The Hood River glacier. (Hood River, Or.) 1889-1933, 1906-11-01
few SALMON EGGS
TAKEN this SEASON

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the salmon catch this year is light
is borne out by an article in the Ore
gonian which says that employees of
the government fish station on the
Clackamas river, who have been TAX
ing salmon eggs at the mouth of the
White Salmon river, have completed
their work for this season and report
that the number of eggs secured this
year is the smallest since the WORK of
endeavoring to preserve the salmon
in the Columbia river was taken up.
Altogether but 100000 eggs we're
taken this year as against 16, 900, 900
last year. The work commenced Sep
tebmer 10 and was stopped about the
middle of October.
The work of securing the eggs is
done by experienced men. They
claim that the great industrial devel-
opment that is going on in Oregon
will ruin the salmon fishing in few
years II something Is not done to pre-
serve the fish, other than building
fish ladders to aid them in ascending
dams.
j. r. Wisner, superintendent of the
United States Fish Commissions sta
tions in Oregon, calls attention to the
fact that the Rogue river, formerly
one of the greatest spawning grounds
for salmon in the state, last year
yielded but 200, 200 eggs, where II
once produced millions, and this year
practically no spawning at all was
done there. This, he says is due to
the many industries which have com.
menced operation along the river
and the dams which have been built
across it. The law provides that where
dams are built fish ladders shall be
erected but old fishermen say that the
fish do not take kindly to the ladders
and beat themselves to death trying to
jump over the dam. Ii. G. Van Dusen
state fish warden who recently made a
tour of inspection along the Columbia
and its tributary streams is of the
opinion that the fish wheels and the
seining ought to be regulated in some
way so that only certain number OF
fish would be taken each season Civ
ing more of them an opportunity to
get into the smaller streams.
The eggs taken at this season of the
year are those of the Chinook, CON
sidered by fisherman the king of all
salmon. An old fisherman who has
fished In Oregon waters for many
years and who has been with the out
fit at the Wboite Salmon, when asked
why there we're so few fish In that
river this year replied:
"One of the reasons why we got so
few eggs this season is because there
has been so much blasting going on
along the North Bank road. 1t ecares
the fish away from the shore and
keeps them out in the channel. With
the railroad men blasting every few
minutes on both sides of the mouth
of the river the fish are frightened
away. Last year we took so many
salmon here some days that we.had to
let them out of the net before we
could haul it in, but this year we had
no such difficulty.
with the coming of the railroad
and development OF the water powel
in the White Salmon river, one of the
last great spawning grounds for sal
mon along the Columbia river will be
destroyed. Formerly it was one of
the greatest fishing grounds along the
river for Indians, who come here eve n
now during the spawning season to
get the fish we take the eggs from,
and it has been the most productive
place in the state for salmon eggs.
"a peculiar thing about the salmon
is that it always comes back to spawn
where 1t was hatched and after spawn
ing dies. Where they are stopped by
dams they will stop with their heads
up stream trying to find place to
deposit their eggs, until they die,
battered and Scared by their contin
ual struggles. A big Chinook salmon
will dig hole in the mud or sand
from two to three feet deep, trying to
find place to spawn.
"As they die anyhow the govern
ment takes this method of getting the
eggs and Matching them out for dis
tribution in the various streams of
the state. In this way many more
come to maturity than if they were
allowed to deposit their eggs in the
streams where they become prey to
salmon trout and other samll fish, "
The eggs are taken to the. hatchery
about mile below White Salmon riv.
er, where after about GO days they
hatch. The fry are kept five or six
weeks longer before being placed in
tanks and shipped to points where
they are released.