafafafafafafaHfafafafafafafafafafafafafafafafafafafafafafafafaK* ^L * ^p ..fafafafafafafafafafafafafafafafafal .j^fal HAJi p» J^flS ""^VEHh v^B ■ I, 7 *■■., i9 ^■Hyg^^^^a^* -Figune2 Plate 2. >• WM 9 7 ■s. A i' &•*■ ■'•.■* .si -. ■ -mi Figure A Fig ure B Plate 3. 6 Geo. 5 Sporozoan Parasite of the Halibut. S 129 Plate 3. Reconstruction from Series of Sections of the Threads of Infected Tissue. Fig. A. Thread with several tubules side by side, enlarged about 70 time's. sph, sphincter fibrillse. Fig. B. Thread with tubules lying end to end. Figs. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, and S. Spores of varying appearance. Figs. 2 and 4 may be degenerating, as shown by the vacuoles; 5 has its capsule of small bodies apparently loosened or not yet in final position; 8 represents the usual type of spore, and by far the most abundant. Fig. 6. A small body from the periphery of the trophozoite. Fig. 9. A portion of the periphery of the trophozoite, showing the false (?) external envelope and the striated muscles. cap, capsule of small cells (?). e, large eosinophyle body. mf, striated muscle, ret, reticulum, v, vacuoles. S 130 Report of the Commissioner of Fisheries. 1916 THE PROBLEM OF THE HALIBUT.* By William F. Thompson, British Columbia Fisheries Department. One of the chief problems confronting fishery authorities on the Pacific Coast is that of the halibut. Second only to the salmon in value, the landings during 1914 at Pacific Coast ports are estimatedf at over 64,000,000 lb., an apparent increase over 1913 of 9,000,000 lb. It is believed that the figures for 1915 will show little or no falling-off,!: though there is a general conviction amongst those interested in the industry that the halibut is being depleted. This conviction is ■based upon the fact that the length of time required to complete a catch is longer than formerly, that the fishing-vessels must proceed to more distant banks, that on various well-known banks the fish are no longer abundant and are growing scarcer. Sea Fisheries are exhaustible. It is not generally recognized that sea fisheries are exhaustible, and it is urgently necessary, in the case of the halibut, to know what vitality there is behind the tremendous yield, and what measures may be taken to care for it. The real value of a species must be measured only in terms of what it is capable of yielding without damage to itself, and it behoves us to ascertain whether the present catch is a normal yield, or made at the expense of the future existence of the halibut; in other words, whether we are using the interest only or are also drawing on the principal. It is also necessary to determine the possibility of preventing the ruin of the industry, a problem which can only be solved by earnest research. The yield of halibut in the Atlantic is too small to provide the wealth of material necessary for research-work without unduly prolonged and excessive effort. Hence, there is in the Pacific the last opportunity to deal adequately with the problem and it is passing rapidly. Investigation of Halibut. The British Columbia Department of Fisheries recognized that an inquiry, to be complete, must deal with the whole life of the halibut, including the growth, history, food, seasonal distribution, and period of fertility. The writer has been actively engaged upon the study of this problem since the spring of 1914. The work of collecting data was done on the fishing-vessels, it being necessary to accompany them to the banks on each trip, and the conditions met with on the boats modified the procedure greatly. Much time was thus lost, as the vessels usually fished only when the weather was suitable, and were compelled to prospect a great deal until banks were found which yielded well. The conditions were anything but those to be found in the laboratory, and, as accurate work consumes time, it was rarely possible to examine as many as 100 fish a day. Nevertheless, nearly 3,000 specimens have been examined in the course of the work. It is perhaps natural to ask why it was not possible to examine the fish when they were brought ashore, and thus avoid the disagreeable living and working conditions at sea. It cannot be too strongly emphasized that work of that sort would have been nearly worthless. The fish in any vessel may come from any bank; as all the viscera are removed, the sexes cannot he distinguished, and the cuts made in cleaning the fish, which is done on the banks, allow the head to assume an unnatural position and make the measurement of length inaccurate. The inability to distinguish the two sexes would alone be sufficient to invalidate any work after the vessels are docked. Little Information available. There is very little existing literature on the halibut, and the field is practically a virgin one. Isolated notes have appeared, most of them conjectural or of little value, the most valuable being notes on the ova of the halibut, and its spawning season in the North Atlantic, observations * Read at meeting of Conservation Commission, January, 1916. t From Pacific Fisherman. % Since the above was written, the Pacific Fishermen's Tear-took has estimated the catch for 1915 as 1,410,280 lb. more than that for 1914. 6 Geo. 5 Problem of the Halibut. S 131 made in a scattering way, but valuable in corroboration of what has been discovered in the Pacific. It is believed that this is the first systematic attempt which has ever been made to work out the life-history of the halibut. The fallacy of reasoning from the habits of other species of flatfish is evident, and nothing has been accepted as true unless shown so by actual data obtained. The writer, however, freely acknowledges that the direction of his efforts has been very largely influenced by the splendid work of the English, Scotch, and German writers on the plaice (Pleuronectes platessa) of the North Sea.. Physical Characteristics. , There are few commercial fish which exceed the halibut in average size, and among those of the north temperate regions there are no important ones which individually exceed it in weight, save the sturgeon. It is simply a giant flounder, active and predacious, one of the group with its eyes both on one side of its head, a bottom dweller with the habit of lying on one of its sides, hence very dark on the upper or right, and white on the lower, or left, surface. The female sometimes reaches a length of over 6 feet and a weight of over 200 lb., though, as a jule, the fish in any catch average from 15 to 30 lb. Vessels and Handling. The vessels used in the Pacific Coast halibut fishery are of two classes, steam and gasolene, sailing-vessels being out of place in the long narrow inlets and passages of our western coast. The steamers are the familiar trawlers, of about 125 tons burthen, about 100 feet long, making as high as 11 knots, and capable of carrying 200,000 or 250,000 lb. of halibut on ice. Some of them carry dories, as many as twelve in some instances, but it is becoming more and more :necessary to use the method known as " long-lining," or fishing from the deck. With two fishermen to a dory, the engine and deck hands bring the total crew up to thirty or thirty-five. The gasolene-boats vary greatly in size, the largest being 100 tons burthen, but they do not usually carry more than six dories. A great many small ones are manned by two men, who do not use a dory, but fish over the side. Rapid Delivery of Halibut. Each trip usually lasts about two weeks, longer in winter, however, than in summer, and the fish are cleaned and kept with crushed ice in the hold. On landing, these fish are reiced and shipped by fast trains, or placed in cold storage. The consumer often receives fish which have been on ice a month, and the quality of the flesh is such that it does not markedly deteriorate. Every condition has lent itself to the building-up of a great market and to the rapid depletion of the supply. It is difficult to realize the enormous part played by perfection of transportation facilities .and the institution of cold-storage methods. Halibut caught in the North Pacific, off Alaska, :are placed fresh on the markets of California and Massachusetts at rates which, as the magnitude of the business testifies, are anything but prohibitive. There would, obviously, be no demand for the enormous yield unless such an extensive market were open. Methods used in Fishing. Dory fishing only has been considered, as in " long-line " fishing proper data are rarely kept. The gear used consists of pieces of " ground-line " or stout trawl-line in lengths of about 400 fathoms, and, when not in use, coiled on a square piece of canvas, called a " skate," perhaps because of its resemblance to that fish. The whole coil has come to be called a " skate." On this line are attached short lengths of smaller line, the " gangings," with the hooks at the ends, about 265 to a " skate." Each dory, of which there are usually twelve on a steamer, uses two to four " skates " to a " set," tied into a single piece, baited with herring or other fish. The dories lay their lines parallel to each other over a bank, both ends of each line anchored and buoyed. The catch of the different dories used to be reckoned separately, as the men were paid according to the catch. This no longer obtains, but the fish in each dory are counted, as it is thus possible to see what part of the bank yields best, and so guide further work. The total number of fish for the day, divided by the number of " skates " used, gives a comparable index •of the amount of fish obtained and a clue to the abundance on the bank. S 132 Report of the Commissioner of Fisheries. 1916 Trawling destroys many other Fish. Trawl-line fishing destroys as many fish of other species as are caught of halibut. Records made on the banks show a total of 193 halibut to 246 other fish, of which 171 were edible. At times, on certain banks, the catch is exclusively of some undesired species, and all of these are usually discarded, often so badly injured that it is safe to say that few escape mortal hurt. A number of counts were made of fish as they came aboard one of the long-line vessels and the following table gives these. The red or rock cod come to the surface with their air-bladders- distended, their eyes nearly popping out, from the release of the pressure under which they live at great depth. They, therefore, are unable to sink, and sometimes thousands of them cover the water for miles over the fishing-banks. To eliminate this waste, the use of such fish should be given every encouragement. March 1914. Dec, 1915. Halibut 37 22 8 3 2 3 2 1 44 4 16 2 1 31 22 7 24 2 4 .5 26 11 12 3 3 4 35 11 1 21 20 13 36 193 83] 44 30 9 68 11 1 246 Total fish 78 67 95 62 68 69 439 12 12 13 15 15 15 * Numbers of fish of each species brought up on the halibut trawl—the non-edible fish being marked with an asterisk. The Food of the Halibut. It is difficult to say whether a fish eats more of another valuable species than is legitimate, for it may also eat great quantities of some enemy of that valuable species. The fabric of marine life is so interwoven and complex that, with our present slight knowledge, we cannot separate the strands. Hence, one must not take too seriously food data which apparently testify against the halibut, but the incomplete results of these researches are presented below. The following are consumed, many of which are not available directly as food to man:. Sea-anemones, starfish, brittle-stars, sea-urchins, sea-cucumbers, worms, small shell-fish, devilfish, squids, crabs (other than the edible crab), dogfish, skates, red and black cod, herring, ratfish, sand-lances, and grey cod. Among the species of value are the red cod, black cod, herring, and grey cod, with perhaps certain small flounders. Only one species is markedly an article of food—namely, the grey cod—and at present there is no commercial fishery for it on the halibut banks. Among the mass of other food consumed the grey cod loses its relative importance. It is probable that any damage done this way is offset by the fact that the grey cod is digested to form halibut, and also by the destruction of probable grey-cod enemies, such as the red cod and black cod. In fact, the extinction of the halibut might decrease the supply of grey cod rather than increase it. Restricted Area of Halibut Banks. An important factor in the life-history of the fish is the area of the fishing-banks. The width of the continental shelf is much less on the Pacific Coast of America than on the Atlantic, and, as a corollary of this, the fishing-banks are restricted in area. There are no available published figures, but a close approximation made by us places the total area between the 140-fathom line and the outer coast, without the inlets, between the Shumagin Islands in Northern Alaska and the entrance to the Strait of Juan de Fuca, at 80,000 square miles. Of this, 19,500 square miles are off the British Columbian coasts. This area is distributed along the coast-line of 1,600 miles, and hence has an average width of fifty miles. The total is much less than that of the North Sea, and, in addition, the valuable fishing-banks constitute but a small portion of 6 Geo. 5 Problem of the Halibut. S 133 the 80,000 square miles. Whether any extensive new banks will be discovered is problematical. One must, therefore, guard against the false conclusion that the Pacific Coast banks are very extensive, and must recognize the relatively small area as one of the contributing factors to rapid exhaustion. Banks easily depleted. The peculiar length and narrowness of the Pacific continental shelf renders it more easily depleted locally, for there are ho near-by banks from which immigrants may come m any number. This is isolation, to a certain degree, which should render itself evident in the origin of regional races, with their own peculiar characteristics as to rate of growth and dimensions. A bank is not surrounded on all sides by other banks, but is connected by narrow shore-line banks only; hence the idiosyncrasies of the local stock are not entirely counteracted by interchange. In fact, such local peculiarities are of great significance in judging the degree of isolation which might exist, the probability of local extermination, and the rate of repletion possible by migration from near-by banks. In the work under consideration an attempt has been made to gather such statistics, and a good degree of success has been met with. The rate of growth has been shown to be sharply different in localities not far distant one from the other, as Frederick Island and Rose Spit, but this will be treated later. That obtained by a series of measurements of the head-length is particularly striking, and is indicative of what may be expected of other data dealing with measurements of body-depth, height or length of fins, counts of fin-rays, etc., when such are compiled. It is evident that there is no extensive interchange of fish between localities, otherwise such differences as are given could not remain permanent. The progressive depletion of the banks from the south northward is therefore comprehensible. It has been like the annihilation of an army in detail, each separate detachment encountering the full force of the fishing fleet, which might be resisted if the resources of the remainder could be called on to aid. Fortunately it does not pay to fish a region over closely when by going a distance an abundance may be obtained, so there are still fish to be caught on the southern banks and presumably propagation continues there. But only when too late does one know when a species has been depleted on a bank past the limit of safety. Slow Growtth of Halibut. Not only does the nature of the coastal bank lend itself to rapid depletion, but the nature of the species itself is such as to render it little resistant. It will be recalled that it was said to be one of the largest of market fish, and, reasoning from this, it is evident that a larger area of bank is necessary to support each individual than is the case with smaller fish. The total population must hence be less, and, as the increased size renders it less difficult to catch great quantities, the rate of depletion is correspondingly rapid. If it took merely a few years to grow a fish of such a size, this would not be so serious, but, as a matter of fact, one of the earliest and most important of the results of the investigation was to show the slow rate of growth and the comparatively great age attained. The table following gives this in figures, as extracted from the Report of the British Columbia Commissioner of Fisheries for 1914:— Average Length in Inches of Halibut at Any Age. Age. Hecate Strait. Male. Frederick Island. Kodiak Island. Female. Male. Female. Male. Female. Ill (17.0) IV | 19.3 V (23.8) VI 24.3 VII 27.6 VIII 31.6 IX ' 31.7 20.6 24.2 28.1 30.7 35.4 37.0 (21.0) (18.5) (24.61 (23.0) (27.8) 25.4 (22.5) (20.5) (28.5) (26.6) (25.5) (25.1) (20.3) 22.4 24.0 (22.7) 25.5 27.8 S 134 Report of the Commissioner of Fisheries. 1916 Average Length in Inches of Halibut at any Age—Concluded. Age. Hecate Strait. Frederick Island. Male. Female. I Male. Female Kodiak Island. Male. Female. X 33.6 XI 34.3 XII 36.6 XIII 39.4 XIV (39.0) XV (37.7) XVI 42.8 XVII (41.5) XVIII (43.0) XIX XX XXI I XXII i (35.6) 39.3 41.8 51.6 48.2 49.9 61.2 69.0 (65.0) (55.2) (57.7) 27.4 29.4 (27.5) (30.2) (31.5) (37.5) (37.5) (38.2) (36.7) (37.5) 30.7 32.8 (30.0) (36.8) 25.2 26.3 27.7 28.8 29.0 29.7 32.4 (32.1) (36.4) (30.7) 26.8 28.6 29.0 31.8 34.5 (33.8) 38.9 (42.4) 38.4 Note.—The figures in parentheses are based on too few specimens, less than five, to be considered at all conclusive. Average Length of Female Halibut at Any Age, within Limits caught by Hook* Kodiak Island, 125 specimens; Frederick Island, 32 specimens ; Hecate Strait, 170 specimens. Commission of Conservation __ 4G !« $ c $ M H A 1 ' 1 &■ M "■ K^ 1* ,l< ■y V [■ '" 0 K, iff \\. '^ K£ r fr KL H ■- " •• • "■ •- 46 Year I n m w y yl me nm ix xzi xrrzni xnr xv svi m Methods of determining Age. The methods employed in obtaining these age determinations have been the same as those used with such good effect in the case of the plaice (Pleuronectes platessa) of the North Sea and in the case of many other fish. It has been found that, during a year, there are great fluctuations in the'rate of growth of any fish, it being very rapid during the summer and almost nil during the winter. This fluctuation leaves its traces on all the hard parts of a fish, and a difference in structure between the parts laid down during the different seasons can be distinguished. The bones of the body, especially the vertebra? and gill-covers, show this differentiation, but these are not nearly as readily utilized as are the scales and the limy concretions iu each ear-chamber, called " ear-bones," or otoliths, which show annular rings in many ways strongly resembling those of trees. In the case of the halibut the otoliths were found to be the best, and were consequently used. In other species, by actually raising fish, it has been demonstrated that the age is correctly given by these structures. Halibut reaches Great Age. The oldest halibut obtained had reached twenty-five years, but the great majority seemed to attain an age of between fourteen and nineteen years. The youngest caught were three, four, and five years old, the size of the hook used apparently preventing the capture of smaller and * Plates furnished by Dominion Commission of Conservation. 