The record-union., 1891-01-29
SAVE TEE SALMON.
Superintendent Woodbury. Talks About
the Close Season.
He VIII Fight the Proposition to Set
the Season Back to the Middle
of September.

anu oecreIafy OF the SIate DOdTu Oh L iSu
Commissioners, is in the city, and will
appear before the Senate Committee on
Fish and Game Laws to-day to fight the
proposition to have the close salmon sea-
son extend from the middle of Septem-
Der to the 1st of November of each year.
There is before the Legislature petit
ton bearing about 5000 signatures pray
ing that this change be made, and the
matter will be considered by the commit
tee to-day.
Mr.. Woodbury. was interviewed by
REcoRD-UNIo reporter last evening
with reference to his mission.
I'VE have no one here to defend u.s.
he said, with the exception of myself I
telegraphed to j. d. Redding and Ramon
Wilson, but 1 am afraid they cannot get
here in time. But / will do the best
can in the matter. This move to have
the close salmon season commence in the
middle of September
WILL BE A DISASTROUS ONE,
If successful, to the salmon supply of Cal
ltornia. And, strange to say, the can
merry people are the ones who are backing
1t. They are only cutting their own
throats. Their argument is that after the
middle of September the salmon are not
season should then be closed. If this is
true, then why should we perpetuate that
kind of salmon? They also claim that
by closing the season at the end of Au-
gust many fishermen and others are
thrown out of work. But if their petit
ton goes through, and the close season is
changed, it will only be short time
when they will have no work to do at all.
The salmon viii be depleted
Continuing, MIR. Woodbury. said that he
was willing to accede to the canneries
and fishermen the month of September,
but he would insist upon August being
the close season. He also wanted the
month of April included.
WHY IT SHOULD BE.
1.-THE spawning time at the Govern
ment hatchery on the McCloud River for
the great run of salmon in the late sum-
mer and fall is principally during the
month of September" he said; sit
usually opens about the 2Sth OF August
and continues until the latter part of
September.
''The vital points of the question in con-
sidering the time for the close season are:
AT what time should the close. season be-
gin at the fishing grounds ON the lower
Sacramento River, and how long should
it last in order that enough breeding
salmon from the great run during the
months of August and September may
reach the United States hatchery ON the
McCloud River, during the month of
September, TO furnish sufficient eggs for
the artificial Matching of young fish for
distribution on the nursery grounds to
maintain the supply of mature salmon
for food, which the rivers for nursery
grounds and the ocean for feed till the
salmon are matured, are capable of pro-
ducing?
NOW AND THEN.
Il
ton of b. b. Redding, S. r. Thockmor-
ton and J. ID. Farwell as Fish Commits
sioners, as many as 14,000000 OF salmon
eggs were taken during the month of Sep
TENDER from the fall run of salmon. The
close season at that time was during the
month of August. The close season is
now, and has been for some years since
during the month of September The
Government hatchery or the McCloud
River renewed its operations in 1888. The
number Of eggs taken in September, 1888,
was only about 100000; and in 1889,
only about 100000 eggs; or, averaging
for the two years, less than one-tenth as
many eggs as were taken ten years ago,
when the close season was during the
month of August. This is a loss of 80
per cent.
For what cause, or by whose agency
the close season was changed from the
month of August to the month of Sep
l. L
very disastrous change, if the interests
of the salmon were considered.
During the last Legislature, in 1888,
bill was introduced by some one-from
Solano County, believe-to change the
present close season for salmon from the
month of September to the month of
October. If this bill had become q law,
the close season would have been pushed
entirely beyond the season OF the great
run of salmon. "Give them an inch and
they will take an ELL" if they can get it.
1t is of the utmost importance that the
close season should be placed back again
to the month of August. If more salmon
do not reach the McCloud River during
the month of September than have
arrived there during the past two years,
serious consequences will happen to the
salmon industry of California.
CHANGE IT BACK.
''By changing the close season for sal
mon back again to the month of August,
ii can easily be determined if the run of
salmon has lessened during the past ten
years. If as many salmon do not arrive
there during August and September as
did ten years ago, or if an insufficient
number got up during that period from
which to secure the number of eggs nee
essary for artificial reproduction, then it
will be imperative to include part or the
whole month of September in the close
season, in addition to the month of
August"
Before closing the interview. Mr..
Woodbury. showed the reporter copy of
a letter received by him from George B.
Williams, Superintendent of the McCloud
River station which bears on the subject
materially. Following is an extract from
it:
SUPERINTENDENT WILLIAMS OPINION.
Two years of experience in charge of this
bn Mpt hoe eQrlNri naI hot
unless some action is taken by the Legislature
and those interested in the propagation of
salmon as food fish, to include the month
of August as well as that of September in the
close season, not many years will elapse when
this valuable food fish will become almost eX-
tinct.
On account of the high water we are liable to
have at this point during the spring and late
fall runs, it is impracticable to secure and
spawn by artificial methods the parent fish:
but the August run comes at time when it
can be handled successfully. In order to al
low this run 10 reach the headwaters of the
Sacramento River and its tributaries the
months of August and September should be
reserved to allow free passage of salmon.
draw my conclusions from the fact that in
previous years, when there was no fishing
with seines in the Sacramento tospeak of, thou
sands of salmon collected here during the lat
ter part of August and during the month of
September, and we found no difficulty in Sc
curing all the eggs we could handle, IA .000,-
00o ova having been taken in one season.
From the August run in 1SSS but 1,56S, 500
eggs Neis secured. ana IN 1883 I.lO0,OOo
were taken. In 1SSS the seasons take was
increased to ., 5o4 500, by securing ova from
the late run in October and November. But
this was something unusual, and could not
have been accomplished had it not been that
the rains did not set in until December of that
year. An attempt was made in 1889 to take
the late run, but rains in October caused the
BIcCloud to become very high. and racks and
dams were washed out, allowing the parent
fish to ascend the river and small creeks
above the station.
1t is very hard to decide how long it takes
the salmon TO reach their spawning grounds