Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-11-17
SLAUGHTERED SALMON
Sockeye, Like the American
Bison, Doomed to Go.
TALE OF "WAsTEFUL WEST"
Intervention of Two Interested Gov
ernments Necessary.
MILLIONS WANTONLY WASTED
National Protection Only Solution for
the Preservation Of the Great
Fish Industry.
Written for The Star.

Written for The Star.
Another tale of the "Wasteful West" re-
mains to be told-the slaughter of the SOCK
eye salmon. Like the extinction of the
American bison, this rare food fish, that
once came from the depths of the Pacific
in myriads, will soon have disappeared be-
cause of the overpowering greed of man.
Millions Of sockeyes, the king Of the sal
mon tribe, have been canned and sent to
the far corners of the world but probably
as many more have been wasted. Where
once the waters of Puget Sound teemed
with this fish in such numbers that legions
were crowded out of the water and left
sprawling on the beach. now the course of
this finny food material is marked by
scarce specimen.
There are several varieties of salmon
caught on the Pacific coast, but the sock
eye Is the monarch Of its kind. 1t is
sought after in the brief season of the
summer in which it appears, because OF it's
bone of the Pacific coast fishing industry,
yet it is caught only in the waters of
Puget Sound and the Fraser river. 1t is
one of the best commercial fish that Is
taken in the United States.
When the white man arrived on the Pa
enc coast to grasp some of the riches held
In store by the golden west, the sockeye
was found in such vast numbers that to
give an estimate of them would sound in
credible. So great were these legions of
fish that. as already said, they crowded
one another from the water, and countless
thousands were left sprawing on the shores
of the Fraser when the big runs were in
progress. Any obstruction in the course
of the stream was sufficient to cause mil
hons of sockeyes to smother In their
own element: The Indians of British Co
Oy1y TO CT ND
on the banks of the river and scoop the
fish out on the banks in any quantity they
wished. Be it said, however, to the credit
of the redskin, he took only a sufficient
number for the use of his family each
season. There was no slaughter then.
Pioneer Butchery.
But with the coming of the white pio-
neer the butchery of this rare foolish be-
gan. The seeker after riches threw out
such "a system of intricate nets. stretching
almost uninterruptedly from the Straits of
Juan de Fuca to the headwaters Of the
Fraser, that the palmy days of the sock
eye were soon cut short. Into these traps
the unsuspecting fish crowded in their mad
haste to get to their spawning grounds.
Although the nets were filled to bursting,
none was allowed to escape alive. The
master of beast, bird and fish, rather than
let the chance of making one penny slip,
permitted the vast numbers of salmon
winch ne COulQ not use TO tot on the SANDS
of the beach
The canning facilities WERE in the earlier
days of the fishing industry on Puget
Sound, small and inadequate to handle the
surfeit of fish. Still the traps were not lift
ed; they were always set. 1t was easier and
cheaper to allow the sockeyes to enter and
smother to death in the swirling crowd, and
then when some fresh fish were needed to
satisfy the canning machines, to throw out
the dead and take the living This was the
beginning of the slaughter. away back in
1876, and it has continued until this day.
Four-Year Cycles.
To understand the fluctuations in the fig
ures showing the number Of fish canned
since the beginning Of the industry, some
thing of the habits Of the sockeye must be
known.
The life Of the sockeye is four years.
When the egg 1t Matched in the head water
of the Fraser river. the fry, as the young
grounds until able to take care Of them
selves, and then make their way to the sea-
This is the last seen of the fish for four
years At the end Of this period they come
back to the home Of their birth in schools
of countless millions-or at least they did
so until the slaughter commenced. Their
one ambition and aim in life before they
die Is to perpetuate their species.
For some reason yet undiscovered by
those who have studied the habits of the
sockeye, every fourth year the run Is alb
normal. These fourth years are known to
the fishermen as the big years." In the
years between the big runs the number
Of fish that seek the spawning grounds is
comparatively small, yet by reckoning and
comparing them with the fourth year previ-
Gus, an estimate of the increase or decrease
in the run is obtained.
While on their run from the Pacific ocean
to the head waters of the Fraser river the
hsh are intercepted as they go through
Puget sound, in American waters princi-
pally by purse-seins and traps This act Of
the American fishermen is considered by
the Canadians as a gross Offense. The
northerners claim the fish should be theirs
Ihis III Keeling is responsible in a large de-
gree for the lack of measures to protect the
sockeye.
Destruction Imminent.
The Canadians allege that because the
Americans persist in catching the sockeye
before they are allowed to reach the Fraser
river, their spawning beds, the destruction
of this valuable product Is imminent!
The following figures. showing the num-
Der of sockeye salmon canned by the Puget
SOUND canneries tell al too elouuently of
what is happening and what will continue to
take place unless some immediate action is
taken by state or federal government:
1901. ...............1, 11O,996 cases
100 ................ 342,974 cases
l9o5. .............. 15S,S02 cases
IU4............... 1O7,943 cases
1905. ............... 847,941 cases
1905. ............... 176.452 cases
The figures for the Fraser River pack
tell the same tale. In 1901 the canneries of
Puget sound packed more than a million
cases of this fish. and the only reason they
did not can more was because their pack
Ing facilities were not great enough to
handle the fish while the run lasted
Enough nsh went to waste to make many