6 Geo. 5 Problem of tpie Halibut. S 135 younger specimens. The females from Hecate Strait had an average length of 2% feet when seven years old, and 4 feet when fourteen years old. A fish 4 feet long would weigh between 60 and 70 lb. It will be seen that the rate of growth on different banks is very different and that of males is much slower than that of females. By utilizing those figures based on enough specimens to be correct, or by using smooth curves, it was found that the males are but 88 per cent, (about %) of the length of the females, practically the same proportion when any one of the three banks is considered. A male of 26 lb. (35 inches long) would be the same age as a female of 35 lb. (40 inches long), the male being but three-fourths of the weight of the female, and in comparing rates of growth on various banks the same sex should be used. Variations in Size and Weight. There is also a striking difference in size attained by the fish from the different banks. A fish 26 lb. (35 inches long) from Frederick Island is approximately the same age as one 45 lb. (43% inches long) from Hecate Strait. In other words, the fish from Frederick Island average but 55 to 60 per cent, of the weight of those from Hecate Strait. The fish from Kodiak Island are, in turn, smaller than those from Frederick Island. They are approximately 73 per cent, of the length and 40 to 52 per cent, of the weight of those from Hecate Strait. This work on the rate of growth and the difference in this regard on different banks has met with complete corroboration from another source—namely, that of the age at sexual maturity. On the Hecate Strait banks one-half of the females mature at the length of 43 inches, on the Frederick Island banks at 35 inches, and off Kodiak Island at 30 inches. These lengths are in each case those reached during the twelfth year, according to the otoliths. Thus it is at least evident that the relative sizes reached at maturity indicate the same comparative rates of growth as do the otoliths. Percentage of Fish Mature at Any Age. Hecate Strait Kodiak Island Oofrtfn i SSIOI of Cons erva wn SOX- * 907. t 70X // **■ 70*- / 7 In ma tu ~e // M itu re sor. i 30X fl it 30% / ior. -j, —- ""' Year i n ut iv v vr vn vm u x xi xn xm xjv xv xrr xvn xvnrnx. 3X xxr xxnxxmxxrr Percentage of Fish Mature, at Any Length, from Hecate Strait, Kodiak and Frederick Islands. Frederick Island Kodiak Island .... Hecate Strait Commission of Conservation mox V .' f *■* * • • ' , ; f / .' / t / 1 1 rr ir a t u \( / f h \t it u r e / 1 i 1 .' • / • f . 1 . / / —t / 1007. 50% 25% I5lnches 20 25 45 50 55 60 65 S 136 Report of the Commissioner of Fisheries. 1916 Rate of Growth of Halibut. These data as to the maturity age of the halibut are significant from another standpoint than that of mere corroboration of the rate of growth. Indeed, there is no more important phase of the life-history of an animal than its sexual period, as this is directly concerned with the propagation of the species. The accompanying charts indicate the age and size at maturity, although, of course, it is difficult to obtain any idea of the length of life after maturity is attained. It is probable that the numbers of the species diminish nearly as rapidly in the classes which are mature as in those which are immature, and that the fish rarely attain a greater age than eighteen or nineteen years. This has yet to be worked out, but enough has been done to show that different conditions exist on different banks, and that, in some cases at least, overfishing has diminished in a marked degree the percentage of mature fish. The greatly decreased average size of fish caught on Rose Spit and Two Peaks are suggestive in this regard, and indicates that almost all the catches are composed of small, immature fish. Danger of Future Depletion of Banks. The present average size of fish caught on these banks is about 12 lb., and no females are found mature under 26 lb.; hence mature females probably exist in small proportion. At all events, it is certain that maturity comes at a late period in the life of the halibut, and that under certain conditions the majority never reach that state. This abbreviation of the sexual period is something which needs the closest attention, as it is vitally connected with the existence of the species. The percentage of mature fish on the banks should be constantly watched, as it, better than the abundance of individuals, indicates most unmistakably the danger of depletion of the banks. This would be analogous to the inspection of the spawning-beds of the salmon, where a lack of spawning fish presages a small run when that year's brood returns as mature fish. An attempt has been made to work out a method of distinguishing mature and immature fish at any time of the year, other than the spawning season. This is not yet complete, and is subject to certain qualifying conditions, which do not, it is believed, impair its validity. It is based on the fact that in the female gonad, or organ bearing the sexual products, provision is made for future years, a certain group of ova becoming ready for spawning every winter. This readiness is indicated largely by the attainment of large size, and each future year's group may be recognized by its distinctive diameter. The growth is extended over several years at least, and it is possible to see in preparation the groups destined for each year in the near future. By carefully measuring a number of ova they may be clearly distinguished one from the other and the years of maturity readily assigned. Practice enables any one, as a rule, readily to decide, by the appearance of the ovary, its opacity and the size of the largest ova, whether a given fish is destined to spawn the following year.* Factors leading to Depletion. The factors affecting the depletion of the banks may be tentatively enumerated as follows:— (1.) The comparatively small extent of the banks in proportion to the great catch, with the peculiar length and narrowness of the continental shelf on which they lie: (2.) The large size of the fish: (3.) The slow rate of growth, indicating the comparatively long time required to reach market size: (4.) The late maturity of the females. Enough work has been done along these lines to indicate that they are valid causes of depletion, but it is, as yet, impossible to definitely apportion their relative importance. A great deal of work remains to be done to complete our studies of these depletion factors. It is, however, axiomatic that any attempt to conserve the supply of halibut must take into consideration these causes of depletion. Rapid Depletion of Eastern Banks. We must procure demonstrable data respecting the rate of depletion, and a special effort has been made to obtain such data. The history of the banks on both the Atlantic and Pacific * For details the Report of the Commissioner of Fisheries for British Columbia for 1914 should he consulted. 6 Geo. 5 Problem of the Halibut. S 137 ias been one of rapid depletion. In 1830 the New England cod-fishermen regarded the halibut as nuisances, but, once a market for halibut was established, the demand increased with the supply, and in 1884 vessels were going to Iceland and Davis Strait for cargoes. The banks to the south soon became entirely depleted and now no halibut are found there. The catch landed at Gloucester has fallen from 11,300,000 lb. in 1879 to 4,024,000 lb. in 1910. The fishery on the Pacific Coast is not as old, the first cargoes being landed about 1888, but it is being pursued most energetically, and, owing to the great increase in the number of vessels employed and the use of banks further afield, the total yield apparently does not indicate a marked decrease. The statistics of annual yield do not indicate the depletion of the banks until long after it is well advanced. Unfortunately, also, returns are very fragmentary, compiled in anything but a systematic manner, and hence are unreliable. Information as to the yield, however, can be gathered from the ships' daily recorft or logs. These logs are the notes kept by the officers concerning the movements of the vessels, the amount of gear used, and the catch. These were not at first accepted as accurate, but extended acquaintance with the fishermen and their records has shown that they are as accurate as is necessary. The depletion of the banks has been shown to be so pronounced as to override any variations in records due to inaccuracy, which, at most, are not greater than in the average commercial record. The captains and mates are, as a rule, intelligent men. Results of Investigation. Provided one is well, acquainted with the banks and with the methods used, there is no reason whatever to doubt the accuracy of the results obtained by a study of the logs. The methods of fishing have been already described, and the meaning of the term " skate" as a unit of gear has been defined. The average yield per skate has been compiled from records of over 500 voyages. Three-month periods were treated as units because the number of records per month was not always sufficient to give satisfactory average results. It showed that, during the summer months, the yield was heaviest and that there was a more uniform decrease. Comparing the years 1906 and 1912, the number of fish caught per " skate " was reduced about 50 per cent, in six years—from an average of 42.8 fish per skate in 1906 during the summer to an average of 21.9 in 191.2. The logs of some vessels, for the six summer months, also show that the time spent per fishing voyage had increased proportionately—namely, from 3.4 days In 1906 to 8.9 days in 1912. In addition, the size of the catch actually decreased, despite the fact that in early years the dealers placed a limit on the cargo which might be brought in, the average load in the summers of 1905 and 1906 being 135,300 lb., and that in the same period of 1913 and 1914, 107,S00 lb. To demonstrate that these figures are representative and accurate the following tables are appended:— Shoiving Average Number of Fish caught per Unit of Clear used, for Six-month Periods. Years. 1902. 1903. 1904. 1905. 1 1905. ! 1907. j 1908. 1 1909. 1 1910. | 1911. i 1912. | 19ly. j 1914. April-September . . 501 October-March .... | 33.2 19.5 73.6 12.2 30.1 23.9 42.8 36.9 18.5 j 12.9 26.1 11.1 24.1 7.4 28.6 1 25.1 21.9 14.1 | 10.7 8.5 17.1 6.1 12.9 6.3 Shoiving the Average Number of Days fished per Voyage in order to obtain a Cargo. Year. .Tan.-Mar. Apr.-June. July-Sept. Oct.-Dec. 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 4.6 3.2 3.6 2.0 4.6 3.7 5.1 2.9 5.4 5.3 5.8 6.7 3.6 8.3 5.2 9.8 6.9 9.0 10.5 No records 9.2 8.8 10.2 2.0 2.1 2.5 3.7 4.0 3.8 3.7 3.7 4.7 6.9 7.4 9.6 10.0 4.2 3.4 3.8 4.5 4.9 4.5 5.7 7.5 7.4 7.4 9.0 8.7 10.6 S 138 Report of the Commissioner of Fisheries. 1916 Showing Average Cargoes landed by Three Steamers of Similar Capacity. Those marked with an asterisk (*) are averages affected by a limit placed on cargoes by the- dealers. Months. Jan. Feb. March. April. May. June. Years 1905 and 1906 108,215 37,900 146,833 67,192 171,313 42,620 143,353 76,295 110,162* 122,474 141 235* Years 1913 and 1914 152,851 Months. • July. Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec. Years 1905 and 1906 132,761* 121,152 157.313 100,802 126,967 73,202 97,287 42,898 78,340 35,340 125 988 Years 1913 and 1914 59,770 Showing Number of Fish caught per "Skate" on Rose Spit and Two Peaks Banks during Summer and Winter Months. Based on 226 records. The starred figures being obtained from but three or four records, hence not conclusive. Years. 1902. 1903. 1904. 1905. 1906. 1907. 56.7* No records 16.7* No records 11.4* No records 24.8 47.1 24.6 No records 12.9 27.5 Years. 1908. 1909. 1910. 19.11. 1912. 1913. 1 1914. 19.1 22.5 6.0 18.0 9.3 27.9 9.3 25.2 6.5 19.3 No April to September 11.1 9.2 Showing Decreased Average Weight of Fish caught on Two Peaks and Rose Spit Banks. Year. 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 Average Weight. 25.1 No records 25.1 No records 33.9 No records 25.2 Year. Average Weight. 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 26.8 16.1 16.7 17.1 13.4 12.3 Not only is the depletion very evident in the banks as a whole, but the same tendencies are evident in the returns from individual banks, as instanced in tables of catch on Two Peaks and Rose Spit banks. An alarming feature disclosed by the table is the decrease in average size of the fish caught on this bank, resulting from the capture of the larger and older fish. Growing Market for other Fish. It is evident, then, that there has been a great and marked decrease in the abundance of fish on the banks off British Columbia. This is shown by the above tables as directly and truthfully as possible, more so than by the statistics of fish landed, upon which advocates of fish-conservation have usually based their arguments. When the catch is cut in half in six years, the rate of 6 Geo. 5 Problem of the Halibut. S 139 decrease on the banks is a very rapid one. It may well be asked what the ultimate result will be. At present it ceases to be profitable to fish when a certain minimum return is not obtained, and that limit has been reached in our southern waters for the winter season. However, the rapidly growing market for other species, such as black cod, will enable vessels to fish there profitably, whereas before they could not. The demand that there be a close season during the winter by international agreement incidentally seeks to render vessels profitable by the elimination of the most unprofitable season when it is necessary to make longer voyages. Whether such a close season would benefit the halibut to such a degree that it would stand the consequently more severe attack in summer is as yet a question unanswerable, depending mainly on whether this closure would be made of sufficient length. Remedial Measures advocated. The discovery of the rate of depletion is the only direct method at present available for determining the abundance and vitality of the species. But it is sufficiently accurate to demonstrate to every one that we are using both the principal and interest; therefore we must either conserve the former by lessening the drain or increase the yield by aiding nature in the propagation of the young. A species may never be replaced. Its destruction is not the diversion of capital into new hands and new uses; it is the destruction of a tool, fashioned by hands man cannot imitate, which should make available the resources of the sea for an indefinite number of years. Knowing, then, the fact of depletion, and certain of the causes, it follows that remedial measures should be sought. Through " artificial " propagation nature may be assisted by aiding the young fish to survive what is perhaps the most critical period of its life, or by giving it. some measure of protection from its human enemies. But to assist nature effectively requires accurate scientific knowledge. Every detail of the life of a fish seems to have some bearing on the problem, and the more complete the knowledge the better the prospect of success. In the case of salmon, the breeding habits were comparatively easily and readily observed in a direct way, and the early history of the fish was known in its broad features because of the conditions under which it spawns and lives. When the life-history of a purely marine fish is considered a more obscure field is entered. The salmon migrates up the streams and breeds at easily ascertained times, but no one knows whether the halibut migrates, for all its movements are out of sight, nor, until recently, when it bred. The ova of the salmon are laid and they may be watched in their development, but the halibut ova have never been found, once they are laid, nor is anything known of how or where they develop. Where aid may be given or restraint used cannot be told until the life-history is fairly well known. Only a little progress has been made along that line, which is necessarily a difficult one. Uniform Spa*ning Season. The spawning season for the halibut in European waters, as derived from scattered records, seems to correspond in general to that on our Pacific Coast. We first ascertained the latter by examination of specimens sent in by fishermen and by actual observation. It has now been observed throughout in the Gulf of Alaska. It extends from the end of December to the end of April. It is at its height probably in January or February, but it is still unknown whether the time varies with the latitude. The time of spawning was, of course, one of the first things it was necessary to ascertain. Variations in Rate of Growth. > There are few differences between the two sexes, and none of these may be relied upon to distinguish them at sight. The finding of such a one would have saved a great deal of work in dissection and rendered available the catches landed at the wharves. However, there are real and striking differences in the average rate of growth and proportions of the sexes. The difference in rate of growth has already -been shown, and the difference in length of head is given in the tables of variations between localities in the Report of the British Columbia Fisheries Department for 1914, page 83. There is also a difference in the depth of the pocket in which the sexual organs lie, but all these differences so overlap that they cannot be relied upon to distinguish individuals of the two sexes. Hence it is apparent that no measures can be taken to give far-reaching protection to one sex rather than the other. S 140 Report of the Commissioner of Fisheries. 