Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1920-08-26
THE SALTON SEA
Mullct, Desirable Food Fish Appears
in Unexplained Manner

/
| in Unexplained Manner
Developing a profitable fishing industry
and marketing ocean food Ash from a
brine picked pool Of constantly varying
salinity and water levels, far below the
level of the oceans and in the midst of a
blazing desert, is an accomplishment of
man that Is worthy of attention. This
newest of American fisheries which has
recently commanded the attention of both
state and federal scientists, is in the Salton
sea or southern California, where the in
dustry has grown up under some of the
most adverse and extraordinary cond-
tons existing in any fishing enterprise.
The Salton sea is one of the most myster-
ious of all the worlds inland brine pools.
| With Its surface at this writing 257 feet
below ocean level and its waters at times
approaching sixfold the salinity of sea
water 1t has often been termed the Dead
sea OF America 1t is the lowest body of
water on the face of the western hemi-
sphere, and the lowest on earth with the
exception of the Dead sea of Palestine.
Little is known of the fish life of the
Salton sea prior to the last break in the
Colorado river bikes. 1t is definitely
known, however, that at the time the sea
was something like six times as SALTY as
ocean water, and this fact alone would
have precluded the possibility Of fish liv-
ing In It's waters. In 1905. the river over
howod Its banks. cutting two channels to
the Salton sea which are now known as
the New and Alamo rivers The food car
ried 100000 cubic feet or water which
II emptied into the Salton sea, fresheninp
the water, raising It's level. and greatly
extending Its area.
Several years after the flooding of tho
Salton sea the salt water mullet, a desir
able food fish. OF the Identical species
round In the Gulf of California, and other
Pacihc waters from Monterey southwark.
made Its appearance in the sea- Two the-
ores are advanced by scientists to so
count for the occurrence OF the fish. The
hrst is that they had swum from the Gulf
or California into the fresh waters of the
Colorado river. and were carried down
into the Salton sea by the flood. This
theory. however does not seem acceptable.
inasmuch as the fishermen declare thera
IL no authentic record of the salt -water
muilet swimming up into the fresh water
OF streams. The second theory. and the
more plausible one. Is that the Salton sea
was stocked with fish by the white nell.
cans. These great birds inhabit the sea
by tens of thousands. rearing their younq
on the several volcanic islands, and maxi
Ing daily excursions to the Gulf OF Cal
Hornia for their food, Isolated mountain
lakes are known to have been thus stock
ed with trout, and probably the fish of
the salton sea were carried there in the
same manner.
In short time a considerable COLONY
OF nshermen began to appear on the shores
of the Salton sea. Experiments by sew
eral large packing plants at Los Angeles
with the canning of mullet also met with
high degree of success Due to the ter
rine summer heat of the Salton basin, the
temperatures often going as high as l25
degrees. the fish are iced aboard the fish-
ing boats as soon as they are taken from
the water. The fishermen work In canopy
topped boats. and in the water as much as
possible for the purpose of keeping cool
The fish are landed on Mullet Island where
the receding OF the sea has made possible
the building OF a motor road connecting
1t with the land. They are then trucked