Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1886-01-01

ton. Hat creek and Pit river run several
! miles IN parallel course, uniting two and
one half miles below the hatchery. From
the hatchery to Pit river the distance is
less than half mile. In making the Sc
lection we ayailed ourselves of the oppor-
tunity 10 obtain spawn from both Pit river
ana Hat creek. The carriage to the hatchery
will be nothing. We receive eggs at Sheb-
ley's from Maine, 5000 miles away. If the
statement OF the late Commissioner B. B.
kedding is correct land we have no reason
| 10 douotit) as to the vast number of salmon
IN Plt, then, with one hatchery, we can
work two streams
| Work upon the hatchery commenced in
May last. Fred White, of Sacramento, a
skilltul mechanic, drafted the plan and
superlntended the construction. The build
ing is 100 feet long and As feet wide. is
| framed and strongly tied; inclosed with
planed rustic, well rooted and painted, and
rests upon solid foundation. The inside
furnishings consist of four large water
tanks and eight tiers of boxes. set ON
proper grade and made to receive seventy
propagating baskets to the tier 1850 baskets
IN alD. Two more tiers will be added
when required. The baskets will be made
OF wire cloth tackled to frames They are
made to sit in the tiers, and will receive
the spawn and gentle flow of water. The
| - wa, ot PiupSl aye, ne removed
10 the storage reservoir, and there held I'M
I'll age and strength will enable them to
take care OF themselves. Then they will
| be released into Hat creek, and VOYAGE
down the Pit and Sacramento to the ocean
from whence they will return to the
home of their birth " in due season. All
of the work has been done with a view to
strength and permanency. The material
i and furnishings have been of the best Quail
ity. The $4,000 appropriated has not
been exhausted. The State has now its
own salmon hatchery, and will not here
after be called upon to pay questionable
bills, aggregating thousands of dollars, for
the hatchery and release of samlets. The
capacity is equal to the Matching of from
100000 to 100000 of young fry per an
mum.
The expense of running the United
States hatchery at McCloud, covering a
period of five years preceding January,
1883, was S53, 900 &C. [See Bulletin of the
United States Fish Commission, page 2O2 |
The maintenance and running expense of
the California State Salmon Hatchery will
not exceed $500 per annum.
In view of what has been done, the
expense has been reasonable. All accounts
have been approved by the State Board OF
Examiners, and all expenses have been
entered into books of account kept by S, p.
Maslin, Deputy State Treasurer The
books are open for inspection by any citi-
zen.
VALUE OF THE FISH INDUSTRY
ii IS impossible TO ascertain, in dollars,
the great value of the fish industry Its
branches are so diffused its values so scat
tered and its statistics so meager that q
person in giving an opinion of the value
must, with such. light as he has, indulge to
q certain extent in guesswork. Many items
must enter into the account. Several thou
sand men are engaged in the bust less OF
fishing; thousands of boats and seines are
used hundreds of men are in the market
places canneries are erected and run at
great expense; all of the people of Califor
MIA lin round numbers a million) are con-
sumers. Fish-fresh, sailed, dried, smoked
or canned-hcds a home or foreign market
Provision stores are filed with canned fish
oysters crabs, Holsters, etc, and with boxes
barrels and kits of dried, smoked and sailed
iish. All of the people, in one form or an
other use the food-some more. Others
less. The Chinese consumption, transpor-
tation and traffic is immense to their gain
, and our loss. Private catches and CON
sumption is large item, and much of lis
f earnings goes to merchants and tradesmen
Add all items together, and the footing will
show that the fish industry of California
siii llOt ICES
So 900 600.
In this estimate have net included the
large sums of money that have been ex-
pended by tourists, pleasure-seekers, sports
men and anglers, who, on account Of fish
and game, annually, with rod and gun.
visit our lakes. streams, fields and resorts.
Much of their expenditures prospers the
State, and should be credited to the ac-
count of the Fish and Game industry.
In Maine such credit is given, in the one
item of board-bills, to the extent of $3.50. 900
per week.
ORIENTAL FISH FOOD AND HAFCHERIEs.
The great importance of fish food and
the means of obtaining the supply, is am
piitied in the following very interesting let
ter:
SACRAMENTO, December H. 1885
| Judge 4. B. DibbIo-DEAE SIR Referring to
our conversation upon the food fishes of China
and Japan. | now have this to say upon that
| subject: China has such dense population
that, without the supply of food fishes furnished
by the salt and fresh waters of that country
swarms of people there would be entirely with
out animal food. The Importance OF food fishes
there as factor in the ali-important food ques-
ton, cannot be overestimatcd. The propagation
OF fish by artificial Matching has been practiced
there through all historic time. On all their
great streams junk loads of fish eggs may be
seen. going to the headwaters, there to be
Matched and then turned into the streams 1t
is safe to say that hundreds, and perhaps thou
sands, of tons of fish eggs are annually sent up
the Yangtse river. AS to the modes of hatch
know that the result is to stock that great
| stream with a variety of food fish, and
| that the 100000 people who live in its basin
t derive an Indispensable supply Of food from
and drains 10000 square miles of country
| This country is covered with great cities and
villages. and in everyone of them fish food
from this stream and its tributaries is sold. 1t
| is i'll Japan that the Importance and advantages
I of fish and crtistacea food is to be seen. There
the masses of the people never eat pork, beef or
| mutton Butter, cheese and milk are never
eaten. The only animal food consumed is fish
| food. fowls and eggs That Empire being
composed entirely of islands it has especial ad-
vantages for fisheries. Although it is only two
thirds thesize of the State of California ii sup
ports more than IS 000, 900 people. All these eat
more or less of fish food.
| Every effort is made by the general and local
| Governments to increase the supply From
| time that runs beyond the written record they,
have used artificial means to increase both the
| fresh and salt water fishes. For more than
l500 miles of sea-coast there are large artificial
! basins for Matching salt water fish and then
the fish are turned into the bays gulfs,
| straits and inlets, where they grow and
| become fit for fish food for the people
The fresh water supply is not neglected.
Every means known in the world is used to
| increase it. Hatcheries are in use through the
| whole extent of the islands. The result of all
these efforts is that the most of the animal food
| TOR s. 100000 of people is obtained from the
/ ilesil hiiu water, ana the lana winch would
| otherwise have to be devoted to the production
| OF animals is used to produce food plants. To
get any adequate idea of the part which fish
! food can be made to take in supporting dense
population, one must visit Japan. 1t is safe to
say that food fish make up one-fourth of the
diet of the 5000 600 people there.
| H. LATHAM.
COMMISSION OF FIsHERIEs-oRGANIzATI
| DUTY AND POWERS.
| The Commission of Fisheries for the
State of California was created under an
Act of the Legislature, entitled " An Act
to Provide for the Restoration and Preser-
walton of Fish in the Waters of the State"
approved April 2, 1870.
The duty of the Fish Commission was
defined by Act of the Legislature, approved
March IS, 1873, and stated in Article XVII,
Chapter I'LL, Title L., Part Ill, of the Po-
| litical Code, Section 642.
| 1t is the duty of the Fish Commissioners:
l. To see that the laws for the preserva-
ton of fish and game are strictly enforced.
and Tor that purpose they may from time
time employ such assistants as they shall
| deem necessary, which persons so appointed
as assistant shall have all powers and au-
| thority of Sheriffs to make arrests for vio-
lation of such laws throughout the State.