1916 Artificial Propagation. The number of ova laid and their method of ripening are very important, not merely from a general standpoint, but as factors in artificial propagation. The gonads in the mature female at certain times of the year—just before spawning—contain large, loose ova. In the British Isles counts of the ova contained in the ovary range from 1,000,000 to 3,000,000. The count made by us of the ova in a 40-inch female from Pacific waters showed it to contain about 370,000 ova. This is very much less than the European fish, but it is probable that, as the lengths given would indicate, the latter were much larger and older. Probably the rule holds as in the case of the plaice—namely, that the number of large ova increases both with age and size. While the halibut carries great numbers of ova, this does not mean that it is prolific, because, as a rule, species which lay a great number of ova do so in order to overcome great natural obstacles to their survival. Using the minimum, that counted by us, it is easy to reckon the volume which would be occupied by the mature ova. The ova, shortly before maturity, undergo a rapid enlargement, becoming transparent and loose in the ovary. The final diameter, as found in samples collected on the Pacific Coast and preserved in formalin, is 3.67 mm. (*/, inch, nearly). For 370,000 turgid ova this would yield a volume equal to between half and three-fourths of the bulk of the parent fish. We therefore conclude that the ova ripen gradually and are discharged over some period of time. If this conclusion is corroborated it will have a vital bearing on the collection of ova for propagation. In the case of the European flounder, it has been found necessary to keep it in captivity to obtain the entire yield. With the halibut this would be an impossibility without great expense, while the fact that the ova do not float would hinder the employment of brooding enclosures such as are used with the cod. Dearth of Information. The work being done at present includes an elaboration of these facts, the importance of which is apparent. Data should be gathered as to the development of the larva?, about which absolutely nothing is known. This implies research with plankton and otter-trawl nets. Nor is anything known as to where the young fish live. Probably they are to be found on the halibut banks, but it is necessary to have a sea-going vessel fitted for otter-trawling to collect any data on this score, and unfortunately there are no vessels of this character employed in commercial fisheries on this portion of the coast. A small otter-trawler was used in protected waters, but no results were obtained. The need of such work is very urgent, as the halibut is rapidly decreasing in numbers, particularly in southern waters. From the foregoing it is evident that it is still impossible to come to a definite conclusion regarding methods of protecting or aiding the halibut. The facts of the life-history show the species to be peculiarly exposed to depletion, and statistics demonstrate that such depletion is taking place. It is not possible to look forward to artificial propagation with any degree of optimism, and probably we shall be left with the alternative of restricting the operations of the fishermen. The work we are doing is handicapped by lack of apparatus, but, as a preliminary study of the problem, is worth while. Until we know the spawning habits, the migrations, and the population of the different banks, and until we solve many related problems, it will be impossible to take action with definite assurance that it will be adequate. O XI IH S 6 Geo. 5 Native Oyster of British Columbia. S 141 THE NATIVE OYSTER OF BRITISH COLUMBIA. (OSTREA LURIDA, CARPENTER.) By joseph Stafford, M.A., Ph.D., Montreal. Environment. The lifetime of the oyster may be conveniently regarded as divisible into two primary periods, the first being that period during which the oyster is coming into existence as an oyster, the second the period of its adult life, when it is fully equipped for the duties of its existence. As the first period originates with the simple egg and terminates with the completely organized animal, it is possible to employ advancement of structure as a means of distinguishing intermediate or secondary periods, such as oosperm, segmentation, embryo, larva, spat, and youthful stages, in all of which the most easily recognized features are increase of size, modification of shape, and change of habit. This is the period of development, embryology, or ontogeny. The second period constitutes the greater part of the lifetime of the oyster, the period when it is outfitted with its full complement of developed organs. It maintains a comparatively stable form and appearance, and is engaged especially in the processes of feeding, growing, and reproducing. Its dominant features are structure, organization, anatomy, or morphology, on the one hand, and activities, duties, functions, or physiology, on the other. In both periods, since structure is the basis of function, anatomy and physiology progress together, from the more simple to the more complex. The egg is a single cell, possessing its store of food, and its powers of digestion, respiration, etc. The embryo is an advance in that there is a differentiation into internal or digestive and external or respiratory portions. The larva, in developing intestine, gills, velum, and shell, makes still further provision for efficiency in digestion and respiration, as well as adds means of locomotion and protection. In a similar manner might be recounted the whole category of organs and functions, ascending from the egg through youthful to adult stages, and declining to senility and finally death. In all this the subject is strictly the oyster itself, apart from any consideration of its surroundings. It takes for granted suitable external conditions, outside of and around the living oyster. But it is clear that vast numbers of oysters do not find such conditions, and that the areas about them may present all kinds of differences, reacting upon them, such as suitable or unsuitable, favourable or unfavourable, passable, restraining, prohibitive, or destructive. There is opened up here another great field for research, distinct from, as broad, as varied, and as important as the one confined to the oyster per se. This is the subject of environment. An oyster cannot continue to live except under possible conditions. If transferred to a pond of fresh water it will soon die. It cannot long withstand burial in sand or exposure to air. It is killed, if unprotected, by summer heat and by winter frost. It may be crushed by a rolling stone or smothered in mud. It requires food, salt, calcium carbonate, and other substances for its sustenance. It may be eaten up or maimed by another animal. Egg, embryo, larva, and spat are more easily destroyed than the adult. Development, organization, activity, nutrition, life, growth, reproduction, all presuppose a proper external medium, with suitable climatic, physical, chemical, and biological contents. If a living healthy oyster be taken up in a beakerful of sea-water and kept confined it will not live long. In a pailful or a hogsheadful it may do better. In a small pond or lagoon of salt water it may do better still. But sooner or later the oyster will die. The conditions are not suitable. There is no change of water, no aeration, no supply of oxygen; the chemical contents of the water become exhausted; the waste excreta from the oyster becomes aggregated to the extent of being poisonous; the food gives out; the small volume of water, partaking of the temperature of the air, may become too cold or too warm or be evaporated. If the lagoon is so situated as to have periodical connections with the sea and thus have its food, salts, and temperature replenished and its injurious wastes diluted or carried away, the oyster may do as well or almost as well aa where it was first procured in a cove, bay, or estuary. Generally, within limits, the larger the body of water and the more perfect the connection with the sea, the larger and healthier are the oysters and the better the conditions of their environment. By such a process of reasoning we may be led from the small area immediately surrounding an oyster outwards through the medium in which it lives into ever-widening areas, until the oceans themselves are comprehended. And we might arrive at the conclusion that the deep, S 142 Report of the Commissioner of Fisheries. 1916 open sea would offer the most ideal conditions for the oyster. But the study of distribution .proves that not all oceans, nor all parts of any one of them, are inhabited by oysters. Oysters do not occur in polar seas, nor can they be dredged up from very deep water. The larvae are not taken in plankton at great distances from shore. There must be circumstances limiting their dispersal to, or their ability to live in, deep wTater. Even as the land is approached oysters are restricted to few places possessing special features. It is impossible for any one place to contain everything that is beneficial and nothing that is detrimental. The preponderance of favourable or of unfavourable conditions determines the status of the environment. The oyster, to some extent, can withstand the paucity of essential constituents, can defend itself against injurious elements, and can accommodate itself to changing surroundings. But there is a limit to its powers of adaptation and endurance. The subkingdom of animals to which the oyster belongs is called Mollusca. The two largest classes of molluscs are Univalves (or Gastropods) and Bivalves (or Lamellibranchs). The latter includes oysters, silver-shells, pearl-oysters, scallops, quohogs, clams, mussels, and a great many other less commonly known species. While many of these may live together in the same bay or on the same bed, yet they do not always compete with one another in any very definite manner, because of their slight differences of habits. The closer, the relationship, the closer is the competition. This is keenest of all between individuals of the same species, next between species of the same genus. It becomes important to be able to distinguish one species from another and to know for sure that the animal referred to in any given case is an oyster and not some other species of close resemblance. I have heard men declare that an oyster occurs in such-and- such a place, that they had seen oysters there, that they could not make a mistake for they had been brought up in an oyster district and had been accustomed to seeing oysters. Yet, when I visited the place, I found no oysters, hut some other species that might be mistaken for an oyster by people not habituated to looking below superficial resemblances. Oyster-fishermen are not aware that there are so many different species of animals as there are, and are liable to call any mollusc an oyster that in a general way looks somewhat like an oyster. The commonest mistakes are with the large Placunanomia or the smaller Anom.ia (silver-shell), the heavy-shelled Hinnites (a kind of large scallop) and sometimes Pecten (the smaller scallop), Mcleagrina (the so-called pearl-oyster, which belongs to the Aviculidse, not the Ostreidaj), and even Ilaliotis (the abalone, which is a univalve, not a bivalve). The common name " rock-oyster " is given to several species, belonging even to different genera, that are not oysters at all. Enough has been said to show that, before it is possible to talk with accuracy about the distribution, habitat, habits, or physical surroundings of the oyster, it is necessary to be able to distinguish the oyster from all other animals with which it might be conflicted. From the foregoing pages it will be apparent that the subject of environment is a broad one, and that it ramifies into a number of departments that can best be dealt with in separate sections. Species. Oysters are not of one species but of many, the number of which is unknown, but has been placed at about seventy living and 200 extinct. Lister (1638-1712), in his HistorhB Conchyliorum and other works, showed that he knew the American oyster, Ostrea vwginiana. Linmeus or Linne (1707-1778), who introduced the binomial method of naming animals, in his great work, Systema Naturre, running through twelve editions in his own time and a couple since, placed Pecten, Lima, Malleus, Vulsella, Plicatula, and Perna among the oysters. Of the true oysters he describes Ostrea folium, Ostrea orbicularis, Ostrea edulis. Lamarck (1744-1829), in his Historie Naturelle des Animaux sans vertebres, gave brief descriptions of fifty-three living and eighty-two fossil species. He referred eleven living to America: 0. borealis, brasiliana, scabra, rostralis, virginica, canadensis, rufa, margaritacea, rubella, limacella, and plicatula, of which three are of interest here as occurring on the Atlantic Coast of Canada and the United States and transplanted to the Pacific Coast—viz., 0. virginica, canadensis, and borealis. Some authors recognize 0. lacerans, rufa, frons, equestris, folium, triangularis, cristata, and parasitica, from farther south along the United States Coast and the West Indies, while others are of the opinion that there is perhaps but one species from the Bay of Chaleur to at least the Gulf of Mexico. ■6 Geo. 5 Native Oyster of British Columbia. S 143 Carpenter (1820-1877), in his Catalogue of the Reigen Collection of Mazatlan Mollusca in the British Museum, 1855-7, and in his Report of the Present State of our Knowledge with regard to the Mollusca of the West Coast of North America, Report of the British Association, 1856 (London, 1857), and in his Supplementary Report, 1863 (1864), describes, discusses, or mentions O. columMensis, O. conchaphila (with a variety palmula), O. amara, O. lurida (with varieties laticaudata, rufoides, expansa), and O. iridescens ( = 0. prismatica), from the western coast of North America, and was of opinion the 0. virginica, and maybe other species from the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, had in some earlier time been able to cross the Isthmus of Panama. Few of the species mentioned are sufficiently well known to warrant any final conclusion, but what is known of them points to the view that the number is overestimated, many so-called species having been described upon insufficient superficial differences brought about by the external physical conditions of their environment. The first to become well known was, of course, the common oyster of Europe (0. edulis, L.). Then followed the common oyster of the Atlantic Coast of the United States and Canada (O. virginiana, Lister = 0. virginica, Gmelin), and finally the common oyster of the Pacific Coast of the United States and Canada (0. lurida, Carpenter). A few other species such as the Portuguese oyster (O. angulata) and a Japanese oyster (0. eucullata) are partially known morphologically, but not embryologically. Even the common European oyster is not nearly so well known in its complete life-history as either, of our Canadian species. Some of the other species are represented by few specimens, in part collected nobody knows how, nobody knows where, by nobody knows whom, without regard to age or maturity or whether they were fair samples, and distinguished entirely by their external appearances. When we think of the haphazard, isolated, and disconnected manner in which fossils are found; of the way in which older naturalists obtained specimens from travellers, curiosity-shops, trading; of the tendency to procure odd, abnormal, or distorted individuals; of the lack of zoological training of the collectors; and of the frequency with which specimens from different regions were mixed before identified, it is not surprising that many species and numerous synonyms have come into the literature. On the other hand, when a present-day zoologist walks over one of our extensive natural or artificial oyster-beds or looks over the great shipments that pass into commerce, he is struck with the variability of the genus and its species, and the apparent influence of surrounding conditions upon rate and character of growth and consequently upon the superficial appearance of the oysters. An experienced man can often tell at a glance what bed a given sample of oysters came from. Where oysters have grown under favourable conditions of depth, salinity, and temperature of water; of abundance of suitable food; on rather hard bottom; unhampered by pressure of rocks, stones, barnacles, or shells; not crowded by contact and competition -with other living oysters; free from accident from ice, rolling stones, bites of animals, or other injurious circumstances, they are then likely to be of good size, deep and compact, normally and regularly shaped, with a somewhat smooth, hard, bright shell, having even rings of growth, and altogether presenting a uniform and fine sample. When oysters have grown under conditions that are unfavourable in this or that particular, they are modified accordingly, becoming stunted, thin, long, irregular, curved, twisted, warped, malformed, disproportioned, rough - surfaced, sharp - edged, plicated, ribbed, spined, grooved, scalloped, or otherwise presenting a mixed and poor sample. In sorting over great numbers of oysters it is possible to pick out specimens of very different superficial appearance, hut no more different species than are the tall and short, slim and stout, thin and fat, light and dark, erect and stooped, well-formed and crippled or disfigured members of even the same families of our own race. The practice of collecting birds, butterflies, shells, etc., for diversion has long appealed to men employed in confined and strenuous occupations, as well as to men of leisure, educated perhaps in some other lines, but in no sense qualified as judges of. the objects collected. The hardness and durability of shells stamp them as especially favourable for collecting, preserving, and transporting, and their differences in size, shape, colour, and surface markings render them interesting objects for exhibition collections, as is shown in natural history, college, and university museums. But conchology is a very superficial department of zoology, and the conchologist who S 144 Report of the Commissioner of Fisheries. 1916 knows nothing of anatomy, physiology, cecology, and embryology is scarcely the proper person to decide the difficult question of what constitutes a species. In our museum collections oysters are generally poorly represented. I know museums without a single specimen. Even the Carpenter collection of shells in the Redpath Museum of McGill University, while it includes a number of oysters of various reputed species from different districts, has not a good, normal, and representative sample set up of either our eastern or our western species. It has two poor specimens of the short variety of Ostrea virginiana (viz., 0. borealis), and two of the long variety (viz., O. canadensis), unlabelled, from the Gulf of St. Lawrence, contributed by Dawson. Nowadays, of course, one has but to go to a fish-store, meat-market, restaurant, or hotel to see oysters fresh from the coast, but in Carpenter's time oysters had not yet come into prominence as an article of food in this country. Carpenter had enough shells to make up four remarkably fine collections. One is exhibited in the Redpath Museum, the collection he regarded as richest in varieties. A second collection is preserved in the British Museum. A third went to the Field Museum in Chicago. The fourth is stored in the Redpath Museum. The collections are not exact duplicates. Chitons and Gastropods appear especially well represented, but Bivalves and Cephalopods are also abundant. There is a small, more typically Canadian collection, by Dawson, from the Gulf of St. Lawrence, with one fairly good representative of our eastern oyster from Pictou, N.S. Another collection presented by Carpenter, the Reigen Collection of Mazatlan Shells, supplements his own with regard to western species. Carpenter made five collections from the Mazatlan shells, the other four going to the British Museum, the Smithsonian Institution, Havard University, and the State of New York. Ostrea virginiana had been known by Lister, Linnaeus, Gmelin, Lamarck, Turton, Favanne, Born, Chemnitz, Dillwyn, Sowerby, Gray, Hanley, Woodward, and others, before Adams, Conrad, Tryon, Gould, Binney, DeKay, Say, Stearns, Stimpson, Verrill, Dall, Dawson, Whiteaves, and others up to the present time interested themselves in it in a faunistic manner. It has been described, figured, and redescribed many times, the descriptions varying according to the specimens to hand and the points selected or neglected. The older descriptions are all too brief and do not sufficiently distinguish one species from another. This has been most apparent in later times, as new species and fresh information have been added. Three of Lamarck's species are characterized thus:— Ostrea virginica, Gmel. Huitre etroite. O. testa, augusta, subresta, crassa, lamellosS.; valva superiore planulata. Habite les cStes de Virginie. 162 mm., etc. Ostrea canadensis, Lam. Huitre latescente. O. testa, elongata, subcurva, sursum latescente, lamellosa, crassissima; valva superiore infernd convexa. Habite la merdu Canada, a la entree du Fleuve S. Laurent, et pres de New York. 200 mm., etc. Ostrea borealis, Lam. Huitre de New York. O. testa, oblongo-ovata, albida; membranis imbricatis, undulatis; valva superiore convexiuscula. Habit pres de New York. 75 mm., etc. From this it will be apparent that they are not sufficiently delimited. The first two are of the same general shape—viz., long and narrowT—and it is impossible to separate them on slight differences of length, breadth, thickness, curvature, or the flatness or convexity of the upper valve. It appears that:— The Virginian species is long, straight, narrow, edges nearly parallel, valves shallow, upper valve depressed, 2 to 6 inches long and half as broad. The Canadian species, although very near to the former, is to he distinguished as larger, longer, slightly curved, broader (especially towards the posterior end as the animal grows), thicker, and more massive, 6 to 8 inches long, but may reach 12, and 3 to 4 wide. The northern species (0. borealis), although resembling 0. virginica, is more like 0. edulis, but distinct from both; young ovate-oblong, old elongate (but shorter and broader than the others), dilated and rounded at posterior end, somewhat incurved, massive and rough, lower valve with coarse radiating folds or spiny ribs, convex, edge entire or waved, 2 to 6 inches long by 2 to 5 wide. Later authors have generally united 0. virginica and canadensis, while some have continued to regard O. borealis as distinct. Oyster-fishermen are accustomed to speak of a long variety and of a short or round variety. Both occur on the same beds. Where oysters grow in bunches they are prone to become long and narrow in order to keep apart as much as possible and to carry the open ends away from the substratum. These sticking in or lying on mud also incline 6 Geo. 5 Native Oy-ster of British Columbia. S 145 to lengthen with a view to keeping the gape above depositing sediment. They have been known to reach a length of 1% feet. A young oyster is broader in proportion to its length than an old one. The Caraquette oyster (1914 Report, Plate IV., Fig. 21) is more constantly divergent from O. virginica (V., 22) than either O. canadensis or O. borealis (IV., 20). It never reaches a large size, and is generally slightly curved towards the dorsal edge, broadens gradually backwards, has a deep, thick, heavy, hard, stony shell, and can (except in young specimens) be recognized at a glance. If any variety deserves to be regarded as a distinct species it certainly is this one. In 1909 I took Caraquette oysters to Malpeque and crossed eggs from one with sperms from the other, and conversely, and in both cases raised up larva? to the usual size for cultural experiments. This proves (if anything proves) that the two oysters are of the same species. In the same way I have sometimes used long and short oysters for fertilization experiments. They are not different species; they are form varieties of the same species. Variations in size, shape, surface, colour, as well as differences in age, are capable of bringing about considerable superficial differences in appearance of oysters as of other animals, which we wbuld not think of regarding as different species in consequence. Young oysters in great numbers on hard bottom at low tide at Ram Island Point, Malpeque Bay, P.E.I. (The Canadian Oyster, Ottawa, 1913, Plates III., IV., figs, at bottom), present a very different sample from the large oysters dredged up or tonged up from the Curtain Island beds (similar to 1914, IV. and V., 22) a short distance away, and yet most of these oysters have developed from spawn drifted from the large oysters as the tide swept down the bay. Oysters brought to Montreal markets, or shipped to the culturists of British Columbia, by car-loads from the great beds of the United States, show the same kinds of variations as on our own beds. Extreme varieties at first sight look quite distinct. But as intermediate forms are filled in the differences gradually vanish. It is possible to select series leading from small young oysters up to the extremes of length and breadth and surface. On large oysters one can make out by the rings of growth the shapes of the individual at different periods of its life. These shapes correspond with the forms of younger individuals. In tracing backwards differences vanish. Small spats are more alike than grown oysters. Larvae of the same age are identical, whether destined to become the same or different form varieties. The southern species, w7hether virtual or apparent, are of less interest to us. We need more information with regard to their abundance, full size, constancy of form, habitat, etc. It is perhaps safe to say that 0. laeerans, Han., and 0. rufa, Lam., are small-sized 0. virginiana, with the purple muscle-scar and other characters of the same. O. frons, Lin., is a peculiarly modified form, perhaps in adaptation to its habitat on stalks of Gorgomas, being narrow with strong radial folds that interlock at the margins. O. equestris, Say, was taken by Hanley to be the young of O. frons. O. folium, Lin., also has interlocking marginal folds. O. triangularis, Holmes; O. cristata, Born; and O. parasitica, Gmel., are doubtful. Ostrea lurida, Carpenter, the name by which our western oyster has come to be known, occupies a somewhat similar position on the Pacific Coast to what O. virginiana does on the Atlantic. It has a broad distribution and a number of varieties. The name was given by Carpenter (1S50). After reviewing the collections of Dombey, Humboldt, Eschscholtz, Cuming, Nuttal, D'Orbigny, Reigen, Adams, and others, for all the Mollusca collected from Alaska to Peru, and after determining and classifying the shells collected by Reigen at Mazatlan, on the Coast of Mexico opposite the mouth of the Gulf of California, he ventured to add new species to those previously recognized. To the oyster he contributed the specific names 0. lurida (with varieties laticaudata, rufoides or rufa, and expansa), O. conchaphila (with variety palmula), and 0. amara. In the Carpenter collection there are specimens of 0. lurida, pamula, rufa, and prismatica from California, and of O. megodon from Acapulco and Peru, as well as a single large orbicular oyster, unnamed, but marked " Pacific Is." It agrees very well with descriptions of O. denti- eulata, Lam., from the Cape of Good Hope, and doubtless does not belong to our coast. In the stored collection there are from the West Coast O. lurida (with its three varieties), O. conchaphila (with its variety), 0. panamensis, 0. amara, 0. prismatica, 0. virginiana, and O. parasitica. 10 S 146 Report of the Commissioner of Fisheries. 1916 In the Mazatlan shells there are O. lurida (with its three varieties), O. conchaphila (with its variety), 0. columbiensis, O. amara, 0. iridescens, and O. virginina fun. Of these, 0. prismatica, Gray ( = O. iridescens, Gray; O. spathulata and margaritacea, Lam.; cequatorialis jun. and puelchana, D'Orb.), from its characteristic large size and shape, is doubtless a distinct species from the Gulf of California. O. megodon, Hani. ( = 0. gallus, Valenc), from Acapulco and Peru, possesses such exaggerated characters in its broad radial folds interlocking at the margin that it also is very likely distinct. 0. virginica, Gmel.; 0. parasitica, Gmel. ( = O. arborea, Chem.) ; and O. rufa, Gld., are doubtful. This narrows us down to the Carpenter group, and in this connection it may be interesting to know something of the " type" specimen, O. lurida. It was obtained from Cooper and came from Shoalwater Bay, Wash. It is somewhat square, 2% x 2% inches, irregularly warped,.bears a scar as if having been attached to a round iron as of an anchor. The shell is thick and heavy, clean, smooth, and of a dull greyish or drab, silky surface. I have seen millions of our western oysters, but never one like this type. If we are to admit to the species only those oysters that conform to the type, then we will be bound to acknowledge that the type specimen is perhaps the only 0. lurida in existence, and all the tons upon tons of western oysters that pass into commerce belong to some other species. If, however, we acknowledge the ability to vary extensively, as seen for the eastern oyster, then the type may be an irregular and deformed specimen of the species. In either case the type is not typical. What" we want in a type is a fair representative of the masses. Strange individuals, oddities, curiosities, malformations, abnormalities, distortions, freaks, and the like, are interesting in relation to the physical conditions or other causes that brought them about, but are of no use in setting forth the character of what is called a species. Carpenter's second collection here (in storage) has several good specimens, marked " typical," that have no more resemblance to the type than this last has to the masses. It is inconceivable how this specimen came to be settled on as a type, unless out of some sense of indebtedness to Cooper, who doubtless gave him the specimen and whose name is on the card accompanying it. The varieties rufoides, laticaudata, and expan-sa are hut variations from the regular form that may be found on mud-fiats. O. conchaphila agrees with the variety that occurs on rocks and under flat stones. Its variety palmula ( = 0. cumingiana, Dkr.) bears radial folds at the margins. O. columbiensis was named by Hanley (Proc. Zool. Soc, 1845, page 107) from Cuming's specimens obtained on the coast of Columbia (United States of Colombia). The descriptions and the single specimen I have seen agree with the first specimens of O. lurida I found on the under-sides of flat stones in Departure Bay, Vancouver Island. I am satisfied that 0. lurida, conchaphila, and columbiensis (with their varieties) are all one species, and that the latter name has precedence. O. amara is a short, deep form with lower valve irregularly radiate and plicated at the margin. O. panamensis is the name applied by Carpenter to Nos. 380a and 3Slb of Adams's shells from Panama. Both amara and panamensis are doubtful, the specimens and descriptions not being satisfactory. All this faunistic work needs to be done over again, on the spot, where common and normal individuals may be selected and attention given to other matter than the mere superficial appearance of the dead shells. AVe are now well past the curiosity stage, when shells from different lands had their monetary value (from a few pence to as much as £10), and were bought and sold in a similar manner to what the more useless old postage-stamps are at the present day. Some of the old conchologists must have pored over their shells for days, months, and even years, trying to decide whether they belonged to this or that species or if they should be made a new species. O. lurida, Carp., with its numerous varieties and synonyms, = O. edulis, Cooper = O. columbiensis, Hani. Carpenter was of the opinion (from Adams's work) that Atlantic species had at some time made connection with the Pacific across the narrow isthmus between the Gulf of Darien and the Bay of Panama, such that 0. virginiana may occur to the west of Central America, Mexico, and even Southern California. And it may have been so, but we need more accurate information than is at present to hand to prove it. Having considered in brief the species from equatorial America northward to California, we are now in a position to judge that northward along California, Oregon, Washington, and 6 Geo. 5 Native Oyster of British Columbia. S 147 British Columbia there is but one native species, with at least all the form-varieties that were formerly considered species (or their varieties). From the little, thin, white, smooth, scale-like variety that clings closely by its whole left side to a rock or stone; to the small or large, more or less deeply-coloured, smooth or rough-surfaced, free variety of tidal flats; to the large, whitish, thin-shelled variety of Blunden Lagoon; to the still larger, more corrugated variety of Campbell Island Lagoon, there is but one species, as shown by the histological structure, the size of the egg, and the enibryological development. That this species is distinct from the eastern species is proved by comparison of average adult sizes of the two oysters, differences of structure, the contents of the reproduction organs, the size of the egg, the different stage of development of the spawn, the size of the larva, and many other particulars. Distribution. The present distribution of the oyster does not depend solely upon its present physical conditions of existence, nor upon its anatomical organization and physiological capabilities, nor upon its ontogenetic development. It depends to a large extent upon its phylogenetic development ; i.e., the past history of its race. Geological distribution (distribution in time) for the oyster goes back to the Lower Carboniferous era, from which time to the present innumerable generations have offered myriads of individuals chances for dispersal in the seas in similar ways to what occur at the present day. White and Heilprin (Fourth Ann. Rep. U.S. Geo. Surv., 1SS2-83) enumerate more than 100 species of fossil oysters from this continent alone. The oyster did not become plentiful until the Oreaceous, when it reached the limit not only in numbers of individuals, but also in numbers of species and genera. Besides the genus Ostrea, the genera Exogyra and Gryphcea were Included in the family OstreUhe. In succeeding periods oysters were not only distributed along the coasts of this continent, but a great brackish-water Laramie Sea, extending from Mexico to Canada, was inhabited by them. Geographical distribution (distribution in space) is confined to the seas of the torrid and temperate zones—the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indians Oceans. The North Atlantic, especially its extensions into Europe (Mediterranean, Adriatic, Black Sea, Bay of Biscay, English Channel, North Sea) and in America (Gulf of St. Lawrence, Gulf of Mexico), is the great oyster-producing ocean of the world. The North Pacific from British Columbia to Panama on the east and from Japan to Australia in the west is relatively poorer, as is also and to a greater extent the Indian Ocean. The oyster occurs in contiguity to all continents. Among the oyster-producing countries may be mentioned Iceland, Norway, Denmark, Germany, France, Great Britain, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Algeria, Senegambia, Canada, United States, Mexico, Central America, West Indies, Brazil, Japan, China, India, Java, New Holland, Australia, Tasmania, New Zealand, and some others. The United States from Cape Cod to the Gulf of Mexico form an almost continuous oyster area, with Chesapeake Bay as the centre and Baltimore the greatest oyster market in the world. The western coast of the United States is much poorer in oysters, which occur, however, from Puget Sound to the Gulf of California. Canada from the Bay of Chaleur to the southern shore of Nova Scotia on the east and a good part of British Columbia, including both sides of Vancouver Island, on the west, although Inferior to the United States in point of production, is yet potentially rich in oysters. While all oysters have or have had free access to the oceans, yet they are and have been restricted to certain parts. This limitation is due to both extrinsic and intrinsic conditions. Extrinsic conditions have to do with the interposition of such barriers as continents, islands, promontories, even rivers and lakes, as well as distance, depth, direction of currents, salinity, coldness, and the character of the bottom or the absence of food. Intrinsic conditions are such as belong to the oyster itself, its organization and capabilities. Specialization of structure means specialization of function (dependent upon structure), which again is associated with loss of ability to perform other functions; i.e., loss of power of adaptation. When .the larva becomes fixed it loses its ability to lead a pelagic life and becomes littoral or bound to the shore. Here there is greater variation in physical conditions, ranging almost from those of deep sea to those of exposure on a tidal beach. Along bluff, projecting capes, where the sea beats with resistless force, the soft, loose earth is washed away; exposed rocks are weathered, corroded, and partly dissolved, leaving great fissures and chasms that eat deeper and deeper until masses are loosened S 148 Report of the Commissioner of Fisheries. 1916 and crash to the bottom, breaking into fragments. These again are rolled and ground against one another until from the rocky promontory outwards there is every gradation between large angular or rounded boulders and pulverized sand. At such places oysters are not ordinarily found. The smaller boulders, stones, gravel, and sand, that have had their corners worn off and become rounded, are sufficient indication that this is no place for living creatures. If any* exist it is in protected corners between rocks or under leaning slabs of stone. Farther around from such a point the rocky walls become lower and less precipitous; the force of the waves less powerful; the depth diminishes; the water is warmer from contact with the shore; the salinity is reduced by admixture with the water of rivulets. We pass from the- extreme of precipitous walls and crags, ceaseless motion and resistless force, grinding, groaning, and roaring, to the extreme of rest and quietness in a sheltered cove, where a forest rises from the water's edge; a beach slants gradually towards the sea; the water is still, warm, and brackish; the more or less sandy or muddy bottom may be covered with a soft fluffy ooze; the water creeps listlessly up and down with the tides, flooding or exposing areas of flats. Between these extremes there are all gradations, varying perhaps through gulfs, bays,, estuaries, coves, lagoons, and pools, gradations appreciable by ourselves, or distinguishable by scientific instruments, or recognizable only by the animal itself, which has been matured under- such conditions and hereditarily connected with progenitors for ages. Since oysters are not inhabitants of the deep sea, nor of exposed promontories, there are- breaks in the continuity of oyster-distribution between habitable bays. If such a bay exists on one side of a promontory, the chances are there will not be another on the other side for at least some distance, which increases the difficulties of the oyster in becoming distributed to fresh areas along the coast. Large bays are in a measure similar to the ocean; it is only their more shallow borders or shores of islands that are adapted to the requirements of the oyster. Thus it comes about that the general distribution consists of a much interrupted shallow-water fringe along the meeting-line of sea and land, with a preference for bays and coves. These are protected from the deep, cold, heavy water of the open ocean, with its irresistible breakers, by islands, capes, reefs, bars, or sand-dunes; the depth of the water is limited; the bottom is of definite character; the salinity and temperature fall between certain extremes; there is food, admixture with fresh water, and no great deposit of sediment. A review of the different stages of organization of the oyster from the egg to the adult will show that there is but one stage when the animal is automatically locomotory—viz., the stage of the larva. In the lifetime of the oyster the larva occupies a relatively brief period and swims only short distances. Moreover, it has a very tender organization and cannot withstand transference to conditions much different from those under which it originates. The spat and the adult are capable of greater defence, but, on account of their complete lack of locomotory organs, their state of fixation, or their weight, their chances of dispersal are very small and must be left to external mechanical agencies of more or less accidental nature. Thus, in proportion to which the oyster becomes specialized for life after a particular fashion, by just so much does, it become hampered in its ability to adapt itself to life in a different manner. The act of fixation, although doubtless of great advantage in saving the lives of multitudes of larvae, yets puts an effective check on succeeding attempts at dispersal. The act of spreading to new areas must be chiefly performed d.uring the short period between spawning and spatting, and especially by movements of the water in which the eggs and larva; are suspended. Transference in mud clinging to birds' feet or attached to rolling shells can have but very limited effect. I have occasionally seen empty valves, that have dried out on the flats at low tide, lifted by the rising water and carried away like miniature boats in tidal currents. Ice formed around oysters or shells at low tide may be lifted and floated away in a similar manner, transporting living oysters or spat-bearing shells with it. Transplanted Connecticut oysters from the flats in Boundary Bay- may be found some miles up the Nicomekl River, where no oysters were ever planted. Habitat. The western oyster occurs in shallow offshoots of the sea in two chief ways—attached to shbmerged rocks, boulders, and stones, or free on beaches and flats. At first sight this distinction appears well made, but in reality the free oysters are either attached to gravel-stones, bits of 6 Geo. 5 Native Oyster of British Columbia. S 149 shells, or other small objects, or have been attached and afterwards become loose. Those that are entirely free will nearly always show a scar in the shape of a hollow or otherwise recognizable surface near the umbo of the left valve, bearing evidence not only of the former fixation, but the nature of the object to which attached. The greatest number are fastened to oyster-shells, but many have used clams, cockles, mussels, whelks, gravel, almost anything of a hard nature that occurs. The most natural position for an oyster is to be fixed in such a manner that it is horizontal, with the deep valve below and the flatter valve above, serving somewhat as a lid. Both fixation and horizontal position are and have been of advantage to the oyster, otherwise they would not have arisen and been perpetuated, the former in holding the oyster above depositing sediment, shifting sand, or smothering mud, the latter in retaining a sufficient quantity of sea-water to support respiration and prevent desiccation during possible tidal periods of exposure. The horizontal position, operating and repeated generation after generation for ages, is doubtless what has brought about the asymmetry or lobsidedness of the oyster—viz., the greater development of the left over the right side and the basin-shape of the left valve and lid-like form of the right. Near relatives of the oyster that lead a free life are symmetrical, and the young of the oyster up to a certain stage of the larva is itself symmetrical. But oysters have to meet different circumstances, and it is not possible for all of the larvae to select the most favourable positions, or even retain them after they are selected. Where there are more or less vertical rocks, or where the under-sides of supports have to be used, it becomes difficult or impossible. A spat fixed vertically may grow away from the support and become for the most part horizontal, but in doing so it limits its area of attachment and is all the more liable to become loosened by the solvent action of the water, alternate wetting and drying, or be brushed away by drift. In falling to the bottom it becomes exposed to a different set of conditions. It may light on the wrong side, become overwhelmed and crushed or smothered by falling or rolling stones, gravel, sand, mud, or sediment, or be exposed to sun and air. A spat attached to the under-side of a leaning rock or supported stone is, of course, upside down with regard to gravitation, although right side up writh reference to its substratum, and is not taking advantage of the basin-shape of its left valve. But it does not need this advantage, since, in such a shaded place, it is guarded against desiccation. Oysters fixed to rocks are not plentiful because of the unfavourable location at the points of capes projecting towards deep, rough water. They are generally of small size with a comparatively large surface of attachment—in many cases the whole outer surface of the left valve. As the oyster grows it follows the surface of the rock; where this is flat the shell becomes flat, thin, broad, and regular in shape; it deepens into a hollow and turns over or away from a ridge, often curving dorsalwards. When growing in a confined space it takes the shape of the space at its disposal. On beaches the oysters are fixed to shells, barnacles, gravel, or other objects, and as a rule do not grow to a large size or occur in great abundance. While not exposed to such great forces as at rocky points, there is a certain amount of rolling of the smaller stones, gravel, and sand, restricting the oysters to few places and small areas. Mud-fiats produce by far the greatest numbers and the largest and finest oysters. This is for the reason that the best conditions prevail there. Such flats occur in bays of considerable size, but shallow, so that the upper end is sufficiently distant from the mouth to warrant a degree of protection at high tide, and the bottom slants off gradually from the high-water mark, leaving smaller or larger areas of gravel, sand, or mud exposed at the time of lowT water. On large flats the bottom varies with the locality. Gravel is pretty well limited to spots where strong currents have cleared away the lighter matter. Sand forms the great mass of the material of flats. Mud or sandy mud is broadly distributed from even the upper limits of the bay, where tidal movement is not very strong, down to hollows and even parts of channels. Black mud is largely organic in composition, a good part having been formed from decaying seaweeds and the bodies of animals. Every bay, even every cove, drains off fresh water in some way or other from the adjoining land. Whether by river, creek, ditch, or soakage; whether in the drought of summer or during the freshets of spring; whether from lakes, springs, rain, or melting snow and ice, the water is carried down to mix with that of the sea. At high tide the meeting-place is some way above the mouth of the river. At low tide, where there are exposed flats, the current follows a channel through the flats and first enters the salt water some distance down the bay. With the falling S 150 Report of the Commissioner of Fisheries. 1916 tide the fresh water at first overflows the flats and later is confined to the channel; with the rising tide the fresh water is at first blocked in the channel and is then raised and swept back over the flats. In deep water, as at the mouth of a bay, the heavy sea-water presses under the lighter surface, water, but where the bottom rises abruptly, off the edges of flats and along the sides of channels, the lower sea-water is directed upwards and mixes with the surface water. Farther up in a bay, where the water becomes shallower, the mixing of sea and fresh water is more complete. During each tide the water of a bay varies in salinity, at one time towards sea-water, at another towards fresh water. Another change effected in the tidal water of bays is the acquisition of warmth. Great areas of flats are exposed to the air and to the sun for several hours during each tide. In the warm seasons these become warmed, even heated, and in turn warm the rising water, which, as it ebbs, carries off heat to the adjoining mass of sea-water. Repetition of the process twice a day soon makes an appreciable difference. The tidal flow, the bringing of lower water to the surface, the spreading and thinning-out over shallow places towards the head of the bay, waves, ripples, and other causes bring about a certain amount of aeration of the water. Exchange of water, alternation between Salter and fresher water, rise in temperature, aeration of the water, exposure to air and sun, cannot fail to have effects on oysters, as well as on other animals and plants associated with them. Along the sides of the channel open at intervals the mouths of narrow or broad sloughs, which begin shallow towards the margins of the bay and deepen as they approach the channel or body of bay-water at low tide. Down these flow currents during falling tide and up them at rising tide. At the lowest spring-tides they may he largely empty or reduced to narrow, shallow strips of drainage-water. At low neap tides they are broad and overflow considerable areas of grass-covered tide-flats. These are the best areas for the native oyster. It is along them or in patches here and there that the native oyster was originally and is yet chiefly to be found. The oysters are either covered with shallow water at low tide or exposed for only short intervals, while the eel-grass acts as a strainer in keeping the water back and preventing complete drainage, or falls over and protects the oysters from direct heat of the sun. The higher parts of flats are first to he exposed and last to be submerged. Where they are sandy, as they often are along the banks of the channels or on delta-like deposits at the mouths of rivers or of channels, the surface is of a more or less unstable nature, being to some extent shifted by movements of the water or even winds. During the time of low tide in warm weather the surface sand may dry off and be drifted by the wind like snow in winter or surface sand of deserts. At places sharp-edged overhanging banks are formed in this way, of which the edges keep dropping over into the current and the sand carried to be deposited elsewhere. At rising tide dry sand-grains surrounded by a layer of air are floated up and carried away. Under shallow water, as at certain stages of falling and rising tide, the whole surface is thrown into ripple-marks. Portions of the banks are being removed by currents, while other parts are being added to. In some places secondary channels are being cut, and in time the whole area may be completely changed. This changeableness renders it unfit for habitation by oysters. In fact, such places are rarely tenanted by any animals, although some burrowing species of clams or worms or fluctuating starfish, snails, or nudibranchs may occasionally occur. The water as it ebbs and flows above may be so laden with sediment as to interfere with respiratory and feeding processes. Even seaweeds ■ can rarely find a footing in such places any more than on sandy beaches, points, or bars. The lower parts of flats are exposed to the air for shorter periods and covered with water for longer period^. They generally are, and tend to become, of a different character from the higher parts. Heavy elements.such as gravel are rarely to be found except towards the mouths of sloughs, where from the strength of the currents lighter matters have been washed away. Sand predominates, but not the fine, light, clean, loose kind of the higher parts already referred to. The sand here is mixed with other elements that help to pack and harden it into a more resistant substratum. A certain amount of mud and clay is washed down by rivers or worn away from the borders of the bay. Broken-up and disintegrating shells are an important factor. Sediment, ooze, and even chemical substances are deposited from the water. Decomposition of seaweeds, eel-grass, drift, the bodies of animals contribute to the formation of a black organic mud. Bacteria, diatoms, algffi, infusoria, worms, starfish, Crustacea, whelks, clams, and other 6 Geo. 5 Native Oyster of Britispi Columbia. S 151 organisms abound; and oysters find here more suitable physical conditions as well as a greater abundance of food. Black mud is an indication of the presence of food-matter. The comparatively quiet, shallow water of bays is not only an advantage to oysters, but to the diatoms that form the bulk of their food. The sharp edges of eel-grasses are often studded with diatoms that are continually breaking away and drifting in the water, to be gathered in as food by the respiratory currents of oysters, spats, and larvae. The areas between sloughs are not absolutely flat, but have their higher and lower spots, of which the former may dry off, while the latter retain shallow pools of water during the periods of low tides. In some of the pools there is eel-grass and sometimes clustered or scattered oysters. The greater part of the intervening areas is composed of bare, firm sand. Even this is exposed to continuous, slow action on the part of local currents formed by the rising and falling of the tidal water. Small events sometimes give rise to processes which effect great changes in a few months or years. A softer spot in the sand, a clam-burrow, the track of a man, the furrow left by the stranding of a boat, may originate a little whirl of water, a small current or an eddy, which will gradually clear its way and hollow out a new pool, a little slough, or a tributary channel. Part of the main current may be diverged to a new course across the flats. Every change of the surface is liable to interfere with smaller or larger groups of oysters, in undermining and allowing them to sink into the sand or mud, in silting them over and shutting them off from access to the water, in rolling them into gutters that may be afterwards filled up, and in many other ways. The great disadvantage of mud-flats is the absence of rocks, stones, or other hard bodies to serve as places of fixation for spats. This is largely overcome by dead shells of mussels, cockles, clams, and whelks, living on the surface or burrowing in the mud. Larvae from more or less distant oysters may be brought by the tides and somewhat accidentally secure a footing on the shells. The first generation offers an increased surface for the next, and soon there are not only broad surfaces for attachment, but an abundance of larvae produced on the spot. Each shell may become the nucleus of a bunch of oysters, which later are broken apart and scattered until there is formed a considerable bed of oysters where formerly there were none. The oysters in such bunches grow away from a small area of attachment and tend to become long and slim, but after being separated fill out and form better samples. Oyster banks and oyster reefs such as occur in the East, consisting of elevations, ridges, or broad areas of dead oyster-shells of vast extent and several feet deep, with living oysters only on the surface, are not found in the West. The shell of the western oyster is not sufficiently durable, being not only much smaller and thinner but much softer than that of the eastern oyster and more readily undergoing decomposition. In shell-heaps (kitchen middens) left by our Indians in many places along the coast there is an abundance of western clams, but relatively few oysters. Of the oysters on a bed many are continually dying from old age, disease, or accidents. Their places are being constantly taken by younger generations coming on in succession back through the stages of smaller and smaller oysters, spats, larvae, embryos, and eggs. The eggs are produced by the older oysters and spawning takes place where these oysters are living. The habitat of the old oysters becomes the habitat for the developing young. The larvae lie on the bottom for part of the time, but are able to rise and swim for intervals, during which time, partly by their own efforts and partly by tides and currents, they may be transported to other places. The spats are fixed to solid bodies, where, unless they in some way become afterwards freed, they remain the rest of their lives. All are subject to accidents, such as being overwhelmed in sand or mud. They all need water of a salinity and temperature neither too high nor too low. They all require food. Typical Localities. Boundary Bay, as a type of an oyster-bay, stands alone in comparison with the other localities along our coast in its larger size and extensive flats and sloughs. Its flats form a series with the great sand-heads at the mouth of the Fraser River to the north, and to the south with the flats extending into Puget Sound in the State of Washington. The original stock of oysters in Boundary Bay was small and scattered, as can still be seen in those parts that are not cultivated. Southward are several uyster areas, as at Samish, passing over to the beds about Olympia at the head of Puget Sound. S 152 Report of the Commissioner of Fisheries. 1916 Oyster Harbour (at Ladysmith), Nanoose Bay, and Malaspina Inlet (Okeover Arm) are examples of narrower bays, with smaller areas restricted to beaches at their upper ends. Von Donop Creek (Cortes Island), the lagoons behind Blunden Harbour, and a lagoon on Campbell Island (near Bella Bella) furnish another type—that of a shallow-water lagoon. In travelling northward from Boundary Bay, first shallow-water flats soon fail and then shallow-water beaches become scarce. The coast assumes a bold and precipitous aspect, broken by numerous fiord-like indentations and presenting a general sameness of structure. Steep, rocky, high hanks, narrow channels, deep water, shady cliffs, mountains and forests, snow-clad peaks and glaciers, cold spring and alpine streams are not adapted to the requirements of the oyster. The Strait of Georgia, protected by Vancouver Island, furnishes areas of flats and beaches; Queen Charlotte Sound and the exposed waters of the open coast exhibit only isolated cases of special structural advantages such as lagoons. The oysters of the former adhere to the common types, those of the latter tend towards peculiar variations. Natural Conditions of Existence. Starting out with the oyster as it is found in nature under the conditions of a broad distribution and gradually narrowing down to the habitat of the individual with a view to discover its essential requirements, it becomes evident that, while in a limited sense the natural conditions of existence have to do with a small volume of the medium immediately surrounding the living oyster, yet the conditions of that small quantity are not dependent upon itself alone, but extend through a vast space to multitudes of objects outside. The non-occurrence of the oyster on land, in fresh water, in the deep ocean, in polar seas, coupled with the facts of its distribution in shallow water of equatorial and temperate seas, shows that it requires a special medium—viz., the salt water of the ocean—that it needs the - heat of at least a temperate climate, that it must have a more or less solid substratum upon which to rest, and as a fourth necessity must be mentioned food. These may be taken as chief of the factors that recur and interknit in a variety of ways throughout the climatic, physical, chemical, and biological environment of the oyster. Sea-ivater is the natural and necessary medium for the oyster. It is the proper and the only proper medium. It is the medium to which the oyster is habituated and to which it has become more and more adapted, not only since the oyster was an egg, but for countless generations, even before its ancestors could have been recognized as oysters. All its organs and activities have been developed under the conditions of a salt-water medium. Fresh water would serve to bathe and keep its soft body from drying and clogging, could assume the proper temperature, could bring oxygen to' and carry away carbon dioxide from its gills, might even supply food. Yet if swimming larvae of the oyster be transferred from sea-water into fresh water their activities cease on the instant, and their organs become fixed and rigid in the position of movement at which they happened to be when the transfer took place. Of all things taking part in the life of the oyster, sea-water is the most constantly and the most intimately concerned. An oyster may be transferred from a tropical to a temperate climate, from the bay in which it had its origin to another of somewhat different physical structure, and continue to live and thrive. But if placed in a body of fresh water, or in the air, or in sand, not to mention other possible media, it will soon die, and in its tenderest and more susceptible stages it will die suddenly. Heat stands only second to sea-water in importance to the oyster. That this is so may be judged from the northerly and southerly distribution, which is confined to torrid and temperate zones, and, in fact, to the shallower and warmer portions of these. Adults could withstand greater cold than that to which they are generally exposed, but they need warmth to develop their eggs and young, as well as for the production of abundant food. Too great a degree of heat or too great a degree of cold (which is but absence of heat) is fatal. Where oysters are living at some depth below the surface, extremes of temperature cannot occur because of the protective influence of the water above them, which does not readily or rapidly change. In very shallow water or when exposed to air the direct action of the sun or of frost can go beyond the usual limits. The effect is observable in early summer, when numbers of oysters on flats succumb to the first warm spells of weather, and in winter when they are caught in frost or ice. More extensive mortality, although not so apparent, results from sudden changes of temperature on larva? or other young stages of oysters. 6 Geo. 5 Native Oyster of British Columbia. S 15c It is difficult to recognize the extent to which heat affects external conditions. It is not only responsible for the temperature of the medium and the rapidity of the production of food, but it is to be largely accredited with the state of fluidity of the sea-water, the solidity of the substratum, the movements of the water such as waves and tidal currents, and of the air such as winds, the precipitation of rain, the composition of the dissolved contents of the sea-water, and many other phenomena that profoundly affect the life of the oyster. It is the form of energy equally potent in climatic, physical, chemical, or biological conditions. Weight, pressure, friction, hardness, roughness, light, aeration, associates, enemies, competition, defence, etc., exercises a subsidiary influence in the life of the oyster. A substratum of more or less solid consistence is necessary for the oyster. It cannot rest on the surface of or remain suspended in sea-water. It has to lie on the bottom or be supported on something solid. On the bottom it is subject to great dangers, more especially the deposit of sediment and the drifting of sand and mud, which might close around and bury it out of access to sea-water and food, and stifle it for want of oxygen or crush it under the accumulating weight. Adult oysters have no means of extricating themselves from such a position or of migrating to a different locality. Where there is no, or little, deposit or drift they may lie on soft bottom and feed and grow satisfactorily. But the eggs and embryonic stages of a new generation would have little chance in such a place, since, because of their small size, they would filter down among the particles of sand or mud and be crushed by the swaying movements brought about by the overlying water. The larv«, however, are capable of rising and swimming for short periods, and consequently have a chance of reaching solid bodies, such as scattered dead shells, gravel, stones, or rocks, on which they are more likely to remain safe. The fortunate among them succeed in fastening their shells to the solids, and as spats become supported for a time at least above the area of deposit. In this position the spat may grow to an adult or it may sooner or later become loosened and drop away free. In the latter case, because of the .support offered by its broad surface, it is now not so likely to sink into the soft bottom and lose its life. Food is required to promote the growth of the young and to sustain the life of the full-grown. At first thought it may appear that the presence of food is the most important essential in the surroundings of the oyster. But the oyster can do without food for a longer time than it can resist an adverse medium, the extremes of temperature, suffocation, or pressure. No one condition is of itself sufficient. Even two or three are not enough. Sea-water, warmth, substratum, nourishment, constitute the minimum of requirements for the continued life of the oyster. Adaptation to one carries with it a specialization to which the others have to become correlated. Sea-water as a medium, fixation as a mode of life, special temperature, all effect limitations upon the kind and quantity of food accessible to the oyster. Only those organisms can serve it for food that can live in the same regions with the oyster and can be drawn by the respiratory current to its •digestive organs. It thus results that the great mass of the food of oysters consists of diatoms—minute, microscopic, unicellular plants that float suspended in sea-water as a constituent of plankton or that fringe the edges of eel-grass or other weeds, from which they are continually breaking away and drifting freely in the water. Examination of eel-grass by means of a lens or microscope during the warm season will show the surface and especially the sharp edges thickly studded with diatoms standing out in much the same way as a coat of hair. Fucus, Laminaria, and other seaweeds; the surface of rocks, stones, gravel, even mud; shells, Crustacea, tumicates, fishes, and other animals, all give attachment to diatoms that contribute to the supply of free forms suspended in the water. Desmids, filamentous algffi, and other minute species of plants, together with spores, seeds, and debris of larger species, furnish smaller quantities of food, as also do protozoa, hydroids, bryozoa, helminths, copepods, eggs, and small young stages of many animals. Climatic conditions affect the oyster directly or indirectly in a great number of ways. The oceanic distribution of the oyster north and south of the equator depends primarily upon climate. The temperature of the air is communicated to the surface water, which, if it is cooled, sinks, because of increased specific gravity, and mixes with deeper layers; if it is warmed, it is also mixed by wave or tidal movements until lower layers, and in shallow water the lowest, are changed. Winds transfer warm air from a heated plain or cold air from snow-capped mountains. Precipitation of rain, snow, sleet, or hail from the air into the water, besides a change of S 154 Report of the Commissioner of Fisheries. 1916 temperature, reduces the salinity, and on exposed flats may come into direct contact with larva? or other susceptible stages. Frost and ice in winter and extreme heat of the sun in summer produce serious results. Fog, mist, humidity, intercept heat from the sun or reduce radiation from the earth. Seasonal changes, but especially the biennial changes which divide the year into a- cold and a warm season, bring about on the part of the oyster corresponding periods of growth or reproduction. In northern countries, where the seasons are sharply defined, there is restriction of the breeding to a short period. In countries where there is no extreme difference between the cold and the warm season the breeding time of the oysters is spread over a longer period. Physical conditions influencing the oyster are not confined to its immediate vicinity, but begin with the air and the adjoining land and extend into the sea, giving character to its bed, and depth, movements, constitutents, and temperature to its water. The topography of the adjacent land is a fair indication of the physiography of the ocean-bed. Mountains harbour snow, glaciers, springs, and precipitate fogs, rain, and hail. Cold air flows down their slopes as rivers do through their valleys, in both cases occasioning and giving direction to movements and changes of temperature, and carrying fresh water, sediment, calcium carbonate, or other matters to the sea. Forests affect the temperature and composition of the air, which, in winds, storms, waves, and currents, is in part mixed with the surface water and carried to the ocean. The bed of the ocean is almost as irregular as the surface of the land, being raised into mountain-like ridges, reefs, cliffs, banks, or flats, with intervening plains, valleys, or channels, up and down which a great part of the movement of the water takes place. Local differences of the bottom occur, such as crags, boulders, stones, gravel, sand, mud, and ooze, and the water varies from being thick with sediment to being clear and pure. Movements of the water, such as waves, river currents, tides, tidal currents, and ocean currents, mix surface water with air, with fresh water, and with sea-water from greater depths or different regions, and thus distribute suspended or dissolved contents or contained heat or cold. The water exercises a solvent and disintegrating action upon rocks, which are continually crumbling on the surface and in part being carried to other places—chiefly of a lower level. Depth affects the pressure, force of movements, light, specific gravity, temperature. The physical states of water, and its changes on the one hand into ice and on the other into vapour, reacts in a variety of ways, especially in shallow water, either indirectly through modification of the bed or directly through contact or exposure. Salinity or saltiness is what primarily distinguishes sea-water from fresh water. The taste is due to the salts in solution, and more especially to common salt or what is commonly called salt. Strictly speaking, the amount of salts in solution, not the number or kinds, is what constitutes salinity. Their weight added to that of the water makes sea^water heavier than fresh water—i.e., gives to it a higher specific gravity.* At first thought sea-water may seem to be only water containing a limited amount of salt or sodium chloride, and it is not immediately apparent that water taken from the head of a hay, from the surface at the centre of the bay, from the bottom, from the mouth, or from a distance outward in the ocean would present any difference either in contents or in physiological effect. At the heads and margins of bays there is an accession of fresh water from soakage, springs, streams, creeks, or rivers. At such places the water may be quite fresh. Farther off there is a little sea-water mixed with fresh water, rendering it brackish. Still farther outwards the water is distinctly salty. One way of finding the amount of dissolved salts in sea-water is to weigh equal volumes of fresh water and of sea-water. A quicker and more practicable way (especially when out to sea aboard a boat) is to use an hydrometer or salinometer. Either of these when floated in sea- water will indicate its relative weight or specific gravity as compared with pure water. The specific gravity of distilled water at 0° C. at the sea-level is taken as the standard and is called 1. Fresh water, as from rain, springs, wells, has a S.G. of 1, although there may be traces of mineral * The term density, sometimes erroneously used for specific gravity, has reference to the closeness of structure of a body. Cold causes shrinkage of volume and, as there is the same amount of matter in less space, increase of density. Volume for volume, the body weighs heavier—i.e., has a higher specific gravity. Pressure does the same, but, on account of the great incompressibility of water, especially at the moderate depths where oysters live, there is scarcely any change from this cause. The Increased specific gravity of sea-water over fresh water is due to the salts dissolved in it—i.e., its salinity. The figures representing specific gravity enable the salinity to be recognized at once. 6 Geo. 5 Native Oyster of British Columbia. S 155 or other matter from the land, from the air, or from decomposing or living organisms. Sea-water in the open sea a few miles from shore has a S.G. of about 1.024. Between the head of a bay where fresh water enters and the open sea there may be all degrees of S.G. from 1.000 to 1.024. This means that in the first case 1,000 cubic centimetres (or 1,000 grams) of the fresh water contain no salt; in the second case 1,000 cc. (or 1,024 grams) of the sea-water contain 24 grams of dissolved salts, constituting its salinity. As the specific gravity of a sample of water depends upon the place at which it is taken, so also it depends upon the time or rather the state of the tide. During ebb-tide the fresh-water accessions follow on the surface of and behind the receding water down to the low-water mark. During rising tide the heavy salt water from outside is brought up to the high-water mark, carrying with it, of course, some of the fresh water, which, because of the flow, is pretty uniformly mixed with the sea-water. Similarly, towards the centre or mouth of a deep bay or still farther outwards, the surface water from admixture with the lighter fresh water is of a less specific gravity—i.e., contains less salt than the heavy salt water underneath. In the vicinity of a large river even the latter may be somewhat reduced in salinity. Extremes are formed by the estuary of a large river in one case and a deep-water bay with little or no fresh water supply in the other. Rain adds directly to the fresh-water supply of a bay and indirectly through the rivers or other drainage from the land. A heavy fall of snow through the winter makes a difference in the supply of fresh water during the next spring and summer. In mountainous regions a great quantity of snow on the neighbouring peaks may keep up a constant supply of drainage-water all through the summer. Glaciers and springs in like manner make their contributions. On the other hand, tidal currents, even high winds, may bring up greater quantities of outer sea- water than usual. It will be evident that for purposes of comparison between different years, different months. or other times, it is important to take readings of specific gravity under similar conditions as to place and state of tide. Over the oyster-beds out in the bay at high tide of May 10th, 1913, and May 11th, 1915, the S.G. was the same, 1.021 On May 22nd the figures were 1.020 and 1.0215 for the same two years. On June 3rd, 1913, and June 4th, 1915, they were 1.017 and 1.0215 ; and on July 14th, 1913, the S.G. went down to 1.011, while on July 17th, 1915, it was up to 1.0205. The main cause for the differences is to be found in the facts that the mountains in sight from the bay bore white caps of deep snow in the former summer, while in the latter the snow was very thin with dark streaks of land showing through. In the one case the rivers were flooded; in the other they were low. In the first year water of high S.G. had to be sought outwards in the bay; in the second it came right up to the banks and even extended into the rivers. In 1913 the S.G. of all my surface readings fluctuated between 1.011 and 1.0215; in 1915 between 1.016 and 1.0225. In the latter year the difference between a high tide and the succeeding low tide only varied about 0.001 to 0.002 in S.G., showing what a small amount of fresh water made its way into the bay. Nevertheless, that there was, even in this dry summer, a continuous difference in the salinity of surface and deep water may be shown by the following observation: On June 15th, 1915, in 20 fathoms of water off the mouth of the bay, the surface water had a S.G. of 1.020, and the bottom water a S.G. of 1.0235. The bottom water was brought up for examination by a Negretti and Zambra deep-sea water-bottle. The temperature of sea-water depends upon a great number of conditions besides the sun's heat and the latitude. In the open ocean there are few causes for modification of the direct action between sun and water and the changes are small and gradual. Where sea and land meet there are many causes for modification, and the changes are greater, more frequent, and more rapid of development. Most of these causes are to be found in the atmosphere covering both land and sea, the physiography of the contiguous land, the depth and form of the ocean-bed, and the physical properties of water itself. Sea-water is coldest in midwinter and warmest in midsummer. Inshore becomes warmer than offshore water, which is due to the lower specific heat of land over that of water. Exposed to the same source of heat, land becomes warmed to a higher degree than water and in turn warms the air and the water in contact with it. The flow of the air in winds and of the water in rivers carries heat to shore-waters, where tides and ocean currents distribute it. The water of bays is most affected by the heat of summer. Exposed banks, beaches, and flats are heated by sun and air and then warm the inflowing tide-water, which, upon receding, :S 156 Report of the Commissioner of Fisheries. 1916 mixes with and warms the adjoining outer water. The change is little, but when repeated twice a day it gradually effects an appreciable result. In the five months May-September the lowest temperature I have recorded was 10.5° C, taken in Grenville Channel July 29th, 1914. In the open water of Boundary Bay July 28th, 1913, I have the reading 20° C. (and for July 30th, 1915, 19° C). Neglecting the small variation due to difference of latitude, this may be taken as a comparison between an area exposed to the open sea and one protected therefrom by a large island, bringing the water into intimate contact with the land. Another comparison of the same nature is afforded by observation of a temperature of 11° C. off Shelter Bay, Queen Charlotte Sound, August 3rd, 1914, and of 17.5° C. in Von Donop Creek, Cortes Island, two days later. The first place is exposed to the open sea, while the latter is well protected behind Vancouver Island. A still stronger proof is shown by comparison of temperatures at two points in the Strait of Georgia so close together that there is no question of a difference of latitude. Between Galiano and Mayne Islands, August 11th, 1914, the water was 14° C, whereas on the -day before in Horseshoe Bay it was 24° C. These islands are situated in the deep, cold, tidal water that enters through Juan de Fuca Strait, while the bay is shallow water, out of the way of the chief tidal current and well protected by land. The land not only warms the incoming tidal water, but it warms the outgoing river-water. That this Is true is well shown by observations, August 11th, 1914, while crossing the Strait of Georgia from Mayne to Vancouver. As we have seen, the water at the first place was at 14° C, but as soon as the muddy water from the Fraser River was reached the temperature went up to 20° C. At Boundary Bay similar observations have been made over and over again. On June Sth, 1915, in the region of the salmon-traps off the mouth of the hay, the water was at 15° C, while under the Nicomekl bridge it was nearly 20° C. The heating effect of flats during a single tide may be shown hy the following: On August 14th, 1915, the high-tide water in Boundary Bay was 20° C. During the succeeding low tide ■exposed flats extending far into the bay became warmed by the sun to such an extent that the water in a shallow dyke rose to the temperature of 26.5° C. before the next tide arrived. The ■edge of the water in shallow bays and in lagoons often reaches 30° C. Where the water does not flow off and back again but simply falls and rises—i.e., where there is a considerable depth of water for mixture with that that is warmed—the change is not so great. Under the bridge of the Nicomekl River, May 15th, 1915, high tide 17° C, low tide 19° C.; August 15th, high tide 20°., low tide 22° C. A similar thing is observable in the channel of the Serpentine River, where it winds its way between flats at some distance from its high-water entrance into the bay. On July 9th, 1915, at low tide, the temperature was 20° C. One hour after low tide it was 21.5° C. Two hours after low tide it was 21° C. Four hours after low tide it was 20° C. There was no considerable or sudden change. The increase of temperature from 20° to 21.5° was due to the water in the channel rising along warmer banks before the cold tidal water reached it. As the water at the upper end of a bay is warmer and that at the mouth of the hay and outwards towards the broad ocean is colder, so surface water is warmer and deep water is colder. On June 15th, 1915, between the inner and outer lines of salmon-traps off the mouth of Boundary Bay, in 20 fathoms sounding, the surface temperature was 17.5° C. and the bottom temperature was 12.5° C. Near the same place, in 19 fathoms, July 13th, the readings were 15.5 and 13, the low surface temperature being due to cloudy and rainy weather. As might be suspected, surface water is most variable. This changes from place to place and from day to day, even from one time of day to another. A sunny or a cloudy day, a shower of rain, a wind, may cause considerable difference. The proximity of mountains, especially those that are snow-capped or contain glaciers, cools the air and the drainage-water from them. Evaporation carries off heat. One cubic centimetre of water by volume (or 1 gram by weight) at or a little above 0° C. absorbs 1 calorie of heat for a rise of 1° C, or 100 calories up to the point of vaporization. It then absorbs 536 calories as it turns into vapour, without effecting any change in its temperature (latent heat of steam, latent heat of vaporization of water). The greatest amount of heat is rendered latent when there is the greatest amount of evaporation—i.e., in the warmest weather. If it were not carried off in this way it would pass into and increase the temperature of the already warmed body of water left behind. In shallow water the temperature would rise to such a degree as to prove fatal to oysters and other living organisms. 6 Geo. 5 Native Oyster of British Columbia. S 157 Freezing liberates heat. One cubic centimetre of water while freezing into ice gives up SO calories of heat (latent heat of water, latent heat of fusion of ice). This tends to delay the process of freezing. Fresh water in cooling on the surface becomes of greater specific gravity and sinks until the whole mass is lowered to 4° C. The surface water in further cooling becomes of less specific gravity (from formation of crystals of ice) and remains at the surface. When a sheet of ice is formed at 0° C. it protects the underlying water from further extreme. Sea-water does not freeze at 0° C. but at —1.9° C. The water underneath becomes a little colder than fresh water under similar circumstances. It is not cold, however, but freezing, which is injurious to oysters. In all these cases water responds slowly to change; i.e., it requires the transfer of a great deal of heat to effect any change in it. Water is thus a very stable substance in itself and acts as a great leveller of extremes. This is further exhibited in comparison with the sand of beaches and flats. While 1 calorie will heat 1 gram of water 1° C, it requires only about 0.16 calorie to do the same for 1 gram of sand. This is to say that where water and sand are exposed to the same heat of the sun on a hot summer day the sand assumes a higher temperature than the water. Similarly, in shallow water the sun's rays to a great extent pass through the water and are taken up by the underlying sand, which in turn gives up heat to the water. Oysters exposed on sand in hot weather soon begin to gape. In thin layers of water they may do the same, but in deeper layers they are protected by the tempering action of the water. The warm season for the year 1913 was late in arriving; 1914 was earlier, and 1915 still earlier. Comparing the first and the last, it may be said that 1913 was a late season and 1915 an early one. On May 10th, 1913, over the oyster-beds out in the bay, the temperature of the surface water was 13° C, whereas on May 11th, 1915, it was 17° C. This single comparison is supported by readings of temperatures at corresponding periods throughout the two seasons. As we have also seen, the first was a season of low S.G. of bay-water; the latter one of high S.G. And these conditions had their effect upon the oysters. In 1913 the first oyster containing ripe spawn was found May 21st, and the first larva? taken from the water June 6th. In 1914 the same occurred on May 7th and 22nd. In 1915, although observations were begun May 9th, it was too late to see the first spawn or even the first larva?—there were larvae in the water at the first collection of plankton. In the latter year spats were found high up around the margins of the bay, on shells, stones, timbers of wharf, even delicate seaweeds like Enteromorpha. Chemical conditions have reference to the composition of natural sea-water, its constant and variable constituents, and its dilution with fresh water. The efficiency of sea-water as a medium for the oyster is not due to the chemical constitution of water as such—i.e., its molecular contents of two atoms of hydrogen and one of oxygen held together by chemical affinity—but is due rather to the physical properties of water as a fluid, and the chemical properties of the dissolved contents of the water. The physical properties of sea-water, such as fluidity, specific gravity, incompressibility, stability, cohesion, adhesion, capillarity, specific heat, latent heat, etc., are of the utmost importance in making it a suitable medium. The chemical properties of the salts in solution are what give to sea-water its special efficiency over fresh water. The physical and chemical properties of water, along with its wide distribution, constitute it the great universal solvent. The oceans with their multiform extensions into the continents, meeting the discharge of a more than equally varied network of surface and subterranean fresh water, bring water into contact with all kinds of rocks, minerals, and soils, to which must be added living and dead animal and vegetable matters, as well as air. Contact of the at first neutral solvent with more or less soluble substances transforms it into a weak chemical reagent, with, in some cases, greater and more varied powers for dissolving. Fresh water eventually makes its way to the sea with its small store of dissolved substances, and can only return to the higher levels of the land through evaporation and transport by the air. But the vapour of water does not carry back dissolved salts to the land. These accumulate and slowly increase the salinity of the ocean. Because of the circulation of water from oceans to continents and back again, it would not be surprising if the ocean-water were found to contain at least traces of almost every known chemical element and most of the inorganic compounds. From plants and animals it must also contain many organic compounds. S 158 Report of the Commissioner of Fisheries. 1916 The most easily recognized constituent of sea-water is simply revealed by the taste—that of common or table salt (sodium chloride) ; and it is due to this that sea-water is also called salt water. If some sea-water be evaporated in a dish its salt may be procured solid, although not in pure form. A little of the powder (or some of the original sea-water) placed on moist red litmus-paper will soon turn it blue, showing the presence also of an alkali. Other substances are obtained in the manufacture of salt from sea-water, in the ashes of burnt seaweeds, in the crusts lining the boilers of sea-going steamers. Both qualitative and quantitative chemical analyses of sea-water require very great care and the use of highly technical methods. The ordinary methods of qualitative analysis (as given, e.g., in Prescott and Johnson's Qualitative Chemical Analysis) do not at once show all that the sea-water holds in solution. If to sea-water in a test-tube be added hydrochloric acid, there is no precipitate and consequently no first-group metals present (silver, lead, mercury). Hydrogen sulphide produces no precipitate—no second-group metals (arsenic, antimony, tin, gold, platinum, molybdenum, mercury, lead, bismuth, copper, cadmium). With a drop of nitric acid, warmed, and then ammonium chloride and ammonium hydrate, there results no precipitate —no third group (aluminium, chromium, iron). Hydrogen sulphide again gives no precipitate— no fourth .group (cobalt, nickel, manganese, zinc). Ammonium hydrate and ammonium carbonate give a white precipitate—fifth-group metals (barium, strontium, calcium), that when filtered off leaves a filtrate in which sodium hydrogen phosphate gives a white precipitate (magnesium). The first precipitate is dissolved in dilute acetic acid and divided into three portions; to the first is added potassium bichromate and no precipitate shown no barium; the second with calcium sulphate shown no strontium; the third with ammonium oxalate produces a white precipitate of calcium oxalate, proving the presence of calcium. A sixth group (potassium, sodium, lithium, CcCsium, rubidium, ammonium) is not precipitated by the above group-reagents. A little of the white powder obtained by the evaporation of sea-water when held in a Bunsen flame colours it especially yellow (sodium). When viewed through a cobalt glass the flame appears violet (potassium). Through a spectroscope there are to be seen the calcium, sodium, and potassium lines. During the heat of summer the edges of lagoons, where there is a good deal of evaporation, show deposits on grass, sticks, stones, earth, shells, etc., of a yellowish or reddish colour, suggesting the oxides of iron. A little of this shaken up with water in a test-tube gives a greenish colour with potassium ferrocyanide, a deep blue with potassium ferricyanide, and a brownish colour with potassium sulphoeyanide. A few drops of nitric acid added to these change the first to blue, the second remains blue, and third turns red, any one of which reactions proving the presence of iron. Sea-water itself, when similarly treated, first shows no change; with a drop of nitric acid and a little heat the first turns faint blue, the second is unchanged, the third turns red and then fades. Thus, with these extremely sensitive reagents, sea-water is shown to contain iron, although not apparently precipitated in the third group. By very special methods sea-water has been shown to contain traces of many other elements (chlorine, bromine, iodine, fluorine, phosphorus, nitrogen, carbon, sulphur, silicon, boron, cobalt, nickel, manganese, aluminium, barium, strontium, arsenic, lithium, ca?sium, rubidium, gold). A few acid radicals may be shown. If to the powder left by evaporation of sea-water sulphuric acid be added there is effervescence—i.e., liberation of gas. Moist blue litmus-paper held over the gas is reddened. Fresh lime-water held as a drop in the end of a glass tube above the effervescing mass is turned turbid. The gas is or contains carbon dioxide, the acid radical of carbonic acid. It also has a suffocating smell, gives a white precipitate in a drop of silver nitrate, and with vapour of ammonia produces a white cloud, proving that it also contains hydrochloric acid. A little of the powder dissolved in water (or some of the original sea-water) with barium nitrate gives a white precipitate of barium sulphate, indicating that it contains sulphur troxide, the acid radical of sulphuric acid. These acid radicals combined with the former metals or bases give such substances as sodium and magnesium chlorides; magnesium, calcium, and potassium sulphates; and calcium carbonate, constituting the greater part of the .salts of sea-water. 6 Geo. 5 Native Oyster of British Columbia. S 159 Quantitative analyses of sea-water have been made. From analysis of seventy-seven samples, taken from different localities by the Challenger expedition, Dittmar arrived at an approximate composition of the salts in sea-water:— Sodium chloride 77.758 Magnesium chloride 10.878 Magnesium sulphate 4.737 Calcium sulphate 3.600 Potassium sulphate 2.465 Calcium carbonate 0.345 Magnesium bromide 0.217 100.000 It is believed that this does not represent the actual conditions in the sea. Not more than 10 per cent, of the dissolved salts exists as such compounds, and then in all possible combinations ; the rest is dissociated as ions. Sea-water can hold only about half the quantity of calcium carbonate given, the rest most likely existing as bicarbonate of calcium and ma.gnesium and hydrates of the same (causing the alkalinity). Calcium sulphate and calcium and magnesium carbonates are near to saturation. Besides the great areas of calcareous rock in the sea-bottom, there is fresh calcium carbonate formed from the calcium in the water and the carbon dioxide from the air, respiration and decomposition of animals. The carbonate is scarcely soluble, but in the presence of carbon dioxide (forming bicarbonate) is freely soluble. Iron from minerals is brought into solution in a similar manner. Oxygen is taken up from the air above fresh and salt water, especially through the action of waves and currents. It is not soluble to so great an extent in sea-water as in fresh water. Warm water takes up less than cold. Pressure reduces the amount. It is in greatest quantity in surface water. It is used up in the respiration of animals, but to a large extent restored by plants. Carbon dioxide is taken up from the air and is also present as carbonates. It is liberated in respiration of animals and absorbed in that of plants. It is of value to the oyster as a constituent of the shell. The halogens (fluorine, chlorine, bromine, iodine) must be present in minute quantities in sea-water from the disintegration of seaweeds from which they are prepared commercially. The contents of the sea-water are not constants—they must vary in quality and quantity with the locality, the character of the bottom, depth, temperature, pressure, rivers, nature of land drained, atmosphere, animals and plants, etc Biological conditions are perhaps more confined to the regions inhabited by the oyster than are climatic, physical, or chemical conditions. The living things with which the oyster has to do as a general rule originate in, or in nearness to, the areas they inhabit. Other animals and plants occupy positions that might be taken by oysters, or compete with them for food, or pollute the water in which the oyster lives, or wander back and forth as enemies against which the oyster has to assume a state of defence. Enemies that prey directly upon oysters are not numerous, thanks to the protection afforded by the shells. Seals may pick up thin-shelled, loose oysters and crack the shells between their jaws, swallowing soft parts and rejecting hard parts. Certain carnivorous or omnivorous fish, such as rays, flounders, cunners, sculpins, and even cods, may devour young oysters or spats, while little fish like herrings must swallow numbers of larva? and eggs. Crabs break the thin, growing edges of oyster-shells and suck out soft parts or expose them to attacks from other animals. Whelks bore holes through shells and insert a long proboscis through which to suck the flesh of the oyster. Starfish engulf small-sized oysters with their extruded stomachs, or by a long, constant pull with their sucker-feet tire a large oyster until it gapes, when the starfish will insert an arm and eventually its stomach. Certain worms bore channels in the shells of oysters until the shells become weakened or softened. The boring-sponge perforates the shells until they resemble honey-comb. The oyster-crab does not occur in Canadian oysters. Parasitic worms do not occur. The only internal parasite found is a protozoon of the genus Trypanosoma. Hydroids, bryozoa, tube annelids, barnacles, and the like, that merely take up their residence S 160 Report of the Commissioner of Fisheries. 1916 on the shells as they do on stones, are not parasites and do not seriously discommode the oyster. Eggs, embryos, and larva? must be swallowed in great numbers by numerous species of animals that feed, as the oyster does itself, by ciliary action. Competition for place or food has a more far-reaching effect. Mussels, cockles, clams, and the like that are closely associated with the oyster, on the same beds, may take up areas that could otherwise be occupied by oysters. Because of their similar organization and habits they feed in the same way and use the same kinds of food, reducing the amount within reach for oysters. Competition among oysters themselves is still keener, many individuals being crowded out or starved to the advantage of others. But for the oyster as a species the death of individuals is not all loss. Their empty shells are turned to account as points of fixation for new generations. Marine plants exert considerable influence over the lives of oysters. Their roots harden and retain the substratum, their decay changes the nature of the bottom and gives rise to clouds of bacteria, and these supply nourishment for larger organisms that may in turn furnish food for oysters. Eel-grass constitutes a submarine forest that attracts, offers hiding-places, breaks the force of currents, supports food, gives attachment to other animals and plants, changes the composition of the salts in the water, absorbs carbon dioxide, and in many other ways touches the actual life of the oyster. On exposed beaches and flats eel-grass holds back the drainage- water and protects oysters from the direct heat of the sun. But of all the advantages of plants the most important in the life of the oyster is in the supply of diatoms or other species that can serve as food. 6 Geo. 5 Life-history of the Pacific Coast Edible Crab. S 161 CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE LIFE-HISTORY OF THE PACIFIC COAST EDIBLE CRAB. (Cancer magister.) (No. 2.) By F. W. Weymouth, Assistant Professor of Physiology, Stanford University. Crab-fishing Grounds qf British Columbia. In a previous report* reference has been made to the fisheries adjacent to Victoria, Nanaimo, and Vancouver, which were visited during the summer of 1914 and in part in 1915. The field- work during the summer of 1915 was devoted chiefly to the grounds about Prince Rupert. Prince Rupert. The local market at Prince Rupert is not extensive enough to support a large fishery, but at the time visited a considerable trade was growing up with the Interior. Especially during the cooler months, when shipping conditions were most favourable, an increasing number of crabs were being expressed East to Edmonton, Winnipeg, and other cities of Central Canada, and prospects seemed good for a further development of this trade. The crabs now marketed at Prince Rupert come almost entirely from the immediate vicinity, the harbour adjacent to the city, Metlakatla, Silver Creek Cove, Shawatlan, and many near-by points being fished locally. The local conditions are quite diversified and the crabs seem to vary correspondingly. As they appeared in the market the crabs were much less uniform in size, for instance, than those reaching Vancouver from Boundary Bay, for while they included some of the largest specimens so far examined in the Province, they also included many small ones. Similarly, it was difficult to fix even approximately the dates for the breeding and moulting seasons, apparently because of local differences in these times. Fishing has not yet been prosecuted very systematically and there has been no extensive development of gear. Only a few traps were seen, most of the fishing being carried on by means of hoop-nets of simple construction. Any considerable development of trap-fishing requires accessible grounds of reasonable extent, which must furnish shallow water, a sandy bottom, and enough protection from storms to prevent too extensive movement of the sand and consequent burying of the traps. The grounds just mentioned do not supply all these conditions, but others a little farther removed will probably meet all requirements when the growth of the market justifies their development. Crabs are known to be present in abundance, for example, on the bar at the mouth of the Skeena and in Naden Harbour and adjacent points in the Queen Charlotte Islands. In fact, Naden Harbour has long been noted for the size, abundance, and quality of its crabs, though, on account of its position, commercial fishing has never developed there. Although crabs are found in many places on the coast of the Province, fishing-grounds other than in the immediate vicinity of the cities already considered (Victoria, Nanaimo, Vancouver, and Prince Rupert) can hardly assume commercial importance for a considerable time, and will not be discussed here. Larvae. The Megalops, the last larval stage of the crab before the free-swimming life is given up for the bottom habitat of the adult, were again obtained during the present summer. The dates on which Megalops have been observed during the last two years are: Sidney, Vancouver Island, July 22nd, 1914; Boundary Bay, July 5th, 1915. Methods of measuring Crabs. Recently, in discussing the protective laws relating to crabs that were in force on the Pacific Coast,f I pointed out the lack of uniformity in closed season and size limit, stating that * Report of the Commissioner of Fisheries for 1914, page 128. t Trans. Second Annual Meeting Pacific Fisheries Society, 1915. 11 S 162 Report of the Commissioner of Fisheries. 1916 the legal size was 7 inches in California, 6% inches in Washington, and 6 inches in Oregon and British Columbia. This does not, however, fully represent the lack of uniformity, as at least three methods of measuring are followed on this coast. The legal " 7 inches " in California is measured " across the back," and by the present interpretation is allowed to follow the curve of the shell, and the lateral teeth or " horns " are included. This thus corresponds to the greatest width of the animal obtained by stretching a tape across the back. In Washington and British Columbia the lateral teeth are included in the legal measurement, but the distance measured is the shortest one between their tips, such as would be obtained by the use of calipers or dividers. Commercially, at least on Puget Sound, a " 6-inch crab " is one which measures 6 inches in greatest width exclusive of the lateral teeth. It will readily be seen that a " 6-inch " crab may vary considerably in size, depending upon where and how it is measured. As a step toward clarifying this confusion the following table is given. It is based on 112 males from Boundary Bay which were measured by the three methods above described. It is highly probable that a series from another locality would show average differences, depending upon the characteristic shape of the local variety. Bearing this in mind, as well as the fact that the figures are averages, and that individual variations of Ys inch are common and of 14 inch not rare, the table may be found convenient for purposes of comparison. It is to be hoped that in time the methods of measuring and the size limits may become uniform along the entire coast. Table 1.—Comparison of Methods of measuring Crabs. Commercial. B.C. Legal. Calif. Legal. Legal size, British Columbia )> ,» Legal size, Washington and Oregon Legal size, California Inch. 5% 6 6% 6% 7 iV-i Inch. 6 6% 6i/2 6% 7% 7% Inch. 6% 6% 6% 7 7% 8% The three figures of each horizontal line represent the results of applying the three methods to the same crab. The figures marking the legal size are in black-faced type. Relation of Size to Weight. The relation of size to weight is of interest from several points of view, and some data for its establishment have been accumulated. In the case of the crab this relation is somewhat different from that found in a salmon or other ordinary fish, where there is a continuous increase in both length and weight. The crab increases in size only at the moulting period, when, in a few hours, it may display the entire season's growth, amounting to a fifth or sixth of its previous width. Although at this time the growth in width is accompanied by a growth in weight, the two are not proportional, the increase in weight being much less than that in width. During the interval between moults, while the width remains unchanged, the weight gradually increases until just before moulting practically the same relation is established as was present before the previous moult. As a consequence, crabs of a given size may vary widely in weight, so widely, in fact, that it may be detected merely by handling them, and the fishermen and dealers speak of " light crabs " and " heavy crabs," the latter being, of course, most highly prized for their food value. This variation is entirely aside from that which would occur provided that all the crabs weighed had been taken exactly the same time after moulting. It is also probable that crabs from different localities will show average differences in the relation of weight to size due to differences in the shape which seem to characterize local races. The following rough table is based on the same material as the preceding table; the crabs were weighed alive shortly after being taken from the water. The figures cannot be applied to cooked crabs; it is hoped that data on this question may be given in a later report. 6 Geo. 5 Life-history of the Pacific Coast Edible Crab. S 163 Table 2—Weight of Live Crabs. Weight in Pounds. Size in Inches. 1% 6%-6% 1% 6%-7% 1% 6%-7% 2 7 -7% 2% 7%-7% It will be noted that the variation shown is very large. Figures for the larger sizes are not available. I have seen crabs weighing 3% lb.; dealers claim that 4 lb. is about the maximum. S 164 Report of the Commissioner of Fisheries. 1916 PACK OF BRITISH COLUMBIA SALMON, SEASON 1915. Compiled from Figures furnished this Department by the B.C. Salmon Canneks' Association. Districts and Canneries. Sockeyes. Red Springs. White Springs. Chums. Pinks. Cohoes. Steel- leads. Granu Totals (Cases). Eraser River District— B.C. Packers' Association Anglo B.C. Packing Co., Ltd J. H. Todd & Sons B.C. Canning Co., Ltd Great West Packing Co., Ltd. .. 35,006 0,009 2,462 3,180 3,134 2,764 3,145 4,021 13,023 1,970 5,071 3,590 1,701 3,374 j 2,090 3,771 805 312 1,179 1,204 1,231 1,011 1,548 1,551 "52 2,100 20 604 7,840 23,228 921 116 348 78 121 91 ' 1,309 "•25 '"523 1,860 5,392 5 65 134 3,388 250 263 208 284 1,005 5,532 3,113 3,565 747 1S4 380 18,919 44,676 9,890 0,213 3,529 3,034 4,405 0,002 0,408 " 10,339 3,197 6,525 3,600 3,405 11,332 9,750 138,305 6,926 330 2,476 2,157 1,374 1,516 323 264 9,505 167 2,809 4,863 1,194 210 9,400 43,514 21 io 91,321 17,750 15,199 10,373 9,130 10,205 10,765 Gosse-Millerd Can. Co., Ltd Defiance Packing Co., Ltd St. Mutigo Canning Co., Ltd Eagle Harbor Canning Co., Ltd.. The Graham Co. (Seott Can.).... J. H. Todd & Sons (Esquimalt) .. 13,246 47,259 5,334 17,606 17,718 7,067 10,227 31,320 91,130 31 320,519 Skeena River District— B.C. Packers' Association Anglo B.C. Packing Co., Ltd... J. H. Todd & Sons 29,875 18,692 10,894 10,894 9,153 6,307 8,647 16,247 5,844 116,553 2,983 4,090 553 730 1,828 1,062 761 1,426 1,630 3,iei 112 146 2,350 5,769 30,696 19,058 11,000 6,214 8,286 5,585 8,780 9,921 6,808 12,051 4,155 5,710 3,262 1,400 1,036 1,293 1,706 1,517 898 209 378 313 76,50S 50,036 29,003 B.C. Canning Co., Ltd 21,508 21,186 Skeena River Com. Co., Ltd Wallace Fisheries, Ltd Canadian Fish & Cold Storage Co., Ltd 13,990 19,481 29,300 18,149 Totals 15,069 204 107,578 835 378 1,598 28 44 81 2,964 6,302 11,611 7,604 9,362 32,190 516 3,860 2,739 7,115 2,006 2,295 5,300 5,564 1,798 279,101 Rivers Islet District— Anglo B.C. Packing Co., Ltd. ... J. H. Todd & Sons 47,183 15,697 17,072 17,7711 16,296 16,323 167 382 203 77 193 5J188 199 5,387 48,701 25,505 21.60S Kildala Packing Co., Ltd 18,010 16,417 16,597 Totals 130,350 1,022 808 1,750 490 5 387 281 146,838 Nass River District— Anglo B.C. Packing Co., Ltd.... Kincoleth Packing Co., Ltd M. DesBrisay & Co 8,852 16,668 8,727 5,102 39,349 24,385 252 928 8,500 3,097 46,166 3,016 1,380 9,623 133 1,180 733 10 10,333 11,076 lis 19,068 32,615 22,127 30,479 Totals . 3,053 2,503 "125 '"■253 6,081 49 288 15 "48 9,302 648 34,879 11,400 12,702 4,676 ii',is8 765 8,166 13,036 14,248 230 4,105 83,626 15,171 113 Outlying Districts— Anglo B.C. Packing Co., Ltd. Kildala Packing Co., Ltd Clayoquot Sound Can. Co., Ltd.. Quathiaski Canning Co., Ltd ''' i-20 780 10,292 2,421 700 2,200 7,069 11,563 1,685 2,314 1,825 40,849 11,378 3,913 964 300 10,474 1,490 2,108 4,045 4,988 2,846 0,400 iii "5 466 50,506 27,219 9,628 9,600 30,338 61,566 13,290 30,073 31,298 5,538 1,180 12,438 Gosse-Millerd Canning Co. (Bella Bella) Nanaimo Canning Co., Ltd Totals 98,660 120 48,966 985 313,894 Grand Totals 476,042 51,734 6,370 82,000 367,352 146,956 2.S27 1,133,381 6 Geo. 5 Pack of Puget Sound Salmon, 1915. S 165 Packed by Districts previous Yeaks. 1914. 1913. 1912. 1911. 1910. 1909. 1908. 1907. 1906. 1905. 1904. 1903. Fraser River.... Skeena River... Nass River Rivers Inlet.... Outlying 328,390 237,634 94,890 109,052 341,078 1,111,039 732,059 104,055 68,096 53,423 336,268 1,353,901 173,92; 254,258 137,697 71,102 359,538 801,344 254,410 65,684 101,066 226,461 223,148 222,035 39,720 129,398 147,900 762,201 567,203 140,739 40,990 91,014 127,974 967,920 89,184 209,177 46,908 75,090 122,330 542,689 163,116 159,255 31,832 94,064 99,192 240,486 162,420 32,534 122,878 71,142 029,460 877,136 114,085 32,725 83,122 60,392 1,167,460 128,903 154,869 19,085 94,295 68,745 237,125 98,669 12,100 69,390 56,390 Totals 996,576 948,965 547,459 465,894 473,674 ESTIMATED PACK OF PUGET SOUND SALMON, SEASON 1915. Furnished the Department by Kelley-Clarke Co., Seattle. Grades. Tails. Flats. Halves (8 doz. to case). Total Cases. 12,906 114,105 551,807 406,888 14,867 28,100 10,471 2,033 55,471 59,692 38,594 27,502 1,766 S7,465 180,799 689,780 410,687 Totals 1,085,706 • 127,554 1,268,731 The Red Spring pack, amounting- to 22,982 cases, we have included in Sockeye figures. Puget Sound Pinks r.un biennially. Due again 1917. Approximate value 1915 Puget Sound pack, ^=4,510,261.40, based on average selling prices Sept. 1, 1915, to Feb. 21, 1916. Comparative Packs of Puget Sound. 1915. 1914. 1913. 1912. 1911. 140,529 244,208 1,038,130 111,143 1910. 1909. 1,005,120 139,297 365,156 52,261 1908. 1907. 1 1906. 1 1905. 1904. Cohoes Pug. S'd Pinks Chums 87,465 180,799 589,780 410,687 1,268,731 857,374 151,135 909 280,070 789,488 1,665,728 49,150 788,789 50,176 201,572 149,977 708 63,132 234,437 154,077 148,810 162,228 95,863 51,186 96,974 111,611 448,730 51,840 182,241 98,206 155,221 837,122 89,630 71,490 49,047 1,047,295 123,419 106,856 66,355 Totals... 2,553,843 415,389 1,534,016 537,324 1,561,824 300,277 709,155 435,668 286,630 VICTORIA, B.C. : Printed by William H. Cullin, Printer to the King's Most Excellent Majesty. 1916.
Legislative proceedings
J110.L5 S7
English
Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library
Victoria, BC : Government Printer
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Original Format: Legislative Assembly of British Columbia. Library. Sessional Papers of the Province of British Columbia
PROVINCE OF BRITISH COLUMBIA REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONER OF FISHERIES FOR THE YEAR ENDING DECEMBER 31ST, 1915 WITH APPENDICES
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